clean-branches

name	clean-branches
description	This skill should be used when the user says "clean up branches", "delete merged branches", "prune stale branches", "git branch cleanup", "remove old branches", or wants to tidy up or purge old branches.
model	haiku
argument-hint	[branch-pattern] - optional pattern to filter branches
allowed-tools	["Bash","AskUserQuestion"]

Clean Git Branches

Safely remove merged and stale git branches with confirmation.

Process

0. Parse arguments If $ARGUMENTS provided, treat it as a glob pattern to filter branch candidates to only matching branches (e.g., feature/* shows only feature branches). Applied in Step 2 to both merged and stale detection.

1. Fetch latest state

git fetch --all --prune

If git fetch fails (no remotes configured), note that remote branch data is unavailable and continue with local analysis only.

2. Identify candidates

Find merged branches (apply pattern filter if provided):

MERGED=$(git branch --merged main | grep -v "^\*\|main\|master\|develop")
[ -n "$ARGUMENTS" ] && MERGED=$(echo "$MERGED" | grep "$ARGUMENTS")
echo "$MERGED"

Find stale branches (no commits in 30+ days, apply pattern filter if provided):

CUTOFF=$(python3 -c "import time; print(int(time.time()) - 30*86400)")
git for-each-ref --sort=-committerdate \
  --format='%(refname:short) %(committerdate:unix) %(committerdate:relative)' \
  refs/heads/ | while read branch ts reldate; do
  [ -n "$ARGUMENTS" ] && [[ "$branch" != $ARGUMENTS ]] && continue
  if (( ts < CUTOFF )); then
    echo "$branch ($reldate)"
  fi
done

Unix timestamps are used for accurate threshold comparison — git's relative date strings ("5 weeks ago") would miss branches 35–59 days old if matched by pattern.

3. Categorize and display

Present branches in three groups: merged (safe to delete), stale (no recent commits), and protected (never touch). Show branch name and age for stale entries.

MERGED BRANCHES (safe to delete):
- feature/old-feature
- fix/completed-fix

STALE BRANCHES (no recent commits):
- experiment/abandoned (3 months ago)
- wip/forgotten (6 months ago)

PROTECTED (never delete):
- main, master, develop

If both lists are empty, report "No branches to clean" and stop.

4. Confirm before deletion

Use AskUserQuestion:

• "Delete all merged branches?"
• "Delete specific stale branches?" (list options)
• "Skip and keep all?"

5. Execute deletion

Local only (safe):

git branch -d <branch-name>

If user explicitly requests remote cleanup:

git push origin --delete <branch-name>

Safety Rules

• Never delete: main, master, develop, release/*
• Always confirm before any deletion
• Use -d not -D: -d refuses to delete branches with unmerged commits, so git itself enforces the safety check; -D bypasses it
• Show what will be deleted before acting
• Remote deletion requires explicit user confirmation; never delete remotes unless the user says so directly

Output

Summary:

• Branches deleted (local)
• Branches deleted (remote, if requested)
• Branches kept
• Any errors encountered