git-maintain

created	"2025-12-16T00:00:00.000Z"
modified	"2026-05-09T00:00:00.000Z"
reviewed	"2026-04-25T00:00:00.000Z"
allowed-tools	Bash(git status *), Bash(git branch *), Bash(git stash *), Bash(git prune *), Bash(git gc *), Bash(git repack *), Bash(git fsck *), Bash(git rm *), Bash(du *), Read, Glob, TodoWrite
args	[--prune] [--gc] [--verify] [--branches] [--stash] [--all]
argument-hint	[--prune] [--gc] [--verify] [--branches] [--stash] [--all]
disable-model-invocation	true
description	Repository maintenance and cleanup — gc, branch pruning, stash cleanup, integrity verification. Use when user asks to clean up the repo, run git gc, delete merged branches, prune stashes, run git fsck, or shrink .git.
name	git-maintain

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when...	Use the alternative when...
Running git gc, repacking objects, or shrinking the .git directory	Use git-coworker-check first if other agents may be writing to the same checkout
Pruning merged local branches and old stashes	Use git-cli-agentic for read-only branch/stash queries without mutating state
Verifying repo integrity with git fsck	Use git-security-checks for secret scanning rather than object integrity
Cleaning up a checkout before a long-lived feature branch goes stale	Use git-rebase-patterns to clean up commit history rather than the object store

Context

• Current branch: !git branch --show-current
• Git status: !git status --porcelain=v2 --branch
• Local branches: !git branch -vv --format='%(refname:short) %(upstream:short) %(upstream:track)'
• Stash list: !git stash list
• Repository size: !du -sh .git

Parameters

Parse these parameters from the command (all optional):

• --prune: Remove unreachable objects and optimize repository
• --gc: Run git garbage collection (aggressive)
• --verify: Verify integrity of git objects
• --branches: Clean up merged branches only
• --stash: Clean up stashes only
• --all: Run all maintenance tasks (default if no flags specified)

Your task

Perform repository maintenance and cleanup based on the flags provided.

Step 1: Check for accidentally committed files

• Environment files, IDE files, dependencies, build artifacts, secrets
• Suggest adding to .gitignore and removing with git rm --cached

Step 2: Update .gitignore

• Suggest common patterns if missing
• Offer to append missing patterns

Step 3: Delete merged branches (if --branches or --all)

• List and clean branches merged via GitHub PR
• Protect main, master, develop, staging, production
• Delete local branches safely with git branch -d
• Require user confirmation before deleting branches

Step 4: Clean up redundant stashes (if --stash or --all)

• Show stash ages and context
• Suggest cleanup for old stashes (>30 days)
• Drop stashes from deleted branches
• Require user confirmation before dropping stashes

Step 5: Repository optimization (if --prune, --gc, or --all)

# Prune unreachable objects
git prune

# Run garbage collection
git gc --aggressive

# Repack objects
git repack -ad

# Show size improvement
du -sh .git

Step 6: Verify repository integrity (if --verify or --all)

git fsck --full --strict

Report any issues found.

Step 7: Final summary

• Report all actions taken
• Show before/after metrics

Safe Operations

These operations are safe and non-destructive:

• git gc - Garbage collection
• git prune - Prune unreachable objects
• git fsck - Verify integrity

These require user confirmation:

• git branch -d - Delete branches
• git stash drop - Drop stashes

See Also

• git-branch-pr-workflow skill for branch management patterns