diff --git a/src/Composer/Command/InstallCommand.php b/src/Composer/Command/InstallCommand.php
index 426c1fb9e..6b6120bb8 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Command/InstallCommand.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Command/InstallCommand.php
@@ -113,10 +113,10 @@ EOT
         }
         foreach ($aliases as $alias) {
             foreach ($repoManager->findPackages($alias['package'], $alias['version']) as $package) {
-                $package->getRepository()->addPackage(new AliasPackage($package, $alias['alias']));
+                $package->getRepository()->addPackage(new AliasPackage($package, $alias['alias_normalized'], $alias['alias']));
             }
             foreach ($repoManager->getLocalRepository()->findPackages($alias['package'], $alias['version']) as $package) {
-                $repoManager->getLocalRepository()->addPackage(new AliasPackage($package, $alias['alias']));
+                $repoManager->getLocalRepository()->addPackage(new AliasPackage($package, $alias['alias_normalized'], $alias['alias']));
                 $repoManager->getLocalRepository()->removePackage($package);
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/Composer/Factory.php b/src/Composer/Factory.php
index e27976a4b..a9ed4722a 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Factory.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Factory.php
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ class Factory
 
     protected function addLocalRepository(RepositoryManager $rm, $vendorDir)
     {
-        $rm->setLocalRepository(new Repository\FilesystemRepository(new JsonFile($vendorDir.'/.composer/installed.json')));
+        $rm->setLocalRepository(new Repository\InstalledFilesystemRepository(new JsonFile($vendorDir.'/.composer/installed.json')));
     }
 
     protected function addPackagistRepository(RepositoryManager $rm)
diff --git a/src/Composer/Installer/InstallationManager.php b/src/Composer/Installer/InstallationManager.php
index 6500e6b00..68355f72c 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Installer/InstallationManager.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Installer/InstallationManager.php
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ class InstallationManager
         $package = $operation->getPackage();
         if ($package instanceof AliasPackage) {
             $package = $package->getAliasOf();
+            $package->setInstalledAsAlias(true);
         }
         $installer = $this->getInstaller($package->getType());
         $installer->install($package);
@@ -146,6 +147,7 @@ class InstallationManager
         $target  = $operation->getTargetPackage();
         if ($target instanceof AliasPackage) {
             $target = $target->getAliasOf();
+            $target->setInstalledAsAlias(true);
         }
 
         $initialType = $initial->getType();
diff --git a/src/Composer/Package/AliasPackage.php b/src/Composer/Package/AliasPackage.php
index 02c0a9510..b302868ee 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Package/AliasPackage.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Package/AliasPackage.php
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ use Composer\Repository\PlatformRepository;
 class AliasPackage extends BasePackage
 {
     protected $version;
+    protected $prettyVersion;
     protected $dev;
     protected $aliasOf;
 
@@ -38,12 +39,14 @@ class AliasPackage extends BasePackage
      *
      * @param PackageInterface $aliasOf The package this package is an alias of
      * @param string $version The version the alias must report
+     * @param string $prettyVersion The alias's non-normalized version
      */
-    public function __construct($aliasOf, $version)
+    public function __construct($aliasOf, $version, $prettyVersion)
     {
         parent::__construct($aliasOf->getName());
 
         $this->version = $version;
+        $this->prettyVersion = $prettyVersion;
         $this->aliasOf = $aliasOf;
         $this->dev = 'dev-' === substr($version, 0, 4) || '-dev' === substr($version, -4);
 
@@ -78,7 +81,7 @@ class AliasPackage extends BasePackage
      */
     public function getPrettyVersion()
     {
-        return $this->version;
+        return $this->prettyVersion;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -92,7 +95,7 @@ class AliasPackage extends BasePackage
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
-    function getRequires()
+    public function getRequires()
     {
         return $this->requires;
     }
@@ -100,7 +103,7 @@ class AliasPackage extends BasePackage
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
-    function getConflicts()
+    public function getConflicts()
     {
         return $this->conflicts;
     }
@@ -108,7 +111,7 @@ class AliasPackage extends BasePackage
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
-    function getProvides()
+    public function getProvides()
     {
         return $this->provides;
     }
@@ -116,7 +119,7 @@ class AliasPackage extends BasePackage
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
-    function getReplaces()
+    public function getReplaces()
     {
         return $this->replaces;
     }
@@ -124,7 +127,7 @@ class AliasPackage extends BasePackage
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
-    function getRecommends()
+    public function getRecommends()
     {
         return $this->recommends;
     }
@@ -132,11 +135,27 @@ class AliasPackage extends BasePackage
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
-    function getSuggests()
+    public function getSuggests()
     {
         return $this->suggests;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    public function getAlias()
+    {
+        return '';
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    public function getPrettyAlias()
+    {
+        return '';
+    }
+
     /***************************************
      * Wrappers around the aliased package *
      ***************************************/
@@ -173,6 +192,10 @@ class AliasPackage extends BasePackage
     {
         return $this->aliasOf->getSourceReference();
     }
+    public function setSourceReference($reference)
+    {
+        return $this->aliasOf->setSourceReference($reference);
+    }
     public function getDistType()
     {
         return $this->aliasOf->getDistType();
diff --git a/src/Composer/Package/Dumper/ArrayDumper.php b/src/Composer/Package/Dumper/ArrayDumper.php
index f372929b1..188d55c5c 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Package/Dumper/ArrayDumper.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Package/Dumper/ArrayDumper.php
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ class ArrayDumper
         $data['name'] = $package->getPrettyName();
         $data['version'] = $package->getPrettyVersion();
         $data['version_normalized'] = $package->getVersion();
+
         if ($package->getTargetDir()) {
             $data['target-dir'] = $package->getTargetDir();
         }
diff --git a/src/Composer/Package/Loader/ArrayLoader.php b/src/Composer/Package/Loader/ArrayLoader.php
index 98733372b..001fa2e25 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Package/Loader/ArrayLoader.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Package/Loader/ArrayLoader.php
@@ -134,6 +134,30 @@ class ArrayLoader
             $package->setDistSha1Checksum(isset($config['dist']['shasum']) ? $config['dist']['shasum'] : null);
         }
 
+        // check for a branch alias (dev-master => 1.0.x-dev for example) if this is a named branch
+        if ('dev-' === substr($package->getPrettyVersion(), 0, 4) && isset($config['extra']['branch-alias']) && is_array($config['extra']['branch-alias'])) {
+            foreach ($config['extra']['branch-alias'] as $sourceBranch => $targetBranch) {
+                // ensure it is an alias to a -dev package
+                if ('-dev' !== substr($targetBranch, -4)) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                // normalize without -dev and ensure it's a numeric branch that is parseable
+                $validatedTargetBranch = $this->versionParser->normalizeBranch(substr($targetBranch, 0, -4));
+                if ('-dev' !== substr($validatedTargetBranch, -4)) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+
+                // ensure that it is the current branch aliasing itself
+                if (strtolower($package->getPrettyVersion()) !== strtolower($sourceBranch)) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+
+                $package->setAlias($validatedTargetBranch);
+                $package->setPrettyAlias($targetBranch);
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+
         foreach (Package\BasePackage::$supportedLinkTypes as $type => $description) {
             if (isset($config[$type])) {
                 $method = 'set'.ucfirst($description);
diff --git a/src/Composer/Package/Loader/RootPackageLoader.php b/src/Composer/Package/Loader/RootPackageLoader.php
index a6865f01e..77b2599fb 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Package/Loader/RootPackageLoader.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Package/Loader/RootPackageLoader.php
@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@ class RootPackageLoader extends ArrayLoader
                     $aliases[] = array(
                         'package' => strtolower($reqName),
                         'version' => $this->versionParser->normalize($match[1]),
-                        'alias' => $this->versionParser->normalize($match[2]),
+                        'alias' => $match[2],
+                        'alias_normalized' => $this->versionParser->normalize($match[2]),
                     );
                 }
             }
diff --git a/src/Composer/Package/Locker.php b/src/Composer/Package/Locker.php
index 205372481..b4df22f21 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Package/Locker.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Package/Locker.php
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ namespace Composer\Package;
 
 use Composer\Json\JsonFile;
 use Composer\Repository\RepositoryManager;
+use Composer\Package\AliasPackage;
 
 /**
  * Reads/writes project lockfile (composer.lock).
@@ -72,10 +73,14 @@ class Locker
         $lockList = $this->getLockData();
         $packages = array();
         foreach ($lockList['packages'] as $info) {
-            $package = $this->repositoryManager->getLocalRepository()->findPackage($info['package'], $info['version']);
+            $resolvedVersion = !empty($info['alias']) ? $info['alias'] : $info['version'];
+            $package = $this->repositoryManager->getLocalRepository()->findPackage($info['package'], $resolvedVersion);
 
             if (!$package) {
                 $package = $this->repositoryManager->findPackage($info['package'], $info['version']);
+                if ($package && !empty($info['alias'])) {
+                    $package = new AliasPackage($package, $info['alias'], $info['alias']);
+                }
             }
 
             if (!$package) {
@@ -134,6 +139,9 @@ class Locker
             if ($package->isDev()) {
                 $spec['source-reference'] = $package->getSourceReference();
             }
+            if ($package->getAlias() && $package->isInstalledAsAlias()) {
+                $spec['alias'] = $package->getAlias();
+            }
 
             $lock['packages'][] = $spec;
         }
diff --git a/src/Composer/Package/MemoryPackage.php b/src/Composer/Package/MemoryPackage.php
index a2a711027..e266f754c 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Package/MemoryPackage.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Package/MemoryPackage.php
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@ class MemoryPackage extends BasePackage
     protected $binaries = array();
     protected $scripts = array();
     protected $aliases = array();
+    protected $alias;
+    protected $prettyAlias;
+    protected $installedAsAlias;
     protected $dev;
 
     protected $requires = array();
@@ -173,6 +176,56 @@ class MemoryPackage extends BasePackage
         return $this->aliases;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * @param string $alias
+     */
+    public function setAlias($alias)
+    {
+        $this->alias = $alias;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    public function getAlias()
+    {
+        return $this->alias;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param string $prettyAlias
+     */
+    public function setPrettyAlias($prettyAlias)
+    {
+        $this->prettyAlias = $prettyAlias;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    public function getPrettyAlias()
+    {
+        return $this->prettyAlias;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Enabled if the package is installed from its alias package
+     *
+     * @param string $installedAsAlias
+     */
+    public function setInstalledAsAlias($installedAsAlias)
+    {
+        $this->installedAsAlias = $installedAsAlias;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return string
+     */
+    public function isInstalledAsAlias()
+    {
+        return $this->installedAsAlias;
+    }
+
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
diff --git a/src/Composer/Package/PackageInterface.php b/src/Composer/Package/PackageInterface.php
index cf68cc02d..97997f093 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Package/PackageInterface.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Package/PackageInterface.php
@@ -316,6 +316,20 @@ interface PackageInterface
      */
     function getAuthors();
 
+    /**
+     * Returns a version this package should be aliased to
+     *
+     * @return string
+     */
+    function getAlias();
+
+    /**
+     * Returns a non-normalized version this package should be aliased to
+     *
+     * @return string
+     */
+    function getPrettyAlias();
+
     /**
      * Returns package unique name, constructed from name and version.
      *
diff --git a/src/Composer/Repository/ArrayRepository.php b/src/Composer/Repository/ArrayRepository.php
index a46bfd20d..515f89ea9 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Repository/ArrayRepository.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Repository/ArrayRepository.php
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 
 namespace Composer\Repository;
 
+use Composer\Package\AliasPackage;
 use Composer\Package\PackageInterface;
 use Composer\Package\Version\VersionParser;
 
@@ -94,6 +95,16 @@ class ArrayRepository implements RepositoryInterface
         }
         $package->setRepository($this);
         $this->packages[] = $package;
+
+        // create alias package on the fly if needed (installed repos manage aliases themselves)
+        if ($package->getAlias() && !$this instanceof InstalledRepositoryInterface) {
+            $this->addPackage($this->createAliasPackage($package));
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected function createAliasPackage(PackageInterface $package)
+    {
+        return new AliasPackage($package, $package->getAlias(), $package->getPrettyAlias());
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Composer/Repository/FilesystemRepository.php b/src/Composer/Repository/FilesystemRepository.php
index 73fc37305..e17134b42 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Repository/FilesystemRepository.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Repository/FilesystemRepository.php
@@ -54,8 +54,17 @@ class FilesystemRepository extends ArrayRepository implements WritableRepository
         }
 
         $loader = new ArrayLoader();
-        foreach ($packages as $package) {
-            $this->addPackage($loader->load($package));
+        foreach ($packages as $packageData) {
+            $package = $loader->load($packageData);
+
+            // package was installed as alias, so we only add the alias
+            if ($this instanceof InstalledRepositoryInterface && !empty($packageData['installed-as-alias'])) {
+                $package->setInstalledAsAlias(true);
+                $this->addPackage($this->createAliasPackage($package));
+            } else {
+                // only add regular package - if it's not an installed repo the alias will be created on the fly
+                $this->addPackage($package);
+            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -67,7 +76,11 @@ class FilesystemRepository extends ArrayRepository implements WritableRepository
         $packages = array();
         $dumper   = new ArrayDumper();
         foreach ($this->getPackages() as $package) {
-            $packages[] = $dumper->dump($package);
+            $data = $dumper->dump($package);
+            if ($this instanceof InstalledRepositoryInterface && $package->isInstalledAsAlias()) {
+                $data['installed-as-alias'] = true;
+            }
+            $packages[] = $data;
         }
 
         $this->file->write($packages);
diff --git a/src/Composer/Repository/InstalledFilesystemRepository.php b/src/Composer/Repository/InstalledFilesystemRepository.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7bb70d666
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Composer/Repository/InstalledFilesystemRepository.php
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * This file is part of Composer.
+ *
+ * (c) Nils Adermann <naderman@naderman.de>
+ *     Jordi Boggiano <j.boggiano@seld.be>
+ *
+ * For the full copyright and license information, please view the LICENSE
+ * file that was distributed with this source code.
+ */
+
+namespace Composer\Repository;
+
+use Composer\Json\JsonFile;
+use Composer\Package\PackageInterface;
+use Composer\Package\Loader\ArrayLoader;
+use Composer\Package\Dumper\ArrayDumper;
+
+/**
+ * Installed filesystem repository.
+ *
+ * @author Jordi Boggiano <j.boggiano@seld.be>
+ */
+class InstalledFilesystemRepository extends FilesystemRepository implements InstalledRepositoryInterface
+{
+}
diff --git a/src/Composer/Repository/InstalledRepositoryInterface.php b/src/Composer/Repository/InstalledRepositoryInterface.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..de71d23c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Composer/Repository/InstalledRepositoryInterface.php
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+<?php
+
+/*
+ * This file is part of Composer.
+ *
+ * (c) Nils Adermann <naderman@naderman.de>
+ *     Jordi Boggiano <j.boggiano@seld.be>
+ *
+ * For the full copyright and license information, please view the LICENSE
+ * file that was distributed with this source code.
+ */
+
+namespace Composer\Repository;
+
+use Composer\Package\PackageInterface;
+
+/**
+ * Installable repository interface.
+ *
+ * Just used to tag installed repositories so the base classes can act differently on Alias packages
+ *
+ * @author Jordi Boggiano <j.boggiano@seld.be>
+ */
+interface InstalledRepositoryInterface
+{
+}
diff --git a/src/Composer/Repository/VcsRepository.php b/src/Composer/Repository/VcsRepository.php
index 2c4175fa0..afdc12bcb 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Repository/VcsRepository.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Repository/VcsRepository.php
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ namespace Composer\Repository;
 
 use Composer\Repository\Vcs\VcsDriverInterface;
 use Composer\Package\Version\VersionParser;
+use Composer\Package\PackageInterface;
+use Composer\Package\AliasPackage;
 use Composer\Package\Loader\ArrayLoader;
 use Composer\IO\IOInterface;
 
@@ -16,6 +18,7 @@ class VcsRepository extends ArrayRepository
     protected $packageName;
     protected $debug;
     protected $io;
+    protected $versionParser;
 
     public function __construct(array $config, IOInterface $io, array $drivers = null)
     {
@@ -67,7 +70,7 @@ class VcsRepository extends ArrayRepository
             throw new \InvalidArgumentException('No driver found to handle VCS repository '.$this->url);
         }
 
-        $versionParser = new VersionParser;
+        $this->versionParser = new VersionParser;
         $loader = new ArrayLoader();
 
         if ($driver->hasComposerFile($driver->getRootIdentifier())) {
@@ -83,7 +86,7 @@ class VcsRepository extends ArrayRepository
                 $this->io->overwrite($msg, false);
             }
 
-            $parsedTag = $this->validateTag($versionParser, $tag);
+            $parsedTag = $this->validateTag($tag);
             if ($parsedTag && $driver->hasComposerFile($identifier)) {
                 try {
                     $data = $driver->getComposerInformation($identifier);
@@ -96,7 +99,7 @@ class VcsRepository extends ArrayRepository
 
                 // manually versioned package
                 if (isset($data['version'])) {
-                    $data['version_normalized'] = $versionParser->normalize($data['version']);
+                    $data['version_normalized'] = $this->versionParser->normalize($data['version']);
                 } else {
                     // auto-versionned package, read value from tag
                     $data['version'] = $tag;
@@ -135,7 +138,7 @@ class VcsRepository extends ArrayRepository
                 $this->io->overwrite($msg, false);
             }
 
-            $parsedBranch = $this->validateBranch($versionParser, $branch);
+            $parsedBranch = $this->validateBranch($branch);
             if ($driver->hasComposerFile($identifier)) {
                 $data = $driver->getComposerInformation($identifier);
 
@@ -185,20 +188,20 @@ class VcsRepository extends ArrayRepository
         return $data;
     }
 
-    private function validateBranch($versionParser, $branch)
+    private function validateBranch($branch)
     {
         try {
-            return $versionParser->normalizeBranch($branch);
+            return $this->versionParser->normalizeBranch($branch);
         } catch (\Exception $e) {
         }
 
         return false;
     }
 
-    private function validateTag($versionParser, $version)
+    private function validateTag($version)
     {
         try {
-            return $versionParser->normalize($version);
+            return $this->versionParser->normalize($version);
         } catch (\Exception $e) {
         }