Clean Branches Command

Clean up merged and stale git branches

Instructions

Follow this systematic approach to clean up git branches: $ARGUMENTS

• Repository State Analysis

- Check current branch and uncommitted changes

- List all local and remote branches

- Identify the main/master branch name

- Review recent branch activity and merge history

# Check current status
   git status
   git branch -a
   git remote -v
   
   # Check main branch name
   git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@'

• Safety Precautions

- Ensure working directory is clean

- Switch to main/master branch

- Pull latest changes from remote

- Create backup of current branch state if needed

# Ensure clean state
   git stash push -m "Backup before branch cleanup"
   git checkout main  # or master
   git pull origin main

• Identify Merged Branches

- List branches that have been merged into main

- Exclude protected branches (main, master, develop)

- Check both local and remote merged branches

- Verify merge status to avoid accidental deletion

# List merged local branches
   git branch --merged main | grep -v "main\\|master\\|develop\\|\\*"
   
   # List merged remote branches
   git branch -r --merged main | grep -v "main\\|master\\|develop\\|HEAD"

• Identify Stale Branches

- Find branches with no recent activity

- Check last commit date for each branch

- Identify branches older than specified timeframe (e.g., 30 days)

- Consider branch naming patterns for feature/hotfix branches

# List branches by last commit date
   git for-each-ref --format='%(committerdate) %(authorname) %(refname)' --sort=committerdate refs/heads
   
   # Find branches older than 30 days
   git for-each-ref --format='%(refname:short) %(committerdate)' refs/heads | awk '$2 < "'$(date -d '30 days ago' '+%Y-%m-%d')'"'

• Interactive Branch Review

- Review each branch before deletion

- Check if branch has unmerged changes

- Verify branch purpose and status

- Ask for confirmation before deletion

# Check for unmerged changes
   git log main..branch-name --oneline
   
   # Show branch information
   git show-branch branch-name main

• Protected Branch Configuration

- Identify branches that should never be deleted

- Configure protection rules for important branches

- Document branch protection policies

- Set up automated protection for new repositories

# Example protected branches
   PROTECTED_BRANCHES=("main" "master" "develop" "staging" "production")

• Local Branch Cleanup

- Delete merged local branches safely

- Remove stale feature branches

- Clean up tracking branches for deleted remotes

- Update local branch references

# Delete merged branches (interactive)
   git branch --merged main | grep -v "main\\|master\\|develop\\|\\*" | xargs -n 1 -p git branch -d
   
   # Force delete if needed (use with caution)
   git branch -D branch-name

• Remote Branch Cleanup

- Remove merged remote branches

- Clean up remote tracking references

- Delete obsolete remote branches

- Update remote branch information

# Prune remote tracking branches
   git remote prune origin
   
   # Delete remote branch
   git push origin --delete branch-name
   
   # Remove local tracking of deleted remote branches
   git branch -dr origin/branch-name

• Automated Cleanup Script

#!/bin/bash
   
   # Git branch cleanup script
   set -e
   
   # Configuration
   MAIN_BRANCH="main"
   PROTECTED_BRANCHES=("main" "master" "develop" "staging" "production")
   STALE_DAYS=30
   
   # Functions
   is_protected() {
       local branch=$1
       for protected in "${PROTECTED_BRANCHES[@]}"; do
           if [[ "$branch" == "$protected" ]]; then
               return 0
           fi
       done
       return 1
   }
   
   # Switch to main branch
   git checkout $MAIN_BRANCH
   git pull origin $MAIN_BRANCH
   
   # Clean up merged branches
   echo "Cleaning up merged branches..."
   merged_branches=$(git branch --merged $MAIN_BRANCH | grep -v "\\*\\|$MAIN_BRANCH")
   
   for branch in $merged_branches; do
       if ! is_protected "$branch"; then
           echo "Deleting merged branch: $branch"
           git branch -d "$branch"
       fi
   done
   
   # Prune remote tracking branches
   echo "Pruning remote tracking branches..."
   git remote prune origin
   
   echo "Branch cleanup completed!"

• Team Coordination

- Notify team before cleaning shared branches

- Check if branches are being used by others

- Coordinate branch cleanup schedules

- Document branch cleanup procedures

• Branch Naming Convention Cleanup

- Identify branches with non-standard naming

- Clean up temporary or experimental branches

- Remove old hotfix and feature branches

- Enforce consistent naming conventions

• Verification and Validation

- Verify important branches are still present

- Check that no active work was deleted

- Validate remote branch synchronization

- Confirm team members have no issues

# Verify cleanup results
    git branch -a
    git remote show origin

• Documentation and Reporting

- Document what branches were cleaned up

- Report any issues or conflicts found

- Update team documentation about branch lifecycle

- Create branch cleanup schedule and policies

• Rollback Procedures

- Document how to recover deleted branches

- Use reflog to find deleted branch commits

- Create emergency recovery procedures

- Set up branch restoration scripts

# Recover deleted branch using reflog
    git reflog --no-merges --since="2 weeks ago"
    git checkout -b recovered-branch commit-hash

• Automation Setup

- Set up automated branch cleanup scripts

- Configure CI/CD pipeline for branch cleanup

- Create scheduled cleanup jobs

- Implement branch lifecycle policies

• Best Practices Implementation

- Establish branch lifecycle guidelines

- Set up automated merge detection

- Configure branch protection rules

- Implement code review requirements

Advanced Cleanup Options:

# Clean up all merged branches except protected ones
git branch --merged main | grep -E "^  (feature|hotfix|bugfix)/" | xargs -n 1 git branch -d

# Interactive cleanup with confirmation
git branch --merged main | grep -v "main\|master\|develop" | xargs -n 1 -p git branch -d

# Batch delete remote branches
git branch -r --merged main | grep origin | grep -v "main\|master\|develop\|HEAD" | cut -d/ -f2- | xargs -n 1 git push origin --delete

# Clean up branches older than specific date
git for-each-ref --format='%(refname:short) %(committerdate:short)' refs/heads | awk '$2 < "2023-01-01"' | cut -d' ' -f1 | xargs -n 1 git branch -D

Remember to:

• Always backup important branches before cleanup
• Coordinate with team members before deleting shared branches
• Test cleanup scripts in a safe environment first
• Document all cleanup procedures and policies
• Set up regular cleanup schedules to prevent accumulation