How do I install the Cleanup Branches skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add thettwe/cleanup-branches 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.

Is Cleanup Branches safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Cleanup Branches?

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 Cleanup Branches free to use?

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

Who published Cleanup Branches?

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

Cleanup Branches by thettwe — Agent Skill

Name: Cleanup Branches
Author: thettwe

Cleanup Branches

Prune local branches whose work is already merged into the base. TRIGGER when the user says "clean up branches", "delete merged branches", "prune local branches", "remove old branches", "I have too many branches", "what branches can I delete", "/nyann:cleanup-branches". Do NOT trigger on "delete THIS branch" (that's a one-off `git branch -D`, not a cleanup pass) or "remove a branch from the remote" (this skill is local-only; remote pruning is `git push --delete origin <branch>` and the user should do that themselves). Do NOT trigger on "merge this branch" (that's the merge step before cleanup).

thettwe 64492a2 2.9 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

cleanup-branches

Wraps bin/cleanup-branches.sh. Lists local branches whose tip is reachable from the base branch (main / develop / wherever the profile points), then either previews the list or actually deletes them with git branch -d (safe — refuses unmerged work).

Mirrors the same preview-then-mutate contract as undo and migrate-profile: nothing is deleted unless the caller passed --yes AND --dry-run was absent.

1. Run the preview

Always invoke without --yes first:

bin/cleanup-branches.sh --target <cwd>

Output is a CleanupBranchesResult JSON (see schemas/cleanup-branches-result.schema.json). Show the user:

The base branch the merge check ran against (base_branch).
The list of candidates (candidates[]), one per merged branch, with last-commit timestamp + short SHA so they can sanity-check.
The total count from summary.candidates_count.
The recovery hint: re-run with --yes to delete.

If summary.candidates_count == 0, tell the user there's nothing to clean up and exit. Don't prompt.

2. Confirm and apply

Ask: "Delete N merged branch(es)?" — list the names if there are 5 or fewer, or summarise if more. On confirmation:

bin/cleanup-branches.sh --target <cwd> --yes

The script uses git branch -d (lowercase d, the safe form) so even if a candidate's merge state changed between the preview and the apply, git will refuse the unsafe delete and the entry lands in errors[] instead of deleted[]. Surface any errors verbatim.

3. After deletion

Report summary.deleted_count and any entries in errors[].
Suggest the user push the deletions to the remote if they maintain a personal fork branch list:
```
git push --delete origin <branch>   # per branch
```
Don't run this for them — pushing is a high-blast-radius action and the user should pick which deletions to mirror.

When to hand off

"Why is X still here?" → it's not reachable from base. Run /nyann:doctor and look at the LOCAL BRANCHES row for stale_unmerged count, or invoke bin/check-stale-branches.sh directly to see the full classification.
"Delete a specific branch by name" → just git branch -D <name>. This skill is for the bulk-merged case.
"Prune the remote-tracking refs too" → git remote prune origin is what they want; not in scope here.

---name: cleanup-branchesdescription: Prune local branches whose work is already merged into the base. TRIGGER when the user says "clean up branches", "delete merged branches", "prune local branches", "remove old branches", "I have too many branches", "what branches can I delete", "/nyann:cleanup-branches". Do NOT trigger on "delete THIS branch" (that's a one-off `git branch -D`, not a cleanup pass) or "remove a branch from the remote" (this skill is local-only; remote pruning is `git push --delete origin <branch>` and the user should do that themselves). Do NOT trigger on "merge this branch" (that's the merge step before cleanup).---# cleanup-branchesWraps `bin/cleanup-branches.sh`. Lists local branches whose tip isreachable from the base branch (`main` / `develop` / wherever theprofile points), then either previews the list or actually deletesthem with `git branch -d` (safe — refuses unmerged work).Mirrors the same preview-then-mutate contract as `undo` and`migrate-profile`: nothing is deleted unless the caller passed`--yes` AND `--dry-run` was absent.## 1. Run the previewAlways invoke without `--yes` first:```bin/cleanup-branches.sh --target <cwd>```Output is a CleanupBranchesResult JSON (see`schemas/cleanup-branches-result.schema.json`). Show the user:- The base branch the merge check ran against (`base_branch`).- The list of candidates (`candidates[]`), one per merged branch, with last-commit timestamp + short SHA so they can sanity-check.- The total count from `summary.candidates_count`.- The recovery hint: re-run with `--yes` to delete.If `summary.candidates_count == 0`, tell the user there's nothingto clean up and exit. Don't prompt.## 2. Confirm and applyAsk: "Delete N merged branch(es)?" — list the names if there are 5or fewer, or summarise if more. On confirmation:```bin/cleanup-branches.sh --target <cwd> --yes```The script uses `git branch -d` (lowercase d, the safe form) so evenif a candidate's merge state changed between the preview and theapply, git will refuse the unsafe delete and the entry lands in`errors[]` instead of `deleted[]`. Surface any errors verbatim.## 3. After deletion- Report `summary.deleted_count` and any entries in `errors[]`.- Suggest the user push the deletions to the remote if they maintain a personal fork branch list: ``` git push --delete origin <branch> # per branch ``` Don't run this for them — pushing is a high-blast-radius action and the user should pick which deletions to mirror.## When to hand off- "Why is X still here?" → it's not reachable from base. Run `/nyann:doctor` and look at the `LOCAL BRANCHES` row for `stale_unmerged` count, or invoke `bin/check-stale-branches.sh` directly to see the full classification.- "Delete a specific branch by name" → just `git branch -D <name>`. This skill is for the bulk-merged case.- "Prune the remote-tracking refs too" → `git remote prune origin` is what they want; not in scope here.

Frequently asked questions