Git Branch Cleanup

Use this skill to safely remove merged or stale branches with explicit user confirmation.

Safety Rules

• •Stop if the working tree is not clean.
• •Detect the default branch from origin/HEAD and fall back to main, then master.
• •Never delete protected branches.
• •Never force delete unless the user explicitly approves.

Workflow

1. •

   Check repository state

   • •git status --porcelain
   • •If not clean, ask the user to commit or stash first.
2. •

   Detect default branch

   • •git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@'
   • •If that fails, try main, then master.
3. •

   Define protected branches

   • •Default: main, master, develop, staging, production, qa.
   • •Ask the user if any additional branches should be protected.
4. •

   List merged branches

   • •Local: git branch --merged <default-branch>
   • •Remote: git branch -r --merged <default-branch>
   • •Exclude protected branches and the current branch.
   • •Present the list and ask for explicit approval to delete.
5. •

   List stale branches

   • •Show last commit date for each local branch: git for-each-ref --format='%(refname:short) %(committerdate:short)' refs/heads
   • •Ask user for a cutoff (default 30 days).
   • •Present the stale list and ask for explicit approval to delete.
6. •

   Delete with confirmation

   • •Local delete: git branch -d <branch>
   • •If deletion fails because it is unmerged, ask whether to force delete with -D.
7. •

   Remote cleanup

   • •Prune tracking branches: git remote prune origin
   • •For remote branches approved for deletion: git push origin --delete <branch>
8. •

   Report and recovery

   • •Summarize what was deleted.
   • •Provide recovery hint: git reflog --no-merges --since="2 weeks ago".

Output Format

Provide:

• •Default branch detected
• •Protected branch list
• •Merged branches list (local and remote)
• •Stale branches list (local)
• •Confirmations collected
• •Final summary of deletions