glbc - GitLab Branch Cleaner

A CLI tool to clean up invalid GitLab branches.

Installation

npm install -g glbc

Usage

Global Options

• --config <file>: Configuration file path (default: .glabrc)

Commands

glab clean

Clean up GitLab branches from merge requests targeting a specific branch.

glab clean --target main

Options:

• --target <branch>: Target branch to filter merge requests (default: main)
• --force: Force delete protected branches
• -d, --dry-run: Show what would be deleted without actually deleting

glab list

List all GitLab branches.

glab list

Configuration

Create a .glabrc file in your project root or home directory with the following format:

gitlab_url=https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4
gitlab_token=your_access_token
project_id=your_project_id

Or set environment variables:

export GITLAB_URL=https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4
export GITLAB_TOKEN=your_access_token
export PROJECT_ID=your_project_id

Examples

Clean branches from merge requests targeting the main branch:

glab clean --target main

Force delete protected branches:

glab clean --target main --force

Dry run to see what would be deleted:

glab clean --target main --dry-run

Interactive selection with inquirer (with numbered list):

glab clean
# Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select branches
# Items are numbered for easy identification

Performance optimization note:

• API now filters merge requests by target branch directly
• Only includes opened and merged MRs (excludes closed MRs)
• Shows MR status in selection list
• More efficient for repositories with many merge requests