branch-cleanup

Perform a complete cleanup of local and remote branches after working on multiple PRs.

Current State

Default branch: !git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD 2>/dev/null | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@' || echo "main"

Current branch: !git branch --show-current

Fetch latest: !git fetch --all --prune 2>&1

Branch Inventory

Local branches with tracking status:

!git branch --format='%(refname:short) %(upstream:track)' | sort

Recent branches by activity:

!git for-each-ref --count=15 --sort=-committerdate refs/heads/ --format='%(refname:short) - %(committerdate:relative)'

Remote branches:

!git branch -r --format='%(refname:short)' | grep -v HEAD | sort

Cleanup Candidates

Merged into default branch: !git branch --merged

Branches with gone remotes:

!git branch -vv | grep ': gone]' | awk '{print $1}' | sort

Protected Branches

Never delete branches matching these patterns:

• main, master, develop, staging, production
• release/* branches (unless explicitly confirmed)
• renovate/* branches (managed by Renovate bot)
• Current working branch
• Branches with unpushed commits (confirm first)

Cleanup Workflow

Phase 1: Analyze

Review the branch inventory above. Categorize branches:

• Safe to delete: Merged branches and branches with gone remotes (excluding protected)
• Needs confirmation: release/* branches, branches with unpushed commits
• Protected: All protected branch patterns and current branch

Phase 2: Confirm Cleanup Plan

Present the cleanup plan and ask the user to select scope:

• All safe: Delete all merged and gone-remote branches
• Merged only: Delete only branches merged into default
• Gone only: Delete only branches with deleted remotes
• Review each: Confirm each branch individually

If "Review each" is selected, iterate through candidates asking per-branch confirmation.

Phase 3: Execute Cleanup

After confirmation, execute in order:

1. Prune stale remote-tracking refs: git remote prune origin
2. Delete merged local branches: git branch -d <branch>
3. Delete gone-remote branches: git branch -D <branch>

Record each branch name and SHA before deleting: git rev-parse <branch>

If deletion fails, ask user: Force delete, Skip, or Abort.

Phase 4: Remote Cleanup (Optional)

Ask whether to delete corresponding remote branches on origin.

Phase 5: Summary

Report:

• Count of deleted branches by category
• Repository branch count (before and after)
• Recovery commands with commit SHAs for each deleted branch: git checkout -b <branch> <sha>