Rename a Git repository in your project

Azure DevOps Services | Azure DevOps Server | Azure DevOps Server 2022

Visual Studio 2019 | Visual Studio 2022

You can rename a Git repository (repo) in a project from your web browser. After you rename the repo, each member of your team must take a few steps to reenable their dev machines to connect to the repo on the server.

Prerequisites

Category	Requirements
Project access	Member of a project.
Permissions	- View code in private projects: At least Basic access. - Clone or contribute to code in private projects: Member of the Contributors security group or corresponding permissions in the project. - Set branch or repository permissions: Manage permissions are permissions for the branch or repository. - Change default branch: Edit policies are permissions for the repository. - Import a repository: Member of the Project Administrators security group or Git project-level Create repository permission set to Allow. For more information, see Set Git repository permissions.
Services	Repos enabled.
Tools	Optional. Use `az repos` commands: Azure DevOps CLI.

Note

In public projects, users with Stakeholder access have full access to Azure Repos, including viewing, cloning, and contributing to code.

Category	Requirements
Project access	Member of a project.
Permissions	- View code: At least Basic access. - Clone or contribute to code: Member of the Contributors security group or corresponding permissions in the project.
Services	Repos enabled.

On the web portal, select Repos > Files.
From the repo dropdown list, select Manage repositories.
Select the name of the repo from the Repositories list, select the ellipsis ... for more actions, and then select Rename repository.
Rename the repo by entering the new name for the repo and selecting Rename.

You can use az repos update to update the default branch or rename a repository.

az repos show --repository
                [--default-branch]
                [--detect {false, true}]
                [--name]
                [--org]
                [--project]
                [--subscription]

Parameters

Parameter	Description
`repository`	Name or ID of a repository.
`default-branch`	Specify the default branch to be set for the repository. An example is `refs/heads/live` or `live`.
`detect`	Automatically detect organization. Accepted values are `false` and `true`.
`name`	New name for the repository.
`org`, `organization`	Azure DevOps organization URL. You can configure the default organization by using `az devops configure -d organization=<ORG_URL>`. Required if not configured as default or picked up via `git config`. An example is `https://dev.azure.com/MyOrganizationName/`.
`project`, `p`	Name or ID of the project. You can configure the default project by using `az devops configure -d project=<NAME_OR_ID>`. Required if not configured as default or picked up via `git config`.
`subscription`	Name or ID of the subscription. You can configure the default subscription by using `az account set -s <NAME_OR_ID>`.

Example

The following command renames contosoREPO to contosoFabrikam for the default configuration az devops configure --defaults organization=https://dev.azure.com/fabrikamprime project="Fabrikam Fiber".

az repos show --repository contosoREPO --output table
ID                                    Name         Default Branch    Project
------------------------------------  -----------  ----------------  --------------
30954ce5-417b-4930-b8d2-8b6cac934a34  contosoREPO  main              Fabrikam Fiber

For more details, enter the following command:

az repos update --repository contosoREPO --name contosoFabrikam
{
  "defaultBranch": "refs/heads/main",
  "id": "30954ce5-417b-4930-b8d2-8b6cac934a34",
  "isDisabled": false,
  "isFork": null,
  "name": "contosoFabrikam",
  "parentRepository": null,
  "project": {
    "abbreviation": null,
    "defaultTeamImageUrl": null,
    "description": "Guidance and source control to foster a vibrant ecosystem for Fabrikam Fiber applications and extensions.",
    "id": "56af920d-393b-4236-9a07-24439ccaa85c",
    "lastUpdateTime": "2021-05-24T21:52:14.95Z",
    "name": "Fabrikam Fiber",
    "revision": 438023732,
    "state": "wellFormed",
    "url": "https://dev.azure.com/fabrikamprime/_apis/projects/56af920d-393b-4236-9a07-24439ccaa85c",
    "visibility": "private"
  },
  "remoteUrl": "https://fabrikamprime@dev.azure.com/fabrikamprime/Fabrikam%20Fiber/_git/contosoFabrikam",
  "size": 1627,
  "sshUrl": "git@ssh.dev.azure.com:v3/fabrikam/Fabrikam%20Fiber/contosoFabrikam",
  "url": "https://dev.azure.com/fabrikamprime/56af920d-393b-4236-9a07-24439ccaa85c/_apis/git/repositories/30954ce5-417b-4930-b8d2-8b6cac934a34",
  "validRemoteUrls": null,
  "webUrl": "https://dev.azure.com/fabrikamprime/Fabrikam%20Fiber/_git/contosoFabrikam"
}

Azure DevOps CLI commands aren't supported for Azure DevOps Server.

Update the Git remotes on your dev machines

Git uses remote references to fetch and push changes between your local copy of a repo and the remote version that's stored on the server. After you rename a Git repo or project, you should update your remote references. Update your references to the remote repo URL that contains the project and the repo name.

Each member of your team must update their local Git repos to continue connecting from their dev machines to the repo in the project. The following instructions show how to update the remotes for the Fabrikam Mobile repo that was renamed to Fabrikam.

Get the new URL for the repo

Select Repos > Files.
In the upper-right corner of the Files window, select Clone and copy the clone URL.

Update your remote in Visual Studio

To update your remote:

In the Git menu on the menu bar, select Manage Remotes.
In the Options dialog, select the remote to edit, and then select Edit.
Replace the fetch and push remote references with the URL that you copied from the remote repo.
Select Save, and then select OK.

Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8 and later versions provide a Git version control experience while maintaining the Team Explorer Git user interface. To use Team Explorer, on the menu bar, go to Tools > Options > Preview Features and clear the New Git user experience checkbox. You can exercise Git features from either interface interchangeably.

To update your remote from Visual Studio Team Explorer:

To connect to the repo, select Connect.
To open the project settings, select Settings.
To open the repo settings, select Repository Settings.
Edit the fetch and push remote references, and paste the URL that you copied from the remote repo.