Clean Branches Command

Clean up merged and stale git branches

Instructions

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

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/@@'

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

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"

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')'"'

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

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")

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

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

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!"

Team Coordination
- Notify team before cleaning shared branches
- Check if branches are being used by others
- Coordinate branch cleanup schedules
- Document branch cleanup procedures
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
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
```
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
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
```
Automation Setup
- Set up automated branch cleanup scripts
- Configure CI/CD pipeline for branch cleanup
- Create scheduled cleanup jobs
- Implement branch lifecycle policies
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