(There has been posted another question asking basically the same: How do I change a Git remote HEAD to point to something besides “master”, and there was more discussion there, with a reference to the Github group. So I'd just like to point anyone to that discussion as well.)
As we know, there is no universal answer.
But there are a specific answers for various git "farms" (where multiple users can manage git repos through a restricted interface: via http and ssh): http://Github.com, http://Gitorious.org, http://repo.or.cz, Girar (http://git.altlinux.org).
These specific answers might be useful for those reading this page and thinking about these specific services.
$ ssh git.alt help | fgrep branch
default-branch []
$
for example ssh git.alt default-branch packages/autosshd.git sisyphus
to change the HEAD in the remote repo autosshd.git
to point to the sisyphus
branch.