Github Web UI - branch selection dropdown sort?

[kesslari]

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Until recently, the github branch selection dropdown (web UI) sorted alphabetically (though with the default branch at top). Now it seems to sort in some other order - perhaps "most recent commit"? but it's unclear.

I would like to reset it back to alphabetical sort, which works better for me, but I cannot seem to manage it, and searches have proven ineffective.

What do I need to do? Thanks.

[pushkarkumarsaini2006]

GitHub recently changed the branch selection dropdown in the web UI to sort by “most recently updated” rather than alphabetically, except for the default branch, which stays at the top. Unfortunately, you currently cannot change this behavior back to alphabetical — GitHub does not provide a user setting for it.

Here's what you can do:
Workaround: Use the “View all branches” link at the bottom of the dropdown — that page still offers search and some sorting options.

Feedback: You can request the feature back via GitHub Feedback Discussions.

GitHub CLI: If you use many branches often, consider using the GitHub CLI to list and checkout branches with sorting flexibility.

[kesslari]

Thanks @pushkarkumarsaini2006

[ronwarner-mxh]

Having been forced to migrate our repos from ADO to GitHub in order to utilize some AI tooling, all I can say is that GitHub's repo and branch management is a nightmare.

[CreativeDemon]

Hey! I noticed that change too. GitHub seems to have started sorting the branch dropdown by recent activity instead of alphabetically.

Right now, there’s no option to switch it back to alphabetical sorting. Looks like it’s a change on GitHub’s side for everyone.

If alphabetical order is important to you, I’d suggest sending feedback to GitHub. Hopefully, they add an option for this later.

For now, you can still search or filter branches manually in the dropdown.

Hope this helps!

[brandond]

I have two different projects that I work on regularly. One of them sorts ascending by name, the other supports descending, and there doesn't seem to be any way to change it. It'd be nice if it was at least consistent, if it's not going to be configurable!