| name | clean-complete-branches |
| description | Clean up completed Git branches and worktrees for this repository both locally and on GitHub. Use when the user asks to remove complete, completed, merged, stale, finished, or done branches, delete merged GitHub branches, tidy local worktrees, prune completed PR branches, or clean up branches and worktrees after pull requests have merged. |
Clean Complete Branches
Overview
Clean up branch work safely after pull requests are complete. This skill covers:
- local worktree folders;
- local branch refs;
- matching
origin/* remote branches on GitHub.
Use the bundled script for detection and cleanup. It dry-runs by default and
requires --apply before removing anything.
Workflow
1. Check the Repository
Start from any worktree for this repository:
git status --short --branch
git worktree list
git fetch origin main --prune
Do not overwrite, revert, or remove local changes. If a worktree has
uncommitted changes, leave it alone and mention it in the final update.
2. Preview Complete Branches
Run the script in dry-run mode first:
python3 .agents/skills/clean-complete-branches/scripts/clean_complete_branches.py
The script treats a branch as complete only when:
- the branch is not protected, such as
main, master, develop, dev,
release, or gh-pages;
- the branch has no open GitHub PR;
- Git says the branch is already contained in
origin/main, or GitHub reports
a merged PR for that branch into main;
- any checked-out worktree for that branch has no uncommitted changes.
If GitHub CLI is unavailable or unauthenticated, the script still uses Git's
merge check. Squash-merged PR branches usually need GitHub CLI evidence because
their exact commits may not be ancestors of main.
3. Apply Cleanup
After reviewing the dry-run output, remove only the listed safe candidates:
python3 .agents/skills/clean-complete-branches/scripts/clean_complete_branches.py --apply
By default, --apply removes safe worktree folders and local branch refs. To
also delete matching GitHub remote branches, add --delete-remotes:
python3 .agents/skills/clean-complete-branches/scripts/clean_complete_branches.py --apply --delete-remotes
The script does not merge PRs, close issues, or delete protected branches.
4. Validate the Result
Confirm the cleanup:
git worktree list
git branch
git branch -r
git status --short --branch
Keep the final update practical: list what was removed, what was skipped, and
whether GitHub remote branches were deleted.
Safety Rules
- Never remove
main, the current worktree, dirty worktrees, detached
worktrees, or branches with open PRs.
- Never use
rm -rf for registered Git worktrees. Use git worktree remove.
- Do not delete GitHub remote branches unless the user asked to clean GitHub too
and the script has shown them as complete in dry-run output.
- Do not close GitHub issues or merge pull requests as part of cleanup.
