| name | clean-gone-branches |
| description | Delete local git branches whose remotes are gone, after verifying via gh CLI that each was actually merged. |
| license | MIT |
| compatibility | claude cursor opencode |
| metadata | {"version":"1.0.0","languages":"all","audience":"developers","workflow":"git","since":"2026-03-19"} |
What I do
Clean up orphaned local branches (those whose remote tracking branch is [gone]) by:
- Running
git fetch --prune to sync remote state.
- Listing all local branches with
[gone] remote tracking refs.
- Verifying each branch's PR status via
gh pr list --state all to confirm it was merged (or closed).
- Showing the user a summary table with PR state and merge date.
- Asking for confirmation before deleting.
- Force-deleting confirmed branches with
git branch -D.
When to use me
- After a sprint or a batch of PRs land and you want to clean up stale local branches.
- Any time
git branch -vv shows several [gone] entries.
- Before switching repos or doing a clean checkout.
Workflow
Step 1: Fetch and prune
git fetch --prune
Step 2: Find orphaned branches
git branch -vv | grep ': gone]'
If nothing found, report "No orphaned branches found." and stop.
Step 3: Verify PR status via gh CLI
For each orphaned branch, run:
gh pr list --head "<branch>" --state all --json state,mergedAt,title \
--jq '.[0] | "\(.state) | merged: \(.mergedAt // "N/A") | \(.title)"'
Build a summary table:
| Branch | PR State | Merged At | PR Title |
|---|
Flag any branches that are not MERGED (e.g. OPEN or CLOSED without merge) — these need user attention before deletion.
Step 4: Confirm with user
Show the table and ask:
- "Delete all MERGED branches now?"
If any branch has no PR or is not merged, exclude it from the default delete list and call it out explicitly:
- "These branches have no merged PR — skip them or confirm to force-delete anyway?"
Step 5: Delete
git branch -D <branch1> <branch2> ...
Report each deleted branch with its last commit hash.
Behavior rules
- Never delete without explicit user confirmation.
- Always use
git branch -D (force) since git's merge check is against the local default branch, not the remote — remote deletion already confirms the work is done.
- If
gh is not available or returns no results, warn the user and do not auto-delete.
- Prefer deleting all confirmed-merged branches in one command rather than one-by-one.
