Branch consolidation complete — master is the single default branch

[theonlyhennygod]

What changed

We've completed a full branch consolidation of the ZeroClaw repository. Here's what happened and what it means for contributors.

The problem

The repo had 574 branches, including both main and master as competing "default" branches. Documentation, scripts, and install URLs referenced main, but the actual default branch was master. This caused:

• 404 errors on install scripts (reported in [Bug]:Quick clarification: master vs main  #2929, chore: delete stale main branch #3061)
• Contributor confusion about which branch to target PRs against
• CI scripts silently failing when they couldn't find origin/main
• Hundreds of stale branches cluttering the repo

What we did

Branch cleanup

• Deleted 535 dead branches (574 → 43 remaining)
• Deleted the main branch entirely
• Deleted the dev branch (repo docs already stated "there is no dev branch")
• Only kept: master, release/*, and branches with active open PRs

PR retargeting

• Retargeted 15 open PRs that were targeting main or dev → now all target master

Documentation & scripts fixed

• All README files (13 translations + English) — install URLs updated from main to master (docs: replace main branch references with master #3194)
• CI scripts — rust_strict_delta_gate.sh, docs_quality_gate.sh, collect_changed_links.py updated from origin/main to origin/master (fix(ci,release): update all scripts from origin/main to origin/master #3238)
• Release script — cut_release_tag.sh updated to validate against origin/master (fix(ci,release): update all scripts from origin/main to origin/master #3238)
• install.sh — remote one-liner URL fixed (docs: replace main branch references with master #3194)
• CONTRIBUTING.md — added a new Branching Model section explaining the master + feat/*/fix/* workflow (docs: add branching model section to CONTRIBUTING.md #3237)
• Troubleshooting docs and bootstrap guides — all updated (docs: replace main branch references with master #3194)

Branch protection updated

• master now has: CI Required Gate + Security Required Gate status checks, 1 approval required, code owner reviews, dismiss stale reviews, conversation resolution required
• Removed stale protection rules from main and dev before deletion

Code quality

• Fixed all pre-existing cargo fmt violations across 6 files that were blocking CI lint on every open PR (style: fix cargo fmt violations blocking CI lint #3244)

How contributors should work going forward

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feat/* or fix/* branch from master
3. Open a PR targeting master

Do not create or push to a main or dev branch. There is one default branch: master.

See the updated CONTRIBUTING.md for full details.

Related PRs

• docs: replace main branch references with master #3194 — docs: replace main branch references with master
• docs: add branching model section to CONTRIBUTING.md #3237 — docs: add branching model section to CONTRIBUTING.md
• fix(ci,release): update all scripts from origin/main to origin/master #3238 — fix(ci,release): update all scripts from origin/main to origin/master
• style: fix cargo fmt violations blocking CI lint #3244 — style: fix cargo fmt violations blocking CI lint

Related issues

• Closes [Bug]:Quick clarification: master vs main  #2929
• Closes chore: delete stale main branch #3061

[theonlyhennygod]

Closing — this is an announcement documenting completed branch consolidation work. All referenced PRs have been merged.