| name | branch-cleaner |
|---|---|
| description | Identify and clean up stale git branches locally and on remotes with safe, reversible steps. Use when asked to prune, list, or delete merged/old branches or audit branch hygiene. |
Branch cleaner
Goal
Safely identify stale branches and provide explicit delete/prune commands.
Inputs to confirm (ask if missing)
- Default branch (main/master/develop).
- Remote name (origin) and whether remote deletion is desired.
- Safety rules: keep patterns (release/, hotfix/), minimum age, merged-only.
Workflow
1) Sync and inspect
- Run git fetch --prune.
- Check git status and note uncommitted changes.
2) Build candidate lists
- Local merged into default: git branch --merged <base>
- Local not merged (list only): git branch --no-merged <base>
- Remote merged: git branch -r --merged <base>
- Stale by date: git for-each-ref --sort=committerdate refs/heads --format="%(committerdate:short) %(refname:short)"
3) Exclude protected branches
- Always keep <base>, current branch, and user-provided patterns.
4) Confirm with user
- Present candidates grouped by local vs remote.
5) Provide delete commands
- Delete branches approved for deletion by the user
-
Optional GitHub CLI checks
gh pr list --state merged --base <base>to correlate merged branches.gh pr view <branch>to verify status if needed.
Deliverables
- Candidate lists and rationale.
- Warnings for unmerged or recently updated branches.
- Don't remove remote branches unless explicitly approved.