How do I install the Clean Branch skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add stevefeldman/clean-branch in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

What does the Clean Branch skill do?

Safely clean up merged, stale, and unnecessary git branches with dry-run preview It is listed under Coding & Dev Tools on SkillMD.

Is Clean Branch safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: docs only. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Clean Branch?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Clean Branch free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Clean Branch?

SteveFeldman (@stevefeldman) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Clean Branch by stevefeldman — Agent Skill

Name: Clean Branch
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: SteveFeldman

File contents

Clean Branches

Safely clean up merged, stale, and unnecessary git branches across any repository.

Usage

/clean-branch                    # Dry-run analysis of all branches
/clean-branch --execute          # Actually delete after confirmation
/clean-branch --stale-days 60    # Consider branches older than 60 days stale

Instructions

Follow this approach to clean up git branches: $ARGUMENTS

Default behavior is dry-run — show what would be deleted without deleting anything. Only execute deletions when the user explicitly confirms.

1. Repository State Analysis

git status
git branch -a
git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@'

Check current branch and ensure working directory is clean
Identify the main/default branch name
List all local and remote branches

2. Categorize Branches

Identify and group branches into categories:

Merged branches (safe to delete):

git branch --merged main | grep -v "main\|master\|develop\|\*"

Stale branches (no activity in 30+ days):

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

Protected branches (never delete):

main, master, develop, staging, production

Active branches (unmerged, recent activity):

List for reference but do not suggest deletion

3. Present Dry-Run Report

## Branch Cleanup Report

### Safe to Delete (merged into main)
- feature/user-auth (merged 3 days ago)
- fix/login-bug (merged 1 week ago)

### Stale (no activity in 30+ days)
- feature/old-experiment (last commit: 45 days ago, NOT merged)
  ⚠️ Has 3 unmerged commits — review before deleting

### Protected (will not touch)
- main, develop

### Active (keeping)
- feature/new-dashboard (last commit: 2 days ago)

4. Execute Cleanup (only when confirmed)

If the user confirms, proceed:

Switch to main branch and pull latest
Delete merged local branches with git branch -d
Prune remote tracking branches with git remote prune origin
For stale unmerged branches, ask individually before using git branch -D

5. Verify Results

git branch -a

Report what was deleted and confirm protected branches are intact.

Recovery note: Deleted branches can be recovered via git reflog within the reflog expiry period (default 90 days).

---name: clean-branchdescription: Safely clean up merged, stale, and unnecessary git branches with dry-run preview---# Clean BranchesSafely clean up merged, stale, and unnecessary git branches across any repository.## Usage```/clean-branch # Dry-run analysis of all branches/clean-branch --execute # Actually delete after confirmation/clean-branch --stale-days 60 # Consider branches older than 60 days stale```## InstructionsFollow this approach to clean up git branches: **$ARGUMENTS****Default behavior is dry-run** — show what would be deleted without deleting anything. Only execute deletions when the user explicitly confirms.### 1. Repository State Analysis```bashgit statusgit branch -agit symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@'```- Check current branch and ensure working directory is clean- Identify the main/default branch name- List all local and remote branches### 2. Categorize BranchesIdentify and group branches into categories:**Merged branches** (safe to delete):```bashgit branch --merged main | grep -v "main\|master\|develop\|\*"```**Stale branches** (no activity in 30+ days):```bashgit for-each-ref --format='%(refname:short) %(committerdate:relative)' refs/heads/```**Protected branches** (never delete):- `main`, `master`, `develop`, `staging`, `production`**Active branches** (unmerged, recent activity):- List for reference but do not suggest deletion### 3. Present Dry-Run Report```## Branch Cleanup Report### Safe to Delete (merged into main)- feature/user-auth (merged 3 days ago)- fix/login-bug (merged 1 week ago)### Stale (no activity in 30+ days)- feature/old-experiment (last commit: 45 days ago, NOT merged) ⚠️ Has 3 unmerged commits — review before deleting### Protected (will not touch)- main, develop### Active (keeping)- feature/new-dashboard (last commit: 2 days ago)```### 4. Execute Cleanup (only when confirmed)If the user confirms, proceed:- Switch to main branch and pull latest- Delete merged local branches with `git branch -d`- Prune remote tracking branches with `git remote prune origin`- For stale unmerged branches, ask individually before using `git branch -D`### 5. Verify Results```bashgit branch -a```Report what was deleted and confirm protected branches are intact.**Recovery note**: Deleted branches can be recovered via `git reflog` within the reflog expiry period (default 90 days).

Frequently asked questions

Clean Branch