cleaning-up-branches

Branch Cleanup

Delete merged branches (local and optionally remote) with explicit user confirmation, and flag stale unmerged branches for manual review.

Auto-Invoke Triggers

This skill activates when:

1. Keywords: "cleanup branches", "delete merged branches", "prune old branches", "remove stale branches", "branch cleanup", "remove dead branches"
2. Command: /cleanup-branches

Arguments

• --base <branch> — Base branch for merge check (default: main)
• --threshold <months> — Inactivity threshold for stale detection (default: 3)
• --remote — Include remote branch deletion
• --dry-run — Show what would be deleted without acting

Safety Model

• Merged branches: Deletable after explicit user confirmation
• Unmerged branches: Never auto-deleted — reported with manual commands only
• Dry-run: Available via --dry-run flag to preview actions
• Confirmation: Before each destructive step, list branches and ask the user

Workflow

Execute each step below using the Bash tool.

Step 1: Validate Git Repository

git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree 2>/dev/null || echo "NOT_A_GIT_REPO"

If not a git repo, stop and inform the user.

Step 2: Parse Arguments

Parse $ARGUMENTS for:

• --base BRANCH → set BASE_BRANCH=BRANCH (default: main)
• --threshold N → set THRESHOLD_MONTHS=N (default: 3)
• --remote → set INCLUDE_REMOTE=true (default: false)
• --dry-run → set DRY_RUN=true (default: false)

Verify the base branch exists:

git rev-parse --verify "$BASE_BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || echo "BASE_BRANCH_NOT_FOUND"

If the base branch doesn't exist, try master as fallback. If neither exists, stop and inform the user.

Step 3: Fetch Latest Remote State

if ! git fetch --prune 2>/dev/null; then
  echo "Warning: Could not reach remote. Remote branch data may be stale."
fi

Step 4: Display Branch Status Summary

current_branch=$(git branch --show-current)
total_local=$(git branch | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
total_remote=$(git branch -r | grep -v HEAD | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
remote=$(git config --get "branch.$BASE_BRANCH.remote" 2>/dev/null || echo "origin")
merged_local=$(git branch --merged "$BASE_BRANCH" | grep -v "^\*" | grep -vw "$BASE_BRANCH" | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
merged_remote=$(git branch -r --merged "$remote/$BASE_BRANCH" | grep -v "$remote/$BASE_BRANCH" | grep -v "$remote/HEAD" | wc -l | tr -d ' ')

echo "=== BRANCH STATUS ==="
echo "Current branch: $current_branch"
echo "Base branch: $BASE_BRANCH"
echo "Local branches: $total_local ($merged_local merged into $BASE_BRANCH)"
echo "Remote branches: $total_remote ($merged_remote merged into $BASE_BRANCH)"