Git Branch Cleanup & Organization

Git Branch Cleanup & Organization

Clean up merged branches and organize repository structure: $ARGUMENTS

Current Repository State

• All branches: !git branch -a
• Recent branches: !git for-each-ref --count=10 --sort=-committerdate refs/heads/ --format='%(refname:short) - %(committerdate:relative)'
• Remote branches: !git branch -r
• Merged branches: !git branch --merged main 2>/dev/null || git branch --merged master 2>/dev/null || echo "No main/master branch found"
• Current branch: !git branch --show-current

Task

Perform comprehensive branch cleanup and organization based on the repository state and provided arguments.

Cleanup Operations

1. Identify Branches for Cleanup

• Merged branches: Find local branches already merged into main/master
• Stale remote branches: Identify remote-tracking branches that no longer exist
• Old branches: Detect branches with no recent activity (>30 days)
• Feature branches: Organize feature/* hotfix/* release/* branches

2. Safety Checks Before Deletion

• Verify branches are actually merged using git merge-base
• Check if branches have unpushed commits
• Confirm branches aren't the current working branch
• Validate against protected branch patterns

3. Branch Categories to Handle

• Safe to delete: Merged feature branches, old hotfix branches
• Needs review: Unmerged branches with old commits
• Keep: Main branches (main, master, develop), active feature branches
• Archive: Long-running branches that might need preservation

4. Remote Branch Synchronization

• Remove remote-tracking branches for deleted remotes
• Prune remote references with git remote prune origin
• Update branch tracking relationships
• Clean up remote branch references

Command Modes

Default Mode (Interactive)

1. Show branch analysis with recommendations
2. Ask for confirmation before each deletion
3. Provide summary of actions taken
4. Offer to push deletions to remote

Dry Run Mode (--dry-run)

1. Show what would be deleted without making changes
2. Display branch analysis and recommendations
3. Provide cleanup statistics
4. Exit without modifying repository

Force Mode (--force)

1. Delete merged branches without confirmation
2. Clean up stale remotes automatically
3. Provide summary of all actions taken
4. Use with caution - no undo capability

Remote Only (--remote-only)

1. Only clean up remote-tracking branches
2. Synchronize with actual remote state
3. Remove stale remote references
4. Keep all local branches intact

Local Only (--local-only)

1. Only clean up local branches
2. Don't affect remote-tracking branches
3. Keep remote synchronization intact
4. Focus on local workspace organization

Safety Features

Pre-cleanup Validation

• Ensure working directory is clean
• Check for uncommitted changes
• Verify current branch is safe (not target for deletion)
• Create backup references if requested

Protected Branches

Never delete branches matching these patterns:

• main, master, develop, staging, production
• release/* (unless explicitly confirmed)
• Current working branch
• Branches with unpushed commits (unless forced)

Recovery Information

• Display git reflog references for deleted branches
• Provide commands to recover accidentally deleted branches
• Show SHA hashes for branch tips before deletion
• Create recovery script if multiple branches deleted

Branch Organization Features

Naming Convention Enforcement

• Suggest renaming branches to follow team conventions
• Organize branches by type (feature/, bugfix/, hotfix/)
• Identify branches that don't follow naming patterns
• Provide batch renaming suggestions

Branch Tracking Setup

• Set up proper upstream tracking for feature branches
• Configure push/pull behavior for new branches
• Identify branches missing upstream configuration
• Fix broken tracking relationships

Output and Reporting

Cleanup Summary

Branch Cleanup Summary:
✅ Deleted 3 merged feature branches
✅ Removed 5 stale remote references
✅ Cleaned up 2 old hotfix branches
⚠️  Found 1 unmerged branch requiring attention
📊 Repository now has 8 active branches (was 18)

Recovery Instructions

Branch Recovery Commands:
git checkout -b feature/user-auth 1a2b3c4d  # Recover feature/user-auth
git push origin feature/user-auth            # Restore to remote

Best Practices

Regular Maintenance Schedule

• Run cleanup weekly for active repositories
• Use --dry-run first to review changes
• Coordinate with team before major cleanups
• Document any non-standard branches to preserve

Team Coordination

• Communicate branch deletion plans with team
• Check if anyone has work-in-progress on old branches
• Use GitHub/GitLab branch protection rules
• Maintain shared documentation of branch policies

Branch Lifecycle Management

• Delete feature branches immediately after merge
• Keep release branches until next major release
• Archive long-term experimental branches
• Use tags to mark important branch states before deletion

Example Usage

# Safe interactive cleanup
/branch-cleanup

# See what would be cleaned without changes
/branch-cleanup --dry-run

# Clean only remote tracking branches
/branch-cleanup --remote-only

# Force cleanup of merged branches
/branch-cleanup --force

# Clean only local branches
/branch-cleanup --local-only

Integration with GitHub/GitLab

If GitHub CLI or GitLab CLI is available:

• Check PR status before deleting branches
• Verify branches are actually merged in web interface
• Clean up both local and remote branches consistently
• Update branch protection rules if needed