diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 133bea1c69f..aa5e6f67bd0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 - Auto-generated CTEs in tests and ephemeral models have lowercase names to comply with dbt coding conventions ([#3027](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/issues/3027), [#3028](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/issues/3028))
 - Fix incorrect error message when a selector does not match any node [#3036](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/issues/3036))
 - Fix variable `_dbt_max_partition` declaration and initialization for BigQuery incremental models ([#2940](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/issues/2940), [#2976](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/pull/2976))
+- Moving from 'master' to 'HEAD' default branch in git ([#3057](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/issues/3057))
 
 ### Features
 - Add optional configs for `require_partition_filter` and `partition_expiration_days` in BigQuery ([#1843](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/issues/1843), [#2928](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/pull/2928))
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@ Contributors:
 - [@NiallRees](https://github.com/NiallRees) ([#3028](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/pull/3028))
 - [ran-eh](https://github.com/ran-eh) ([#3036](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/pull/3036))
 - [@pcasteran](https://github.com/pcasteran) ([#2976](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/pull/2976))
+- [@VasiliiSurov](https://github.com/VasiliiSurov) ([#3104](https://github.com/fishtown-analytics/dbt/pull/3104))
 
 ## dbt 0.19.1 (Release TBD)
 
diff --git a/core/dbt/clients/git.py b/core/dbt/clients/git.py
index dc3b573c0e7..0bbf937d42d 100644
--- a/core/dbt/clients/git.py
+++ b/core/dbt/clients/git.py
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ def _checkout(cwd, repo, branch):
 
 def checkout(cwd, repo, branch=None):
     if branch is None:
-        branch = 'master'
+        branch = 'HEAD'
     try:
         return _checkout(cwd, repo, branch)
     except dbt.exceptions.CommandResultError as exc:
diff --git a/core/dbt/deps/git.py b/core/dbt/deps/git.py
index b8018e1bb07..f5c05576f15 100644
--- a/core/dbt/deps/git.py
+++ b/core/dbt/deps/git.py
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ def _checkout(self):
 
     def _fetch_metadata(self, project, renderer) -> ProjectPackageMetadata:
         path = self._checkout()
-        if self.revision == 'master' and self.warn_unpinned:
+        if self.revision == 'HEAD' and self.warn_unpinned:
             warn_or_error(
                 'The git package "{}" is not pinned.\n\tThis can introduce '
                 'breaking changes into your project without warning!\n\nSee {}'
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ def incorporate(
     def resolved(self) -> GitPinnedPackage:
         requested = set(self.revisions)
         if len(requested) == 0:
-            requested = {'master'}
+            requested = {'HEAD'}
         elif len(requested) > 1:
             raise_dependency_error(
                 'git dependencies should contain exactly one version. '
diff --git a/test/unit/test_deps.py b/test/unit/test_deps.py
index 4741a77e1bb..e4fcda2ba14 100644
--- a/test/unit/test_deps.py
+++ b/test/unit/test_deps.py
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ def test_default_revision(self):
 
         a_pinned = a.resolved()
         self.assertEqual(a_pinned.name, 'http://example.com')
-        self.assertEqual(a_pinned.get_version(), 'master')
+        self.assertEqual(a_pinned.get_version(), 'HEAD')
         self.assertEqual(a_pinned.source_type(), 'git')
         self.assertIs(a_pinned.warn_unpinned, True)