Variation of metric volume density ($\delta \sqrt{|\det g|}=\frac{1}{2}\sqrt{|\det g|}{g}^{ab}\delta g_{ab}$)

For a nondegenerate metric tensor whose signature is fixed during the variation, the Jacobi formula gives $\delta \det g=(\det g)g^{ab}\delta g_{ab}$. Differentiating the square root of the absolute determinant proves the displayed identity. Expressed through the variation of inverse metric, the formula is $-\sqrt{|\det g|}{g}_{ab}\delta g^{ab}/2$. Absolute values accommodate either Riemannian or Lorentzian signature.