diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb b/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
index 525fc58f9c..0da5baec21 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
@@ -3797,12 +3797,12 @@ class Formula
     # If called as a method this provides just the {url} for the {SoftwareSpec}.
     # If a block is provided you can also add {.depends_on} and {Patch}es just to the {.head} {SoftwareSpec}.
     # The download strategies (e.g. `:using =>`) are the same as for {url}.
-    # `master` is the default branch for Git and doesn't need stating with a `branch:` parameter.
+    # Git repositories must always specify `branch:`.
     #
     # ### Example
     #
     # ```ruby
-    # head "https://we.prefer.https.over.git.example.com/.git"
+    # head "https://we.prefer.https.over.git.example.com/.git", branch: "main"
     # ```
     #
     # ```ruby
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/resource_auditor.rb b/Library/Homebrew/resource_auditor.rb
index 8f20881f21..b3f2663f1c 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/resource_auditor.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/resource_auditor.rb
@@ -178,18 +178,23 @@ module Homebrew
     end
 
     def audit_head_branch
-      return unless @online
-      return unless @strict
       return if spec_name != :head
-      return unless Utils::Git.remote_exists?(url)
       return if specs[:tag].present?
       return if specs[:revision].present?
+      # Skip `resource` URLs as they use SHAs instead of branch specifiers.
+      return if name != owner.name
+      return unless url.end_with?(".git")
 
-      branch = Utils.popen_read("git", "ls-remote", "--symref", url, "HEAD")
-                    .match(%r{ref: refs/heads/(.*?)\s+HEAD})&.to_a&.second
-      return if branch.blank? || branch == specs[:branch]
+      problem "Git `head` URL must specify a branch name" if specs[:branch].blank?
 
-      problem "Specify the default branch as `branch: \"#{branch}\"`"
+      return unless @online
+      return unless Utils::Git.remote_exists?(url)
+
+      detected_branch = Utils.popen_read("git", "ls-remote", "--symref", url, "HEAD")
+                             .match(%r{ref: refs/heads/(.*?)\s+HEAD})&.to_a&.second
+      return if detected_branch.blank? || detected_branch == specs[:branch]
+
+      problem "Detected a default branch \"#{detected_branch}\", not \"#{specs[:branch]}\""
     end
 
     def problem(text)
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/dev-cmd/bump_spec.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/dev-cmd/bump_spec.rb
index 31e7447e23..abfaf735f8 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/dev-cmd/bump_spec.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/dev-cmd/bump_spec.rb
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::DevCmd::Bump do
       content = <<~RUBY
         desc "HEAD-only test formula"
         homepage "https://brew.sh"
-        head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git"
+        head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git", branch: "main"
       RUBY
       setup_test_formula("headonly", content)
 
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/formula_auditor_spec.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/formula_auditor_spec.rb
index a442e03d42..5b5124891d 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/formula_auditor_spec.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/formula_auditor_spec.rb
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       formula_text = <<~RUBY
         class Cask < Formula
           url "https://github.com/cask/cask/archive/v0.8.4.tar.gz"
-          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git"
+          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git", branch: "main"
           license "GPL-3.0-or-later"
         end
       RUBY
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       formula_text = <<~RUBY
         class Cask < Formula
           url "https://github.com/cask/cask/archive/v0.8.4.tar.gz"
-          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git"
+          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git", branch: "main"
           license all_of: ["GPL-3.0-or-later", "MIT"]
         end
       RUBY
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       formula_text = <<~RUBY
         class Cask < Formula
           url "https://github.com/cask/cask/archive/v0.8.4.tar.gz"
-          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git"
+          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git", branch: "main"
           license "GPL-3.0-or-later" => { with: "LLVM-exception" }
         end
       RUBY
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       formula_text = <<~RUBY
         class Cask < Formula
           url "https://github.com/cask/cask/archive/v0.8.4.tar.gz"
-          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git"
+          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git", branch: "main"
           license "GPL-3.0-or-later" => { with: "zzz" }
         end
       RUBY
@@ -351,7 +351,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       formula_text = <<~RUBY
         class Cask < Formula
           url "https://github.com/cask/cask/archive/v0.8.4.tar.gz"
-          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git"
+          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git", branch: "main"
           license "GPL-3.0-or-later" => { with: "#{deprecated_spdx_exception}" }
         end
       RUBY
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       fa = formula_auditor "cask", <<~RUBY, spdx_license_data:, online: true, new_formula: true
         class Cask < Formula
           url "https://github.com/cask/cask/archive/v0.8.4.tar.gz"
-          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git"
+          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git", branch: "main"
           license "GPL-3.0-or-later"
         end
       RUBY
@@ -385,7 +385,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       fa = formula_auditor "cask", <<~RUBY, spdx_license_data:, online: true, new_formula: true
         class Cask < Formula
           url "https://github.com/cask/cask/archive/v0.8.4.tar.gz"
-          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git"
+          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git", branch: "main"
           license any_of: ["GPL-3.0-or-later", "MIT"]
         end
       RUBY
@@ -399,7 +399,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       formula_text = <<~RUBY
         class Cask < Formula
           url "https://github.com/cask/cask/archive/v0.8.4.tar.gz"
-          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git"
+          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git", branch: "main"
           license "0BSD"
         end
       RUBY
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       formula_text = <<~RUBY
         class Cask < Formula
           url "https://github.com/cask/cask/archive/v0.8.4.tar.gz"
-          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git"
+          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git", branch: "main"
           license "0BSD"
         end
       RUBY
@@ -433,7 +433,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       formula_text = <<~RUBY
         class Cask < Formula
           url "https://github.com/cask/cask/archive/v0.8.4.tar.gz"
-          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git"
+          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git", branch: "main"
           license #{license_any_mismatch}
         end
       RUBY
@@ -450,7 +450,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       formula_text = <<~RUBY
         class Cask < Formula
           url "https://github.com/cask/cask/archive/v0.8.4.tar.gz"
-          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git"
+          head "https://github.com/cask/cask.git", branch: "main"
           license #{license_any}
         end
       RUBY
@@ -714,6 +714,63 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
       expect(fa.problems).to be_empty
     end
 
+    it "requires `branch:` to be specified for Git head URLs" do
+      fa = formula_auditor "foo", <<~RUBY
+        class Foo < Formula
+          url "https://brew.sh/foo-1.0.tgz"
+          sha256 "31cccfc6630528db1c8e3a06f6decf2a370060b982841cfab2b8677400a5092e"
+          head "https://github.com/example/foo.git"
+        end
+      RUBY
+
+      fa.audit_specs
+      expect(fa.problems.first[:message]).to match("Git `head` URL must specify a branch name")
+    end
+
+    it "suggests a detected default branch for Git head URLs" do
+      fa = formula_auditor "foo", <<~RUBY, online: true
+        class Foo < Formula
+          url "https://brew.sh/foo-1.0.tgz"
+          sha256 "31cccfc6630528db1c8e3a06f6decf2a370060b982841cfab2b8677400a5092e"
+          head "https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core.git", branch: "master"
+        end
+      RUBY
+
+      fa.audit_specs
+      # This is `.last` because the first problem is the unreachable stable URL.
+      expect(fa.problems.last[:message]).to match('Detected a default branch "main", not "master"')
+    end
+
+    it "ignores `branch:` for non-Git head URLs" do
+      fa = formula_auditor "foo", <<~RUBY
+        class Foo < Formula
+          url "https://brew.sh/foo-1.0.tgz"
+          sha256 "31cccfc6630528db1c8e3a06f6decf2a370060b982841cfab2b8677400a5092e"
+          head "https://brew.sh/foo.tgz", branch: "develop"
+        end
+      RUBY
+
+      fa.audit_specs
+      expect(fa.problems).not_to match("Git `head` URL must specify a branch name")
+    end
+
+    it "ignores `branch:` for `resource` URLs" do
+      fa = formula_auditor "foo", <<~RUBY
+        class Foo < Formula
+          url "https://brew.sh/foo-1.0.tgz"
+          sha256 "31cccfc6630528db1c8e3a06f6decf2a370060b982841cfab2b8677400a5092e"
+
+          resource "bar" do
+            url "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/HEAD/Formula/bar.rb"
+            sha256 "31cccfc6630528db1c8e3a06f6decf2a370060b982841cfab2b8677400a5092e"
+          end
+        end
+      RUBY
+
+      fa.audit_specs
+      expect(fa.problems).to be_empty
+    end
+
     it "allows versions with no throttle rate" do
       fa = formula_auditor "bar", <<~RUBY, core_tap: true
         class Bar < Formula
@@ -770,7 +827,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
         class Bar < Formula
           url "https://brew.sh/foo-1.0.tgz"
           sha256 "31cccfc6630528db1c8e3a06f6decf2a370060b982841cfab2b8677400a5092e"
-          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git", branch: "develop"
         end
       RUBY
 
@@ -783,7 +840,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
         class BarAT1 < Formula
           url "https://brew.sh/foo-1.0.tgz"
           sha256 "31cccfc6630528db1c8e3a06f6decf2a370060b982841cfab2b8677400a5092e"
-          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git", branch: "develop"
         end
       RUBY
 
@@ -796,7 +853,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::FormulaAuditor do
         class Foo < Formula
           url "https://brew.sh/foo-1.0.tgz"
           sha256 "31cccfc6630528db1c8e3a06f6decf2a370060b982841cfab2b8677400a5092e"
-          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git", branch: "develop"
         end
       RUBY
 
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck/livecheck_spec.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck/livecheck_spec.rb
index eab430f208..2371b1358d 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck/livecheck_spec.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck/livecheck_spec.rb
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::Livecheck do
       desc "Test formula"
       homepage "https://brew.sh"
       url "https://brew.sh/test-0.0.1.tgz"
-      head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git"
+      head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git", branch: "main"
 
       livecheck do
         url "https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/ruby.json"
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::Livecheck do
         desc "Test formula with a duplicate URL"
         homepage "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git"
         url "https://brew.sh/test-0.0.1.tgz"
-        head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git"
+        head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git", branch: "main"
       end
     end
 
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck/skip_conditions_spec.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck/skip_conditions_spec.rb
index 94859b9404..eeb755d1cb 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck/skip_conditions_spec.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck/skip_conditions_spec.rb
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::Livecheck::SkipConditions do
         desc "Test formula"
         homepage "https://brew.sh"
         url "https://brew.sh/test-0.0.1.tgz"
-        head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git"
+        head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git", branch: "main"
 
         livecheck do
           url "https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/ruby.json"
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ RSpec.describe Homebrew::Livecheck::SkipConditions do
       head_only:           formula("test_head_only") do
         desc "HEAD-only test formula"
         homepage "https://brew.sh"
-        head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git"
+        head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git", branch: "main"
       end,
       gist:                formula("test_gist") do
         desc "Gist test formula"
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck_spec.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck_spec.rb
index 2a4b4b333c..6813ddcd25 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck_spec.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/livecheck_spec.rb
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ RSpec.describe Livecheck do
     formula do
       homepage "https://brew.sh"
       url "https://brew.sh/test-0.0.1.tgz"
-      head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git"
+      head "https://github.com/Homebrew/brew.git", branch: "main"
     end
   end
   let(:livecheck_f) { described_class.new(f.class) }
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/rubocops/components_redundancy_spec.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/rubocops/components_redundancy_spec.rb
index e65e31ae80..8e2b5076e6 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/rubocops/components_redundancy_spec.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/rubocops/components_redundancy_spec.rb
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ RSpec.describe RuboCop::Cop::FormulaAudit::ComponentsRedundancy do
     it "reports an offense if both `head` and `head do` are present" do
       expect_offense(<<~RUBY)
         class Foo < Formula
-          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git", branch: "develop"
           head do
           ^^^^^^^ FormulaAudit/ComponentsRedundancy: `head` and `head do` should not be simultaneously present
             # stuff
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ RSpec.describe RuboCop::Cop::FormulaAudit::ComponentsRedundancy do
     it "reports no offenses if `stable do` is present with a `head` method" do
       expect_no_offenses(<<~RUBY)
         class Foo < Formula
-          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git", branch: "develop"
 
           stable do
             # stuff
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ RSpec.describe RuboCop::Cop::FormulaAudit::ComponentsRedundancy do
     it "reports no offenses if `stable do` is present with `url` and `depends_on`" do
       expect_no_offenses(<<~RUBY)
         class Foo < Formula
-          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+          head "https://brew.sh/foo.git", branch: "trunk"
 
           stable do
             url "https://brew.sh/foo-1.0.tgz"
@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@ RSpec.describe RuboCop::Cop::FormulaAudit::ComponentsRedundancy do
 
           head do
             url "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+            branch "develop"
             depends_on "bar"
           end
         end
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/test/utils/ast/formula_ast_spec.rb b/Library/Homebrew/test/utils/ast/formula_ast_spec.rb
index e97a307364..09492ac1a2 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/test/utils/ast/formula_ast_spec.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/test/utils/ast/formula_ast_spec.rb
@@ -193,6 +193,7 @@ RSpec.describe Utils::AST::FormulaAST do
 
             head do
               url "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+              branch "develop"
             end
           end
         RUBY
@@ -205,6 +206,7 @@ RSpec.describe Utils::AST::FormulaAST do
 
             head do
               url "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+              branch "develop"
             end
           end
         RUBY
@@ -355,7 +357,7 @@ RSpec.describe Utils::AST::FormulaAST do
         described_class.new <<~RUBY.chomp
           class Foo < Formula
             url "https://brew.sh/foo-1.0.tar.gz"
-            head "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+            head "https://brew.sh/foo.git", branch: "develop"
           end
         RUBY
       end
@@ -364,7 +366,7 @@ RSpec.describe Utils::AST::FormulaAST do
         <<~RUBY.chomp
           class Foo < Formula
             url "https://brew.sh/foo-1.0.tar.gz"
-            head "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+            head "https://brew.sh/foo.git", branch: "develop"
 
             bottle do
               sha256 "f7b1fc772c79c20fddf621ccc791090bc1085fcef4da6cca03399424c66e06ca" => :sierra
@@ -387,6 +389,7 @@ RSpec.describe Utils::AST::FormulaAST do
 
             head do
               url "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+              branch "develop"
             end
           end
         RUBY
@@ -403,6 +406,7 @@ RSpec.describe Utils::AST::FormulaAST do
 
             head do
               url "https://brew.sh/foo.git"
+              branch "develop"
             end
           end
         RUBY
diff --git a/docs/Formula-Cookbook.md b/docs/Formula-Cookbook.md
index 37f7a4b252..cc2f2feb88 100644
--- a/docs/Formula-Cookbook.md
+++ b/docs/Formula-Cookbook.md
@@ -841,7 +841,7 @@ end
 
 Formulae can specify an alternate download for the upstream project's development/cutting-edge source (e.g. `master`/`main`/`trunk`) using [`head`](https://rubydoc.brew.sh/Formula#head-class_method), which can be activated by passing `--HEAD` when installing. Specifying it is done in the same manner as [`url`](https://rubydoc.brew.sh/Formula#url-class_method), with added conventions for fetching from version control repositories:
 
-* Git repositories need `branch:` specified to fetch a branch other than "master". If the repository is very large, specify `only_path` to [limit the checkout to one path](Cask-Cookbook.md#git-urls).
+* Git repositories **must always** specify `branch:`. If the repository is very large, specify `only_path` to [limit the checkout to one path](Cask-Cookbook.md#git-urls).
 
   ```sh
 head "https://github.com/some/package.git", branch: "main"