git-clean-branches

Claude Command: Clean Branches

This command safely identifies and cleans up merged or stale Git branches. Runs in read-only preview (--dry-run) mode by default, requiring explicit instructions to perform deletions.

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Usage

# [Safest] Preview branches to be cleaned without executing any deletions
/git-cleanBranches --dry-run

# Clean local branches merged to main and inactive for over 90 days (requires individual confirmation)
/git-cleanBranches --stale 90

# Clean local and remote branches merged to release/v2.1 (auto-confirm)
/git-cleanBranches --base release/v2.1 --remote --yes

# [Dangerous] Force delete an unmerged local branch
/git-cleanBranches --force outdated-feature

Options

• --base <branch>: Specify the base branch for cleanup (defaults to repository's main/master).
• --stale <days>: Clean branches with no commits for specified days (disabled by default).
• --remote: Also clean remote merged/stale branches.
• --dry-run: Default behavior. Only list branches to be deleted without executing any operations.
• --yes: Skip individual confirmations and delete all identified branches directly (suitable for CI/CD).
• --force: Use -D to force delete local branches (even if unmerged).

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What This Command Does

1. Configuration and Safety Checks

   • Update Information: Automatically executes git fetch --all --prune to ensure branch status is current.
   • Read Protected Branches: Reads the list of branches that should not be cleaned from Git config (see "Configuration" below).
   • Determine Base: Uses --base parameter or auto-detected main/master as comparison baseline.

2. Analysis and Identification (Find)

   • Merged Branches: Find local (and remote if --remote is added) branches fully merged to --base.
   • Stale Branches: If --stale <days> is specified, find branches with last commit N days ago.
   • Exclude Protected Branches: Remove all configured protected branches from cleanup list.

3. Report and Preview (Report)

   • Clearly list "merged branches to be deleted" and "stale branches to be deleted".
   • Without --yes parameter, command ends here, waiting for user confirmation to re-execute (without --dry-run).