branchName

Branchname is a term commonly used in software development to denote the name assigned to a branch in a version control repository. In most systems, a branch is a movable pointer to a specific commit, and the branch name provides a human-readable handle for that line of development. The exact string "branchname" is often used in documentation as a placeholder rather than a literal branch in a real project.

In practice, repositories may include branches with descriptive names such as feature/login, bugfix/issue-123, or release/2.0. Naming schemes are project-specific and guided by team conventions. Branch names typically avoid spaces and may use slashes, hyphens, or underscores to indicate hierarchy or category.

Typical operations involve creating a branch, switching to it, and committing changes that belong to that branch. Branches can be merged back into a main line or integrated via rebasing. In many workflows, branches exist both locally and remotely (for example, origin/branchname in Git).

Best practices emphasize clarity and purpose. Descriptive names such as feature/authentication or bugfix/timeout-log help reviewers and automation. Consistency, concise length, and avoidance of sensitive data are common considerations in branch naming conventions.

Outside version control, the term branch name can also label paths in tree-like structures or decision diagrams, where the name identifies a specific branch or path within the structure.