diff --git a/docs/basics/101-109-rerun.rst b/docs/basics/101-109-rerun.rst
index 5e315bb53..6a4c97a9c 100644
--- a/docs/basics/101-109-rerun.rst
+++ b/docs/basics/101-109-rerun.rst
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ and another state from the dataset's history (a commit specified with
 ``-t``/``--to``). Let's do a :dlcmd:`diff` between the current state
 of the dataset and the previous commit (called "``HEAD~1``" in Git terminology [#f1]_):
 
-.. windows-wit:: please use datalad diff --from master --to HEAD~1
+.. windows-wit:: please use datalad diff --from main --to HEAD~1
 
    While this example works on Unix file systems, it will not provide the same output on Windows.
    This is due to different file handling on Windows.
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ other tools than from the machine-readable ``run record``.
 For example, to find out who (or what) created or modified a file,
 give the file path to :gitcmd:`log` (prefixed by ``--``):
 
-.. windows-wit:: use "git log master -- recordings/podcasts.tsv"
+.. windows-wit:: use "git log main -- recordings/podcasts.tsv"
 
    A previous Windows Wit already advised to append ``main`` or ``master``, the common "default :term:`branch`", to any command that starts with ``git log``.
    Here, the last part of the command specifies a file (``-- recordings/podcasts.tsv``).
diff --git a/docs/basics/101-121-siblings.rst b/docs/basics/101-121-siblings.rst
index cf8c665f3..04713bef4 100644
--- a/docs/basics/101-121-siblings.rst
+++ b/docs/basics/101-121-siblings.rst
@@ -218,41 +218,41 @@ the changed or added files from the sibling inside, and put it on your
 desk. You can now take a look into that drawer to see whether you want
 to have the changes right in front of you.
 
-The drawer is a branch, and it is usually called ``remotes/origin/master``.
+The drawer is a branch, and it is usually called ``remotes/origin/main``.
 To look inside of it you can :gitcmd:`checkout BRANCHNAME`, or you can
 do a ``diff`` between the branch (your drawer) and the dataset as it
 is currently in front of you (your desk). We will do the latter, and leave
 the former for a different lecture:
 
-.. windows-wit:: Please use datalad diff --from main --to remotes/roommate/master
+.. windows-wit:: Please use datalad diff --from main --to remotes/roommate/main
 
    Please use the following command instead:
 
    .. code-block:: bash
 
-      datalad diff --from main --to remotes/roommate/master
+      datalad diff --from main --to remotes/roommate/main
 
-   This syntax specifies the :term:`main` :term:`branch` as a starting point for the comparison instead of the current ``adjusted/master(unlocked)`` branch.
+   This syntax specifies the :term:`main` :term:`branch` as a starting point for the comparison instead of the current ``adjusted/main(unlocked)`` branch.
 
 .. runrecord:: _examples/DL-101-121-108
    :language: console
    :workdir: dl-101/DataLad-101
-   :notes: on a different branch: remotes/roommate/master. Do a git remote -v here
+   :notes: on a different branch: remotes/roommate/main. Do a git remote -v here
    :cast: 04_collaboration
 
-   $ datalad diff --to remotes/roommate/master
+   $ datalad diff --to remotes/roommate/main
 
 This shows us that there is an additional file, and it also shows us
 that there is a difference in ``notes.txt``! Let's ask
 :gitcmd:`diff` to show us what the differences in detail (note that it is a shortened excerpt, cut in the middle to reduce its length):
 
-.. windows-wit:: Please use git diff master..remotes/roommate/master
+.. windows-wit:: Please use git diff main..remotes/roommate/main
 
    Please use the following command instead:
 
    .. code-block:: bash
 
-     git diff master..remotes/roommate/master
+     git diff main..remotes/roommate/main
 
    This is :term:`Git`\s syntax for specifying a comparison between two :term:`branch`\es.
 
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ that there is a difference in ``notes.txt``! Let's ask
    :lines: 1-18, 67-78
    :cast: 04_collaboration
 
-   $ git diff remotes/roommate/master
+   $ git diff remotes/roommate/main
 
 Let's digress into what is shown here.
 We are comparing the current state of your dataset against
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ you made in your own dataset in the previous section.
 Cool! So now that you know what the changes are that your room mate
 made, you can safely :dlcmd:`update --how merge` them to integrate
 them into your dataset. In technical terms you will
-"*merge the branch remotes/roommate/master into master*".
+"*merge the branch remotes/roommate/main into main*".
 But the details of this will be stated in a standalone section later.
 
 Note that the fact that your room mate does not have the note
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ room mate's dataset changes into your own dataset. The commit message of this
 latter commit for now might contain many words yet unknown to you if you
 do not use Git, but a later section will get into the details of what
 the meaning of ":term:`merge`", ":term:`branch`", "refs"
-or ":term:`master`" is.
+or ":term:`main`" is.
 
 For now, you're happy to have the changes your room mate made available.
 This is how it should be! You helped him, and he helps you. Awesome!
@@ -348,7 +348,7 @@ Create a note about this, and save it.
    Afterwards, a "datalad update --how merge -s name" will integrate the
    changes made to the sibling into the dataset. A safe step in between
    is to do a "datalad update -s name" and checkout the changes with
-   "git/datalad diff" to remotes/origin/master
+   "git/datalad diff" to remotes/origin/main
 
    EOT
    $ datalad save -m "Add note on adding siblings"
diff --git a/docs/basics/101-137-history.rst b/docs/basics/101-137-history.rst
index 5ab729e40..c7c5c456b 100644
--- a/docs/basics/101-137-history.rst
+++ b/docs/basics/101-137-history.rst
@@ -448,7 +448,7 @@ Neat, isn't it? By checking out a commit shasum you can explore a previous
 state of a datasets history. And this does not only apply to simple text
 files, but every type of file in your dataset, regardless of size.
 The checkout command however led to something that Git calls a "detached HEAD state".
-While this sounds scary, a :gitcmd:`checkout master` will bring you
+While this sounds scary, a :gitcmd:`checkout main` will bring you
 back into the most recent version of your dataset and get you out of the
 "detached HEAD state":
 
@@ -456,7 +456,7 @@ back into the most recent version of your dataset and get you out of the
    :language: console
    :workdir: dl-101/DataLad-101
 
-   $ git checkout master
+   $ git checkout main
 
 
 Note one very important thing: The previously untracked files are still
diff --git a/docs/basics/101-139-s3.rst b/docs/basics/101-139-s3.rst
index 270c03745..de2770220 100644
--- a/docs/basics/101-139-s3.rst
+++ b/docs/basics/101-139-s3.rst
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ It needs to be invoked with three positional arguments, the path to the :term:`D
 				public=yes \
 				versioning=yes
 		fi
-		git annex export --to "$srname" --jobs 6 master
+		git annex export --to "$srname" --jobs 6 main
 
 	)
    done
diff --git a/docs/basics/101-141-push.rst b/docs/basics/101-141-push.rst
index 6a99f9a97..66ca6440c 100644
--- a/docs/basics/101-141-push.rst
+++ b/docs/basics/101-141-push.rst
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ targets are configured throughout the dataset hierarchy.
    The published version of the handbook is known to the local handbook dataset
    as a :term:`remote` called ``public``, and each section of the book is identified
    with a custom branch name that corresponds to the section name. Whenever an
-   update to the public dataset is pushed, apart from pushing only the ``master``
+   update to the public dataset is pushed, apart from pushing only the ``main``
    branch, all branches starting with the section identifier ``sct`` are pushed
    automatically as well. This configuration was achieved by specifying these branches
    (using :term:`globbing` with ``*``) in the ``push`` specification of this :term:`remote`:
diff --git a/docs/basics/101-180-FAQ.rst b/docs/basics/101-180-FAQ.rst
index 6d83654e4..5ce2a9a17 100644
--- a/docs/basics/101-180-FAQ.rst
+++ b/docs/basics/101-180-FAQ.rst
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ If you do not want to invent a description yourself, you can run
 
         DataLad datasets can be updated. The command ``datalad update`` will *fetch*
         updates and store them on a different branch (by default
-        ``remotes/origin/master``). Running:
+        ``remotes/origin/main``). Running
 
         .. code-block:: bash
 
@@ -330,7 +330,7 @@ If you do not want to invent a description yourself, you can run
 
         DataLad datasets can be updated. The command `datalad update` will
         *fetch* updates and store them on a different branch (by default
-        `remotes/origin/master`). Running
+        `remotes/origin/main`). Running
 
         ```
         datalad update --merge
@@ -399,7 +399,7 @@ If you do not want to invent a description yourself, you can run
 
       DataLad datasets can be updated. The command 'datalad update' will
       "fetch" updates and store them on a different branch (by default
-      'remotes/origin/master'). Running 'datalad update --merge' will "pull"
+      'remotes/origin/main'). Running 'datalad update --merge' will "pull"
       available updates and integrate them in one go.
 
       Find out what has been done
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-119-102 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-119-102
index 846898bd5..f5b131274 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-119-102
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-119-102
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ $ datalad update --how merge
 [INFO] Start enumerating objects
 [INFO] Start counting objects
 [INFO] Start compressing objects
-merge(ok): . (dataset) [Merged origin/master]
+merge(ok): . (dataset) [Merged origin/main]
 update.annex_merge(ok): . (dataset) [Merged annex branch]
 update(ok): . (dataset)
 action summary:
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-108 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-108
index b7ff5ff9c..31eb1fe8a 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-108
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-108
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
-$ datalad diff --to remotes/roommate/master
+$ datalad diff --to remotes/roommate/main
     added: code/nested_repos.sh (file)
  modified: notes.txt (file)
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-109 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-109
index 10a9a9da1..d75953e1c 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-109
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-109
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-$ git diff remotes/roommate/master
+$ git diff remotes/roommate/main
 diff --git a/code/nested_repos.sh b/code/nested_repos.sh
 deleted file mode 100644
 index f84c817..0000000
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-110 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-110
index 2b9e6334b..b2bfe17fd 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-110
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-110
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 $ datalad update --how merge -s roommate
 [INFO] Fetching updates for Dataset(/home/me/dl-101/DataLad-101)
-merge(ok): . (dataset) [Merged roommate/master]
+merge(ok): . (dataset) [Merged roommate/main]
 update.annex_merge(ok): . (dataset) [Merged annex branch]
 update(ok): . (dataset)
 action summary:
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-112 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-112
index 21a44757b..25e9bffa5 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-112
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-112
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 $ git log --oneline
-0fbbe8c Merge remote-tracking branch 'roommate/master'
+0fbbe8c Merge remote-tracking branch 'roommate/main'
 81bf4d3 add note about datalad update
 28a99fb Include nesting demo from datalad website
 26595f2 add note on git annex whereis
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-113 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-113
index 8ecc3d6c2..a83667cde 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-113
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-121-113
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ name for it.
 Afterwards, a "datalad update --how merge -s name" will integrate the
 changes made to the sibling into the dataset. A safe step in between
 is to do a "datalad update -s name" and checkout the changes with
-"git/datalad diff" to remotes/origin/master
+"git/datalad diff" to remotes/origin/main
 
 EOT
 $ datalad save -m "Add note on adding siblings"
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-130-118 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-130-118
index d6006f7a6..e71026d28 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-130-118
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-130-118
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ copy(ok): prediction_report.csv (file) [to github...]
 [INFO] Start compressing objects
 [INFO] Start writing objects
 publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/git-annex->github:refs/heads/git-annex ✂FROM✂..✂TO✂]
-publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/master->github:refs/heads/master [new branch]]
+publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/main->github:refs/heads/main [new branch]]
 [INFO] Finished push of Dataset(/home/me/dl-101/DataLad-101/midterm_project)
 action summary:
   copy (ok: 2)
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-136-108 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-136-108
index efa77dbcc..8087b626f 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-136-108
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-136-108
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 $ git status
-On branch master
+On branch main
 Changes to be committed:
   (use "git restore --staged <file>..." to unstage)
 	renamed:    TLCL.pdf -> The_Linux_Command_Line.pdf
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-136-109 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-136-109
index ff531d6a5..483910c6b 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-136-109
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-136-109
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 $ git commit -m "rename book"
-[master ee16aca] rename book
+[main ee16aca] rename book
  1 file changed, 0 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
  rename books/{TLCL.pdf => The_Linux_Command_Line.pdf} (100%)
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-101 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-101
index 383a635fa..b8581506d 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-101
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-101
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ bfcdc77 finished my midterm project
 4be94ca add note on DataLad's procedures
 b21ea30 add note on configurations and git config
 b232c62 Add note on adding siblings
-0fbbe8c Merge remote-tracking branch 'roommate/master'
+0fbbe8c Merge remote-tracking branch 'roommate/main'
 81bf4d3 add note about datalad update
 28a99fb Include nesting demo from datalad website
 26595f2 add note on git annex whereis
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-121 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-121
index f946ca45b..e76a1420a 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-121
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-121
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ bfcdc77 finished my midterm project
 4be94ca add note on DataLad's procedures
 b21ea30 add note on configurations and git config
 b232c62 Add note on adding siblings
-0fbbe8c Merge remote-tracking branch 'roommate/master'
+0fbbe8c Merge remote-tracking branch 'roommate/main'
 81bf4d3 add note about datalad update
 28a99fb Include nesting demo from datalad website
 26595f2 add note on git annex whereis
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-124 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-124
index 6a4e8a81c..d51b0bce3 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-124
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-124
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
-$ git checkout master
+$ git checkout main
 Previous HEAD position was afa2884 add note about cloning from paths and recursive datalad get
-Switched to branch 'master'
+Switched to branch 'main'
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-144 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-144
index 9ed286692..482c3bf08 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-144
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-137-144
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 
 $ git revert 73b49af9✂SHA1
-[master 33ad93e] Revert "did a bad modification"
+[main 33ad93e] Revert "did a bad modification"
  Date: Tue Jun 18 16:13:00 2019 +0000
  1 file changed, 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-139-102 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-139-102
index ae17c1a6c..3d8ecb445 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-139-102
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-139-102
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ copy(ok): books/progit.pdf (file) [to gin...]
 [INFO] Start writing objects
 [INFO] Start resolving deltas
 publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/git-annex->gin:refs/heads/git-annex ✂FROM✂..✂TO✂]
-publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/master->gin:refs/heads/master [new branch]]
+publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/main->gin:refs/heads/main [new branch]]
 [INFO] Finished push of Dataset(/home/me/dl-101/DataLad-101)
 action summary:
   copy (ok: 4)
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-139-106 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-139-106
index 398e0d9a5..4605ff36c 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-139-106
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-139-106
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ $ datalad push --to gin
 [INFO] Start counting objects
 [INFO] Start compressing objects
 [INFO] Start writing objects
-publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/master->gin:refs/heads/master 33ad93e..4191b5f]
+publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/main->gin:refs/heads/main 33ad93e..4191b5f]
 [INFO] Finished push of Dataset(/home/me/dl-101/DataLad-101)
 action summary:
   publish (notneeded: 1, ok: 1)
diff --git a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-141-101 b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-141-101
index a2c840c61..2992fad69 100644
--- a/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-141-101
+++ b/docs/basics/_examples/DL-101-141-101
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@ copy(ok): books/byte-of-python.pdf (file) [to roommate...]
 [INFO] Start writing objects
 [INFO] Start resolving deltas
 [INFO] Finished
-publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/git-annex->roommate:refs/heads/git-annex ✂FROM✂..✂TO✂]
-publish(error): . (dataset) [refs/heads/master->roommate:refs/heads/master [remote rejected] (branch is currently checked out)]
+publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/git-annex->roommate:refs/heads/git-annex FROM..TO ✂FROM✂..✂TO✂]
+publish(error): . (dataset) [refs/heads/main->roommate:refs/heads/main [remote rejected] (branch is currently checked out)]
 [INFO] Finished push of Dataset(/home/me/dl-101/DataLad-101)
 action summary:
   copy (ok: 3)
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/101-147-riastores.rst b/docs/beyond_basics/101-147-riastores.rst
index 296936eff..a628ce11f 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/101-147-riastores.rst
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/101-147-riastores.rst
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ highlighted:
     │       ├── refs
     │       │   ├── heads
     │       │   │   ├── git-annex
-    │       │   │   └── master
+    │       │   │   └── main
     │       │   └── tags
     │       ├── ria-layout-version
     │       └── ria-remote-ebce196a-b057-4c96-81dc-7656ea876234
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/101-168-dvc.rst b/docs/beyond_basics/101-168-dvc.rst
index e1e70db96..5ed79f50a 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/101-168-dvc.rst
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/101-168-dvc.rst
@@ -296,8 +296,8 @@ At this point, the data is already version controlled [#f6]_, and we have the fo
           deleted: /home/me/DVCvsDL/DVC-DataLad/data/raw/val/n01440764/n01440764_12021.JPEG (symlink)
 
         $ git status
-          On branch master
-          Your branch is ahead of 'origin/master' by 2 commits.
+          On branch main
+          Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 2 commits.
             (use "git push" to publish your local commits)
 
           Changes not staged for commit:
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ To demonstrate this, let's look at a repository with an empty cache by cloning t
 .. runrecord:: _examples/DL-101-168-129
    :workdir: DVCvsDL/DVC
    :language: console
-   :realcommand: cd ../ && git clone /home/me/pushes/data-version-control DVC-2
+   :realcommand: cd ../ && git clone -b master /home/me/pushes/data-version-control DVC-2
 
    ### DVC
    # clone the repo into a new location for demonstration purposes:
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/101-170-dataladrun.rst b/docs/beyond_basics/101-170-dataladrun.rst
index 5abc5a5b2..b53fee869 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/101-170-dataladrun.rst
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/101-170-dataladrun.rst
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ The "creative" bits involved in this parallelized processing workflow boil down
 - The jobs constitute a complete DataLad-centric workflow in the form of a simple **bash script**, including dataset build-up and tear-down routines in a throw-away location, result computation, and result publication back to the target dataset.
   Thus, instead of submitting a ``datalad run`` command to the job scheduler, **the job submission is a single script**, and this submission is easily adapted to various job scheduling call formats.
 - Right after successful completion of all jobs, the target dataset contains as many :term:`branch`\es as jobs, with each branch containing the results of one job.
-  A manual :term:`merge` aggregates all results into the :term:`master` branch of the dataset.
+  A manual :term:`merge` aggregates all results into the :term:`main` branch of the dataset.
 
 The keys to the success of this workflow lie in
 
@@ -210,9 +210,9 @@ By running ``git annex dead here``, :term:`git-annex` disregards the clone, prev
 The ``datalad push`` to the original clone location of a dataset needs to be prepared carefully.
 The job computes *one* result (out of of many results) and saves it, thus creating new data and a new entry with the run-record in the dataset history.
 But each job is unaware of the results and :term:`commit`\s produced by other branches.
-Should all jobs push back the results to the original place (the :term:`master` :term:`branch` of the original dataset), the individual jobs would conflict with each other or, worse, overwrite each other (if you don't have the default push configuration of Git).
+Should all jobs push back the results to the original place (the :term:`main` :term:`branch` of the original dataset), the individual jobs would conflict with each other or, worse, overwrite each other (if you don't have the default push configuration of Git).
 
-The general procedure and standard :term:`Git` workflow for collaboration, therefore, is to create a change on a different, unique :term:`branch`, push this different branch, and integrate the changes into the original master branch via a :term:`merge` in the original dataset [#f4]_.
+The general procedure and standard :term:`Git` workflow for collaboration, therefore, is to create a change on a different, unique :term:`branch`, push this different branch, and integrate the changes into the original main branch via a :term:`merge` in the original dataset [#f4]_.
 
 In order to do this, prior to executing the analysis, the script will *checkout* a unique new branch in the analysis dataset.
 The most convenient name for the branch is the Job-ID, an identifier under which the job scheduler runs an individual job.
@@ -370,14 +370,14 @@ All it takes to submit is a single ``condor_submit <submit_file>``.
 
 **Merging results**:
 Once all jobs are finished, the results lie in individual branches of the original dataset.
-The only thing left to do now is merging all of these branches into :term:`master` -- and potentially solve any merge conflicts that arise.
+The only thing left to do now is merging all of these branches into :term:`main` -- and potentially solve any merge conflicts that arise.
 Usually, merging branches is done using the ``git merge`` command with a branch specification.
-For example, in order to merge one job branch into the :term:`master` :term:`branch`, one would need to be on ``master`` and run ``git merge <job branch name>``.
+For example, in order to merge one job branch into the :term:`main` :term:`branch`, one would need to be on ``main`` and run ``git merge <job branch name>``.
 Given that the parallel job execution could have created thousands of branches, and that each ``merge`` would lead to a commit, in order to not inflate the history of the dataset with hundreds of :term:`merge` commits, one can do a single `Octopus merges <https://git-scm.com/docs/git-merge#Documentation/git-merge.txt-octopus>`_ of all branches at once.
 
 .. find-out-more:: What is an octopus merge?
 
-   Usually a commit that arises from a merge has two *parent* commits: The *first parent* is the branch the merge is being performed from, in the example above, ``master``. The *second parent* is the branch that was merged into the first.
+   Usually a commit that arises from a merge has two *parent* commits: The *first parent* is the branch the merge is being performed from, in the example above, ``main``. The *second parent* is the branch that was merged into the first.
 
    However, ``git merge`` is capable of merging more than two branches simultaneously if more than a single branch name is given to the command.
    The resulting merge commit has as many parent as were involved in the merge.
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/101-171-enki.rst b/docs/beyond_basics/101-171-enki.rst
index 0c921a373..e281ae43e 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/101-171-enki.rst
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/101-171-enki.rst
@@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ Merging results
 
 Once all jobs have finished, the results lie in individual branches of the output datasets.
 In this concrete example, the subdatasets ``fmriprep`` and ``freesurfer`` will each have more than 1000 branches that hold individual job results.
-The only thing left to do now is merging all of these branches into :term:`master` -- and potentially solve any merge conflicts that arise.
+The only thing left to do now is merging all of these branches into :term:`main` -- and potentially solve any merge conflicts that arise.
 As explained in the previous section, the necessary merging was done with `Octopus merges <https://git-scm.com/docs/git-merge#Documentation/git-merge.txt-octopus>`_  -- one in each subdataset (``fmriprep`` and ``freesurfer``).
 
 The merge command was assembled with the trick introduced in the previous section, based on job-ID-named branches.
@@ -387,8 +387,8 @@ This merge conflict is in prinicple helpful -- since there are multiple differen
       $ git checkout job-<insert-number>
       # then, copy the file out of the dataset (here, it is copied into your home directory)
       $ cp logs/CITATION.md ~/CITATION.md
-      # checkout master again
-      $ git checkout master
+      # checkout main again
+      $ git checkout main
    
    Then, remove all CITATION.md files from the last commit.
    Here is a bash loop that would do exactly that::
@@ -408,7 +408,7 @@ This merge conflict is in prinicple helpful -- since there are multiple differen
 
 **Merging without merge conflicts**
 
-If no merge conflicts arise and the octopus merge is successful, all results are aggregated in the ``master`` branch.
+If no merge conflicts arise and the octopus merge is successful, all results are aggregated in the ``main`` branch.
 The commit log looks like a work of modern art when visualized with tools such as :term:`tig`:
 
 .. figure:: ../artwork/src/octopusmerge_tig.png
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/101-179-gitignore.rst b/docs/beyond_basics/101-179-gitignore.rst
index 474145ec6..518335dca 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/101-179-gitignore.rst
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/101-179-gitignore.rst
@@ -236,4 +236,4 @@ your dataset to be messy, if you want to be.
       :workdir: dl-101/DataLad-101
 
       $ git config --local remote.public.push 'refs/heads/sct*'
-      $ git config --local --add remote.public.push 'refs/heads/master'
+      $ git config --local --add remote.public.push 'refs/heads/main'
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-107 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-107
index 041f5c25f..697c9824d 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-107
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-107
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ copy(ok): books/progit.pdf (file) [to ria-backup-storage...]
 [INFO] Start compressing objects
 [INFO] Start writing objects
 [INFO] Start resolving deltas
-publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/master->ria-backup:refs/heads/master [new branch]]
+publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/main->ria-backup:refs/heads/main [new branch]]
 publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/git-annex->ria-backup:refs/heads/git-annex [new branch]]
 [INFO] Finished push of Dataset(/home/me/dl-101/DataLad-101)
 [INFO] Finished push of Dataset(/home/me/dl-101/DataLad-101)
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-108 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-108
index fb2ec24a9..db406a736 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-108
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-108
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ $ tree /home/me/myriastore
 │       ├── refs
 │       │   ├── heads
 │       │   │   ├── git-annex
-│       │   │   └── master
+│       │   │   └── main
 │       │   └── tags
 │       └── ria-layout-version
 ├── error_logs
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-110 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-110
index 9d4a6211c..024982551 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-110
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-110
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ copy(ok): prediction_report.csv (file) [to ria-backup-storage...]
 [INFO] Start compressing objects
 [INFO] Start writing objects
 [INFO] Start resolving deltas
-publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/master->ria-backup:refs/heads/master [new branch]]
+publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/main->ria-backup:refs/heads/main [new branch]]
 publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/git-annex->ria-backup:refs/heads/git-annex [new branch]]
 [INFO] Finished push of Dataset(/home/me/dl-101/DataLad-101/midterm_project)
 [INFO] Finished push of Dataset(/home/me/dl-101/DataLad-101/midterm_project)
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-112 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-112
index 8c4e43e4c..7a65fd91f 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-112
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-147-112
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ $ tree /home/me/myriastore
 │       ├── refs
 │       │   ├── heads
 │       │   │   ├── git-annex
-│       │   │   └── master
+│       │   │   └── main
 │       │   └── tags
 │       └── ria-layout-version
 ├── e3e
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ $ tree /home/me/myriastore
 │       ├── refs
 │       │   ├── heads
 │       │   │   ├── git-annex
-│       │   │   └── master
+│       │   │   └── main
 │       │   └── tags
 │       └── ria-layout-version
 ├── error_logs
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-108 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-108
index 3b6d27bd1..fbf6cd70d 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-108
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-108
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ### DVC
 $ git commit -m "initialize dvc"
-[master ae6d2e1] initialize dvc
+[master 87e41ba] initialize dvc
  3 files changed, 6 insertions(+)
  create mode 100644 .dvc/.gitignore
  create mode 100644 .dvc/config
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-113 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-113
index f19a3b20a..11044b7cc 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-113
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-113
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ### DVC
 $ git commit -m "control data with DVC"
-[master c233d53] control data with DVC
- 3 files changed, 12 insertions(+)
+[master befe6b7] control data with DVC
+ 3 files changed, 14 insertions(+)
  create mode 100644 data/raw/train.dvc
  create mode 100644 data/raw/val.dvc
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-124 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-124
index d4cca56cc..db0767a3a 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-124
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-124
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ### DVC
 $ git add .dvc/config
 $ git commit -m "add local remote"
-[master e8392ea] add local remote
+[master b4f8467] add local remote
  1 file changed, 4 insertions(+)
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-130 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-130
index 09690ce36..77a5b4dab 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-130
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-130
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 ### DVC
 $ cd DVC-2
 $ dvc fetch data/raw/val.dvc
-789 files fetched
+790 files fetched
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-141 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-141
index b7f4f7662..9a9c3ca76 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-141
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-141
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ $ datalad push --to mysibling
 [INFO] Start writing objects
 [INFO] Start resolving deltas
 [INFO] Finished push of Dataset(/home/me/DVCvsDL/DVC-DataLad)
-publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/git-annex->mysibling:refs/heads/git-annex 8ccc187b..af2d8417]
-publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/master->mysibling:refs/heads/master [new branch]]
+publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/git-annex->mysibling:refs/heads/git-annex 68c6f019..2ea4ae6f]
+publish(ok): . (dataset) [refs/heads/main->mysibling:refs/heads/main [new branch]]
 action summary:
   copy (ok: 2701)
   publish (ok: 2)
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-151 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-151
index a6c444f6e..5780e3f37 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-151
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-151
@@ -1,18 +1,18 @@
 ### DVC
-$ dvc run -n prepare \
+$ dvc stage add -n prepare \
   -d src/prepare.py -d data/raw \
   -o data/prepared/train.csv -o data/prepared/test.csv \
+  --run \
   python src/prepare.py
+Added stage 'prepare' in 'dvc.yaml'
 Running stage 'prepare':
 > python src/prepare.py
-Creating 'dvc.yaml'
-Adding stage 'prepare' in 'dvc.yaml'
 Generating lock file 'dvc.lock'
 Updating lock file 'dvc.lock'
 
 To track the changes with git, run:
 
-	git add dvc.lock data/prepared/.gitignore dvc.yaml
+	git add data/prepared/.gitignore dvc.lock dvc.yaml
 
 To enable auto staging, run:
 
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-154 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-154
index 100ff6637..db99d4f65 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-154
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-154
@@ -6,16 +6,20 @@ stages:
     cmd: python src/prepare.py
     deps:
     - path: data/raw
-      md5: d39907b0✂MD5.dir
-      size: 16711927
+      hash: md5
+      md5: 3f163676✂MD5.dir
+      size: 16711951
       nfiles: 2704
     - path: src/prepare.py
+      hash: md5
       md5: ef804f35✂MD5
       size: 1231
     outs:
     - path: data/prepared/test.csv
-      md5: 0b90b0e8✂MD5
+      hash: md5
+      md5: 536fe137✂MD5
       size: 62023
     - path: data/prepared/train.csv
-      md5: 360a73ac✂MD5
+      hash: md5
+      md5: 0bad47e2✂MD5
       size: 155128
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-155 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-155
index c955b5749..d27027f6a 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-155
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-155
@@ -1,17 +1,18 @@
-$ dvc run -n train \
+$ dvc stage add -n train \
    -d src/train.py -d data/prepared/train.csv \
    -o model/model.joblib \
+   --run \
    python src/train.py
+Added stage 'train' in 'dvc.yaml'
 Running stage 'train':
 > python src/train.py
-VIRTUALENV/lib/python3.8/site-packages/sklearn/linear_model/_stochastic_gradient.py:713: ConvergenceWarning: Maximum number of iteration reached before convergence. Consider increasing max_iter to improve the fit.
+VIRTUALENV/lib/python3.11/site-packages/sklearn/linear_model/_stochastic_gradient.py:702: ConvergenceWarning: Maximum number of iteration reached before convergence. Consider increasing max_iter to improve the fit.
   warnings.warn(
-Adding stage 'train' in 'dvc.yaml'
 Updating lock file 'dvc.lock'
 
 To track the changes with git, run:
 
-	git add model/.gitignore dvc.yaml dvc.lock
+	git add dvc.yaml dvc.lock model/.gitignore
 
 To enable auto staging, run:
 
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-157 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-157
index 10bad670f..9e850d10b 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-157
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-157
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-$ dvc run -n evaluate \
+$ dvc stage add -n evaluate \
          -d src/evaluate.py -d model/model.joblib \
          -M metrics/accuracy.json \
+         --run \
          python src/evaluate.py
+Added stage 'evaluate' in 'dvc.yaml'
 Running stage 'evaluate':
 > python src/evaluate.py
-Adding stage 'evaluate' in 'dvc.yaml'
 Updating lock file 'dvc.lock'
 
 To track the changes with git, run:
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-160 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-160
index e561c836b..9dac50cb9 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-160
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-160
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ $ git push --set-upstream origin sgd-pipeline
 $ git tag -a sgd -m "Trained SGD as DVC pipeline."
 $ git push origin --tags
 $ dvc push
-[sgd-pipeline 7a0cbc6] Add SGD pipeline
- 5 files changed, 73 insertions(+)
+[sgd-pipeline 21a7688] Add SGD pipeline
+ 5 files changed, 83 insertions(+)
  create mode 100644 dvc.lock
  create mode 100644 dvc.yaml
  create mode 100644 metrics/accuracy.json
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-165 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-165
index 9f8e81025..1b79d5129 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-165
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-168-165
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ $ git push --set-upstream origin random-forest
 $ git tag -a randomforest -m "Random Forest classifier with 80.99% accuracy."
 $ git push origin --tags
 $ dvc push
-[random-forest a324823] Train Random Forest classifier
- 3 files changed, 12 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)
+[random-forest 6eb389f] Train Random Forest classifier
+ 3 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 17 deletions(-)
 To /home/me/pushes/data-version-control
  * [new branch]      random-forest -> random-forest
 branch 'random-forest' set up to track 'origin/random-forest'.
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-179-110 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-179-110
index 39e1f472d..0a3a92474 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-179-110
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-179-110
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 $ git config --local remote.public.push 'refs/heads/sct*'
-$ git config --local --add remote.public.push 'refs/heads/master'
+$ git config --local --add remote.public.push 'refs/heads/main'
diff --git a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-181-113 b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-181-113
index b139d9c26..b03f9e19f 100644
--- a/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-181-113
+++ b/docs/beyond_basics/_examples/DL-101-181-113
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ $ tree .git/refs
 │   └── object-references-2.0
 ├── heads
 │   ├── git-annex
-│   └── master
+│   └── main
 └── tags
 
 3 directories, 5 files
diff --git a/docs/code_from_chapters/ABCD.rst b/docs/code_from_chapters/ABCD.rst
index 0769baaa7..321d7f6d2 100644
--- a/docs/code_from_chapters/ABCD.rst
+++ b/docs/code_from_chapters/ABCD.rst
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ This is done with the ``-d/--dataset`` option of :dlcmd:`clone`::
 
    datalad clone -d . git@github.com:datalad-handbook/iris_data.git input/
 
-This dataset has been linked in a precise version to the dataset, and it has preserved its complete history (if you are on a native Windows installation, please run ``git show master`` instead -- the reason for this is explained in the :ref:`first chapter of the handbook <createDS>`)::
+This dataset has been linked in a precise version to the dataset, and it has preserved its complete history (if you are on a native Windows installation, please run ``git show main`` instead -- the reason for this is explained in the :ref:`first chapter of the handbook <createDS>`)::
 
    # this shows details of the last entry in your dataset history
    git show
diff --git a/docs/code_from_chapters/DLBasicsMPI.rst b/docs/code_from_chapters/DLBasicsMPI.rst
index 58848b55d..09b67a2ed 100644
--- a/docs/code_from_chapters/DLBasicsMPI.rst
+++ b/docs/code_from_chapters/DLBasicsMPI.rst
@@ -697,13 +697,13 @@ This uses a built-in feature of :dlcmd:`rerun`, and is useful as one can very fa
 
 A ``git diff`` between the two branches in the ``accuracy.json`` file can give an overview of how the models compare::
 
-   git diff master -- accuracy.json
+   git diff main -- accuracy.json
 
 A ``git checkout`` will get you back to the previous branch with the trained SGD model and results.
 Should you decide that a model is not worth keeping in the revision history, you can selectively drop data from those branches.
 The run records you kept could always be used to recompute a dropped ``model.joblib`` file, though::
 
-   git checkout master
+   git checkout main
    cat accuracy.json
 
 Repeat on changed data!
diff --git a/docs/code_from_chapters/usecase_ml_code.rst b/docs/code_from_chapters/usecase_ml_code.rst
index 859ad0c36..9dac7d88d 100644
--- a/docs/code_from_chapters/usecase_ml_code.rst
+++ b/docs/code_from_chapters/usecase_ml_code.rst
@@ -683,13 +683,13 @@ This uses a built-in feature of :dlcmd:`rerun`, and is useful as one can very fa
 
 A ``git diff`` between the two branches in the ``accuracy.json`` file can give an overview of how the models compare::
 
-   git diff master -- accuracy.json
+   git diff main -- accuracy.json
 
 A ``git checkout`` will get you back to the previous branch with the trained SGD model and results.
 Should you decide that a model is not worth keeping in the revision history, you can selectively drop data from those branches.
 The run records you kept could always be used to recompute a dropped ``model.joblib`` file, though::
 
-   git checkout master
+   git checkout main
    cat accuracy.json
 
 Repeat on changed data!
diff --git a/docs/contributing.rst b/docs/contributing.rst
index 905b3824c..8a57f7b02 100644
--- a/docs/contributing.rst
+++ b/docs/contributing.rst
@@ -375,10 +375,10 @@ Acknowledging Contributors
 
 If you have helped this project, we would like to acknowledge your contribution in the
 `GitHub repository <https://github.com/datalad-handbook/book>`_ in our README with
-`allcontributors.org <https://allcontributors.org>`_, and the project's
-`.zenodo <https://github.com/datalad-handbook/book/blob/master/.zenodo.json>`_ 
+`allcontributors.org <https://allcontributors.org/>`_, and the project's
+`.zenodo <https://github.com/datalad-handbook/book/blob/main/.zenodo.json>`_
 (you can add yourself as second-to-last, i.e. just above Michael) and
-`CONTRIBUTORS.md <https://github.com/datalad-handbook/book/blob/master/CONTRIBUTORS.md>`_
+`CONTRIBUTORS.md <https://github.com/datalad-handbook/book/blob/main/CONTRIBUTORS.md>`_
 files. The `allcontributors bot <https://github.com/all-contributors>`_ will give credit
 for `various types of contributions <https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/emoji-key>`_.
 We may ask you to open a PR to add yourself to all of our contributing acknowledgements
diff --git a/docs/usecases/_examples/collab-110 b/docs/usecases/_examples/collab-110
index 3d7b381be..30f207605 100644
--- a/docs/usecases/_examples/collab-110
+++ b/docs/usecases/_examples/collab-110
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ $ datalad update -s alice --merge
 [INFO] Start enumerating objects
 [INFO] Start counting objects
 [INFO] Start compressing objects
-merge(ok): . (dataset) [Merged alice/master]
+merge(ok): . (dataset) [Merged alice/main]
 update.annex_merge(ok): . (dataset) [Merged annex branch]
 update(ok): . (dataset)
 action summary:
diff --git a/docs/usecases/_examples/ml-134 b/docs/usecases/_examples/ml-134
index a9e0b0b68..ece7ef6f3 100644
--- a/docs/usecases/_examples/ml-134
+++ b/docs/usecases/_examples/ml-134
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-$ git diff master -- accuracy.json
+$ git diff main -- accuracy.json
 diff --git a/accuracy.json b/accuracy.json
 index 1b0199b..30f2e22 100644
 --- a/accuracy.json
diff --git a/docs/usecases/_examples/ml-135 b/docs/usecases/_examples/ml-135
index 390404d4c..09c1741d1 100644
--- a/docs/usecases/_examples/ml-135
+++ b/docs/usecases/_examples/ml-135
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-$ git checkout master
+$ git checkout main
 $ cat accuracy.json
-Switched to branch 'master'
-{"accuracy": 0.743979721166033}
\ No newline at end of file
+Switched to branch 'main'
+{"accuracy": 0.743979721166033}
diff --git a/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-113 b/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-113
index 2fd12c04b..29a85121e 100644
--- a/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-113
+++ b/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-113
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-$ git log --oneline --graph master replay
+$ git log --oneline --graph main replay
 * f9a70df [DATALAD RUNCMD] blur image
 * 445a54b [DATALAD RUNCMD] extract pimpernel
 * f8a3d9f [DATALAD RUNCMD] extract st-bernard lily
diff --git a/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-114 b/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-114
index 61cbe3cde..1cebc9ca1 100644
--- a/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-114
+++ b/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-114
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-$ datalad diff -t master -f replay
+$ datalad diff -t main -f replay
  modified: st-bernard-displaced.jpg (symlink)
diff --git a/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-115 b/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-115
index 1c305bf7f..640fd4b9a 100644
--- a/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-115
+++ b/docs/usecases/_examples/prov-115
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-$ git log --oneline --left-right --cherry-mark master...replay
+$ git log --oneline --left-right --cherry-mark main...replay
 > f9a70df [DATALAD RUNCMD] blur image
 = 445a54b [DATALAD RUNCMD] extract pimpernel
 = f8a3d9f [DATALAD RUNCMD] extract st-bernard lily
diff --git a/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-125 b/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-125
index 3578ae4ab..1c3153f78 100644
--- a/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-125
+++ b/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-125
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # check that we are now on the new `verify` branch
 $ git branch
   git-annex
-  master
+  main
 * verify
diff --git a/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-126 b/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-126
index f6169aac5..266340836 100644
--- a/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-126
+++ b/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-126
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # compare which files have changes with respect to the original results
-$ git diff master --stat
+$ git diff main --stat
  sub-02/1stlvl_glm.feat/logs/feat0                                      | 2 +-
  sub-02/1stlvl_glm.feat/logs/{feat0_init.e657173 => feat0_init.e660126} | 0
  sub-02/1stlvl_glm.feat/logs/{feat0_init.o657173 => feat0_init.o660126} | 0
diff --git a/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-127 b/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-127
index 1b8bce265..39099e97a 100644
--- a/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-127
+++ b/docs/usecases/_examples/repro2-127
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-# switch back to the master branch and remove the `verify` branch
-$ git checkout master
+# switch back to the main branch and remove the `verify` branch
+$ git checkout main
 $ git branch -D verify
-Switched to branch 'master'
+Switched to branch 'main'
 Deleted branch verify (was 29c21ca).
diff --git a/docs/usecases/ml-analysis.rst b/docs/usecases/ml-analysis.rst
index ef68df1bf..272617265 100644
--- a/docs/usecases/ml-analysis.rst
+++ b/docs/usecases/ml-analysis.rst
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ These configurations create a ``code/`` directory, place some place-holding ``RE
       [INFO] Detected a crippled filesystem.
       [INFO] Scanning for unlocked files (this may take some time)
       [INFO] Entering an adjusted branch where files are unlocked as this filesystem does not support locked files.
-      [INFO] Switched to branch 'adjusted/master(unlocked)'
+      [INFO] Switched to branch 'adjusted/main(unlocked)'
       [INFO] Running procedure cfg_yoda
       [INFO] == Command start (output follows) =====
       [INFO] == Command exit (modification check follows) =====
@@ -589,23 +589,23 @@ This way, we have access to a trained random-forest model or a trained SGD model
    $ datalad rerun --branch="randomforest" -m "Recompute classification with random forest classifier" ready4analysis..SGD-100
 
 This updated the model.joblib file to a trained random forest classifier, and also updated ``accuracy.json`` with the current models' evaluation.
-The difference in accuracy between models could now for example be compared with a ``git diff`` of the contents of ``accuracy.json`` to the :term:`master` :term:`branch`:
+The difference in accuracy between models could now for example be compared with a ``git diff`` of the contents of ``accuracy.json`` to the :term:`main` :term:`branch`:
 
 .. runrecord:: _examples/ml-134
    :workdir: usecases/ml-project
    :cast: usecase_ml
    :language: console
 
-   $ git diff master -- accuracy.json
+   $ git diff main -- accuracy.json
 
-And if you decide to rather do more work on the SGD classier, you can go back to the previous :term:`master` :term:`branch`:
+And if you decide to rather do more work on the SGD classier, you can go back to the previous :term:`main` :term:`branch`:
 
 .. runrecord:: _examples/ml-135
    :workdir: usecases/ml-project
    :cast: usecase_ml
    :language: console
 
-   $ git checkout master
+   $ git checkout main
    $ cat accuracy.json
 
 Your Git history becomes a log of everything you did as well as the chance to go back to and forth between analysis states.
diff --git a/docs/usecases/provenance_tracking.rst b/docs/usecases/provenance_tracking.rst
index 8fb0136f8..f2c6f6675 100644
--- a/docs/usecases/provenance_tracking.rst
+++ b/docs/usecases/provenance_tracking.rst
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ Now he is on a new branch of his project, which contains "replayed" history.
    :workdir: usecases/provenance/artproject
    :language: console
 
-   $ git log --oneline --graph master replay
+   $ git log --oneline --graph main replay
 
 He can even compare the two branches:
 
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ He can even compare the two branches:
    :workdir: usecases/provenance/artproject
    :language: console
 
-   $ datalad diff -t master -f replay
+   $ datalad diff -t main -f replay
 
 He can see that the blurring, which involved a random element,
 produced different results. Because his dataset contains two branches,
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ Notice that all commits are marked as equivalent (=) except the ‘random spread
    :workdir: usecases/provenance/artproject
    :language: console
 
-   $ git log --oneline --left-right --cherry-mark master...replay
+   $ git log --oneline --left-right --cherry-mark main...replay
 
 Rob can continue processing images, and will turn in a successful art project.
 Long after he finishes high school, he finds his dataset on his old computer
diff --git a/tools/bootstrap-handbook-user b/tools/bootstrap-handbook-user
index 19872dd94..3ddab300d 100755
--- a/tools/bootstrap-handbook-user
+++ b/tools/bootstrap-handbook-user
@@ -6,3 +6,4 @@ sudo mkdir /home/me
 sudo chown $USER:$USER /home/me
 HOME=/home/me git config --global user.name "Elena Piscopia"
 HOME=/home/me git config --global user.email "elena@example.net"
+HOME=/home/me git config --global init.defaultBranch main