clean-branches

Clean Branches - Delete Merged Local Branches

Clean up local branches by checking their GitHub PR status and deleting those that have been merged.

Steps

1. Detect the default branch -- Determine the repo's default branch name (could be main, master, develop, etc.):

DEFAULT_BRANCH=$(gh repo view --json defaultBranchRef --jq '.defaultBranchRef.name')

2. Fetch and list branches -- Fetch the latest remote state, then get all local branches except the default branch:

git fetch origin "$DEFAULT_BRANCH"
git branch --format='%(refname:short)' | grep -v "^${DEFAULT_BRANCH}$"

Show the list to the user. If no branches exist besides the default branch, report that and stop.

3. Check merge status for each branch -- Use multiple methods to detect merges (including squash merges):

Method 1: Direct ancestry -- Catches regular merges and fast-forwards:

git branch --merged "origin/$DEFAULT_BRANCH" --format='%(refname:short)'

Method 2: Squash merge detection via git cherry -- For branches not caught by method 1, check if all commits have equivalent patches in the default branch. A - prefix means the patch already exists upstream:

git cherry -v "origin/$DEFAULT_BRANCH" <branch>

If ALL lines start with - (or output is empty), the branch has been squash-merged.

Method 3: GitHub PR status (if gh is authenticated) -- For remaining branches:

# Check for merged PRs
gh pr list --head <branch> --state merged --json number,title,url

# Check for closed (not merged) PRs
gh pr list --head <branch> --state closed --json number,title,url,mergedAt

A PR is "closed without merge" when it appears in the closed list but has an empty/null mergedAt field. If gh is not authenticated, skip this method.

Important: Always compare against origin/$DEFAULT_BRANCH (not the local default branch) to detect merges even when the local branch is stale.

4. Categorize branches into these groups:

   • Merged: Detected as merged by any method above -> safe to delete
   • Closed (not merged): PR was closed without merging -> flag for user decision
   • No PR / Open PR: No PR found (and not detected as merged), or PR is still open -> skip

5. Display categorized list -- Show the user a summary table with:

   • Branch name
   • Category (Merged / Closed / No PR / Open)
   • PR number and title (if available)
   • Detection method (ancestry / squash / PR status)

6. Confirm with user -- Ask the user which branches to delete:

   • Pre-select "Merged" branches for deletion
   • Ask about "Closed (not merged)" branches individually
   • Never auto-delete "No PR" or "Open PR" branches

7. Delete confirmed branches -- If currently on a branch being deleted, switch to the default branch first and fast-forward it:

git checkout "$DEFAULT_BRANCH" && git merge --ff-only "origin/$DEFAULT_BRANCH"
git branch -D <branch1> <branch2> ...

After deleting, prune stale remote tracking references:

git remote prune origin

8. Report results -- Summarize:
   • How many branches were deleted
   • Which branches were kept and why