git-clean-branches

Interactively clean up merged and stale local git branches. Zero dependencies.

Unlike git branch --merged | grep -v master | xargs git branch -d (Unix-only, no confirmation), this works on Windows and prompts before deleting.

Install

npm install -g git-clean-branches

Or without installing:

npx git-clean-branches

Usage

git-clean-branches                 # List all non-protected branches
git-clean-branches --merged        # Show merged branches, confirm before delete
git-clean-branches --stale 30      # Show branches not touched in 30+ days
git-clean-branches --merged --yes  # Delete merged branches without prompting
git-clean-branches --merged --dry-run  # Show what would be deleted

Example Output

git-clean-branches  main

  feature/user-auth                 Add JWT middleware         [merged] [3d]
  fix/login-redirect                Fix redirect after login   [merged] [7d]
  experiment/graphql                Initial GraphQL setup               [45d]
  wip/notifications                 WIP: push notifications             [62d]

  Delete all 4 branches listed above? [y/N/list]

Enter y to delete all, n to cancel, or list to confirm each one individually.

Protected Branches

These are never deleted regardless of flags:

• main, master, trunk, develop
• The currently checked-out branch
• The base branch (auto-detected or set via --base)

Options

| Flag | Description | |---|---| | --merged | Show/delete branches already merged into main | | --stale <days> | Show/delete branches not touched in N days | | --base <branch> | Override base branch (default: auto-detect main/master) | | --force | Use git branch -D (force delete unmerged branches) | | --yes | Skip confirmation prompt | | --dry-run | Show what would be deleted, don't delete |

License

MIT

Keywords

git branch cleanup · delete merged branches · stale branches · prune branches · clean git branches · remove old branches · git housekeeping · merged branches · cross-platform · zero dependencies

Built to solve, shared to help — Rushabh Shah 🛠️✨

One of 40+ zero-dependency developer CLI tools — no node_modules, ever.