Mercurial - close default branch and replace with a named branch as new default

Question

In a mercurial repo, the "default" branch has fallen very out of date to the point where it no longer makes sense to merge in the changes from "develop", a named branch which has the latest deployed version of the application.

Instead of merging develop into default, how can I close the current default branch and then create a new default branch using the head from develop?

I've seen a few other questions and answers which are similar, perhaps the same, but I am still having trouble understanding how this should work.

Thanks!

Answer 1

If default has diverged somewhat from develop and you want default to be exactly the same as develop after the merge, you need a slightly different set of commands from what Edward gave you (this will also work where develop is a direct descendant of default).

hg update -C default
hg -y merge --tool internal:fail develop
hg revert --all --no-backup -r develop
hg resolve --all --mark
hg commit -m "merge updating default to current develop"

This means that any conflicts will result in an unresolved merge. You then revert everything to be the same as on the develop branch (with no backup so you don't get lots of .orig files left over).

Answer 2

Based on your comment that it is not a requirement to close the branch, here's a series of steps that should get the default branch in tune with the develop branch:

1. hg update default
2. hg merge --tool internal:other -- to merge while privileging the develop branch
3. hg diff -r develop -- compare with develop to ensure that you have an exact copy
4. hg commit -m "merge updating default to current develop"

Once complete, you should have an updated default that mirrors the develop branch, bringing them back into sync.