git-checkout-default

Fetch all remotes and checkout the configured default branch.

Overview

This command provides a quick way to return to your project's default branch after working on a feature branch. It fetches all remotes first to ensure you have the latest changes, then checks out the configured default branch.

The default branch can be configured per-repository, which is useful when different projects use different branch naming conventions (e.g., main, master, develop, or release branches).

Usage

git checkout-default

Options

• --help, -h: Show help message and exit

Configuration

Set the default branch for a repository:

git config custom.defaultbranch <branch>

If not configured, the command defaults to origin/main.

Examples

# Checkout the default branch
git checkout-default

# Configure default branch for a project using develop
git config custom.defaultbranch origin/develop

# Configure default branch for a release branch workflow
git config custom.defaultbranch origin/release53

# Configure default branch for a project using master
git config custom.defaultbranch origin/master

How It Works

1. Fetches all remotes (git fetch --all)
2. Reads the configured default branch from custom.defaultbranch
3. If not configured, uses origin/main as the default
4. Checks out the default branch

Requirements

• Bash shell environment
• Git repository

Use Cases

• Returning to main branch: Quickly switch back after finishing feature work
• Starting fresh: Ensure you're on the latest default branch before creating a new feature branch
• Different defaults per project: Configure different defaults for projects with different workflows