Cleanup Git

Clean local git branches and worktrees after work has merged. Dry-run first. Destructive commands require user approval.

Prefer a repo-local scripts/cleanup-git.sh when the target repo ships one. If it does not, use the bundled skill script from this skill's scripts/ directory. Do not improvise destructive cleanup commands outside the script workflow.

Command

Run from anywhere inside a repository:

scripts/cleanup-git.sh
scripts/cleanup-git.sh --apply
scripts/cleanup-git.sh --apply --force
scripts/cleanup-git.sh --base <ref>

Branch Detection

The script fetches/prunes remotes, then chooses the comparison branch:

1. Remote default branch from refs/remotes/<remote>/HEAD.
2. Local main, master, trunk, develop, or dev.
3. Remote <remote>/{main,master,trunk,develop,dev}.

Use --base <ref> only for unusual repositories.

What It Removes

• Worktrees whose branch has a GitHub PR in MERGED state, is merged into the detected base branch, or whose upstream is gone.
• Local branches with the same criteria.

When gh is available, PR MERGED state is the source of truth for squash/rebase merges. Do not miss those just because git merge-base --is-ancestor fails after history rewrite. If no PR is found, or gh is unavailable, fall back to the git-based checks.

Guards

Hard guards:

• Skip the current worktree.
• Skip the current branch.
• Skip the detected base branch and common long-lived branches: main, master, trunk, develop, dev.
• Keep worktrees with uncommitted changes.

Soft guard:

• Keep items with commits ahead of the base branch. --force overrides only this guard.
• For merged PRs, treat only commits added after the PR head as "ahead". A squash/rebase-merged branch with no new local commits is still removable.

Workflow

1. Run scripts/cleanup-git.sh and show the preview.
2. Read reasons literally: remove ... (PR merged), remove ... (upstream gone), KEEP ... (dirty), KEEP ... (PR merged, N ahead — use --force).
3. Surface every KEEP line as a human decision.
4. Ask before running scripts/cleanup-git.sh --apply.
5. Use --force only when the user confirms ahead commits are throwaway.

Output

GIT CLEANUP
===========
Status: PREVIEW | APPLIED | BLOCKED
Base: <ref>

Remove:
- <branch/worktree> — <reason>

Keep:
- <branch/worktree> — <reason and user decision needed>

Verification:
- <command> — pass/fail/not run

Conditional References

• gh-cli.md — read when gh is available and PR-state detection is needed: squash/rebase merge detection, rate-limit batching, offline fallback.

Failure Handling

• Not a git repo: say so and stop.
• Base branch not found: ask for --base <ref>.
• Fetch fails during preview: report that refs may be stale.
• Fetch fails during apply: stop; do not delete with stale refs.
• Dirty worktree: keep it and ask the user what to do.
• Ahead commits: keep unless the user explicitly approves --force.