git-symbolic-ref
Read and modify symbolic references like HEAD
TLDR
Show HEAD target
$ git symbolic-ref HEAD
Set HEAD to branch$ git symbolic-ref HEAD refs/heads/main
Get short name$ git symbolic-ref --short HEAD
Delete symbolic ref$ git symbolic-ref -d HEAD
SYNOPSIS
git symbolic-ref [options] name [ref]
DESCRIPTION
git symbolic-ref reads and modifies symbolic references. HEAD is the most common symbolic ref, pointing to the currently checked-out branch. This plumbing command shows which branch HEAD points to or changes it programmatically.
When HEAD is detached (pointing directly to a commit rather than a branch), this command will report an error, distinguishing it from `git rev-parse`.
PARAMETERS
NAME
Symbolic ref name (usually HEAD).REF
Target ref to set.--short
Show short name.-d, --delete
Delete symbolic ref.-q, --quiet
Quiet mode.--help
Display help information.
CAVEATS
Plumbing command. HEAD is most common use. Detached HEAD is not a symbolic ref.
HISTORY
git symbolic-ref is a core Git plumbing command for managing symbolic references, fundamental to branch tracking.
SEE ALSO
git-checkout(1), git-rev-parse(1)