# Custom production branch

**Published:** July 17, 2020 | **Authors:** Shu Ding, Christopher Skillicorn, Andy Schneider, Leo Lamprecht | **Category:** Company News

---

Up until now, after [creating a new Project](https://vercel.com/import) from a Git repository or one of our examples, all commits to its *default branch* were being deployed to Production.

Today we are introducing a new default for newly created Projects, as well as an easy way to customize it from your Project Settings.

## New production branch for new projects

Instead of the Git repository's *default branch*, new Projects will now issue Production Deployments for the `main` branch.

If it doesn't exist, the `master` branch will be used ([more details](#a-note-on-the-master-branch)). And if that doesn't exist either, the Git repository's *default branch* will be used.

> **Note:** Existing Projects are unaffected by this change.

## New project setting

On the new **Production Branch** section under **Git Integration** in the Project Settings, you can now also select one of the following options:

- The `main` branch.
- The Git repository's *default branch*.
- Any other custom branch of your choice.

![The default Production Branch configuration in the Project Settings.](//images.ctfassets.net/e5382hct74si/aVQTP69PLcO5Fa39gmbsR/1f61f859e59405124cf7395f42499b66/project-setting.png)

## A note on the master branch

As you might have noticed, we left out `master` as an option you can select from the dropdown.

This is an intentional decision, in anticipation and agreement with Git providers like [GitHub](https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53050955) moving away from terms that evoke prejudice and belong to the past.

For reasons of compatibility, creating a new Project from a Git repository that still uses `master` will automatically populate the `Custom` option. If you rename the branch in the future, you can easily change to `main` with just two clicks.

## Conclusion

With this change, you gain the flexibility to configure your repository's *default branch* for your Project's ongoing work. When you push to that branch, we will create Preview Deployments, and when you push to `main` we will create Production Deployments.

Furthermore, if you don't want to use `main`, you can now select any branch you want for your Production Deployments.

Check out the [documentation](https://vercel.com/docs/v2/git-integrations#production-branch) for more details and [let us know](https://twitter.com/vercel) what you think about this change.

---

**More posts:** [View all blog posts](https://vercel.com/blog/sitemap.md) | [Changelog](https://vercel.com/changelog/sitemap.md)