Clean Branches Command

Clean up merged and stale git branches

Instructions

Follow this systematic approach to clean up git branches: $ARGUMENTS

1. Repository State Analysis

   • Check current branch and uncommitted changes
   • List all local and remote branches
   • Identify the main/master branch name
   • Review recent branch activity and merge history

   # Check current status
   git status
   git branch -a
   git remote -v
   
   # Check main branch name
   git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@'
   

2. Safety Precautions

   • Ensure working directory is clean
   • Switch to main/master branch
   • Pull latest changes from remote
   • Create backup of current branch state if needed

   # Ensure clean state
   git stash push -m "Backup before branch cleanup"
   git checkout main  # or master
   git pull origin main
   

3. Identify Merged Branches

   • List branches that have been merged into main
   • Exclude protected branches (main, master, develop)
   • Check both local and remote merged branches
   • Verify merge status to avoid accidental deletion

   # List merged local branches
   git branch --merged main | grep -v "main\\|master\\|develop\\|\\*"
   
   # List merged remote branches
   git branch -r --merged main | grep -v "main\\|master\\|develop\\|HEAD"
   

4. Identify Stale Branches

   • Find branches with no recent activity
   • Check last commit date for each branch
   • Identify branches older than specified timeframe (e.g., 30 days)
   • Consider branch naming patterns for feature/hotfix branches

   # List branches by last commit date
   git for-each-ref --format='%(committerdate) %(authorname) %(refname)' --sort=committerdate refs/heads
   
   # Find branches older than 30 days
   git for-each-ref --format='%(refname:short) %(committerdate)' refs/heads | awk '$2 < "'$(date -d '30 days ago' '+%Y-%m-%d')'"'
   

5. Interactive Branch Review

   • Review each branch before deletion
   • Check if branch has unmerged changes
   • Verify branch purpose and status
   • Ask for confirmation before deletion

   # Check for unmerged changes
   git log main..branch-name --oneline
   
   # Show branch information
   git show-branch branch-name main
   

6. Protected Branch Configuration

   • Identify branches that should never be deleted
   • Configure protection rules for important branches
   • Document branch protection policies
   • Set up automated protection for new repositories

   # Example protected branches
   PROTECTED_BRANCHES=("main" "master" "develop" "staging" "production")
   

7. Local Branch Cleanup

   • Delete merged local branches safely
   • Remove stale feature branches
   • Clean up tracking branches for deleted remotes
   • Update local branch references

   # Delete merged branches (interactive)
   git branch --merged main | grep -v "main\\|master\\|develop\\|\\*" | xargs -n 1 -p git branch -d
   
   # Force delete if needed (use with caution)
   git branch -D branch-name
   

8. Remote Branch Cleanup

   • Remove merged remote branches
   • Clean up remote tracking references
   • Delete obsolete remote branches
   • Update remote branch information

   # Prune remote tracking branches
   git remote prune origin
   
   # Delete remote branch
   git push origin --delete branch-name
   
   # Remove local tracking of deleted remote branches
   git branch -dr origin/branch-name
   

9. Automated Cleanup Script

   #!/bin/bash
   
   # Git branch cleanup script
   set -e
   
   # Configuration
   MAIN_BRANCH="main"
   PROTECTED_BRANCHES=("main" "master" "develop" "staging" "production")
   STALE_DAYS=30
   
   # Functions
   is_protected() {
       local branch=$1
       for protected in "${PROTECTED_BRANCHES[@]}"; do
           if [[ "$branch" == "$protected" ]]; then
               return 0
           fi
       done
       return 1
   }
   
   # Switch to main branch
   git checkout $MAIN_BRANCH
   git pull origin $MAIN_BRANCH
   
   # Clean up merged branches
   echo "Cleaning up merged branches..."
   merged_branches=$(git branch --merged $MAIN_BRANCH | grep -v "\\*\\|$MAIN_BRANCH")
   
   for branch in $merged_branches; do
       if ! is_protected "$branch"; then
           echo "Deleting merged branch: $branch"
           git branch -d "$branch"
       fi
   done
   
   # Prune remote tracking branches
   echo "Pruning remote tracking branches..."
   git remote prune origin
   
   echo "Branch cleanup completed!"
   

10. Team Coordination

    • Notify team before cleaning shared branches
    • Check if branches are being used by others
    • Coordinate branch cleanup schedules
    • Document branch cleanup procedures

11. Branch Naming Convention Cleanup

    • Identify branches with non-standard naming
    • Clean up temporary or experimental branches
    • Remove old hotfix and feature branches
    • Enforce consistent naming conventions

12. Verification and Validation

    • Verify important branches are still present
    • Check that no active work was deleted
    • Validate remote branch synchronization
    • Confirm team members have no issues

    # Verify cleanup results
    git branch -a
    git remote show origin
    

13. Documentation and Reporting

    • Document what branches were cleaned up
    • Report any issues or conflicts found
    • Update team documentation about branch lifecycle
    • Create branch cleanup schedule and policies

14. Rollback Procedures

    • Document how to recover deleted branches
    • Use reflog to find deleted branch commits
    • Create emergency recovery procedures
    • Set up branch restoration scripts

    # Recover deleted branch using reflog
    git reflog --no-merges --since="2 weeks ago"
    git checkout -b recovered-branch commit-hash
    

15. Automation Setup

    • Set up automated branch cleanup scripts
    • Configure CI/CD pipeline for branch cleanup
    • Create scheduled cleanup jobs
    • Implement branch lifecycle policies

16. Best Practices Implementation

    • Establish branch lifecycle guidelines
    • Set up automated merge detection
    • Configure branch protection rules
    • Implement code review requirements

Advanced Cleanup Options:

# Clean up all merged branches except protected ones
git branch --merged main | grep -E "^  (feature|hotfix|bugfix)/" | xargs -n 1 git branch -d

# Interactive cleanup with confirmation
git branch --merged main | grep -v "main\|master\|develop" | xargs -n 1 -p git branch -d

# Batch delete remote branches
git branch -r --merged main | grep origin | grep -v "main\|master\|develop\|HEAD" | cut -d/ -f2- | xargs -n 1 git push origin --delete

# Clean up branches older than specific date
git for-each-ref --format='%(refname:short) %(committerdate:short)' refs/heads | awk '$2 < "2023-01-01"' | cut -d' ' -f1 | xargs -n 1 git branch -D

Remember to:

• Always backup important branches before cleanup
• Coordinate with team members before deleting shared branches
• Test cleanup scripts in a safe environment first
• Document all cleanup procedures and policies
• Set up regular cleanup schedules to prevent accumulation