git-branch-pruner

git-branch-pruner

A CLI tool to find and delete merged git branches that are candidates for cleanup.

Requirements

Go 1.25 or later.

Installation

go install github.com/arcmantle/git-branch-pruner@latest

Or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/arcmantle/git-branch-pruner.git
cd git-branch-pruner
go build -o git-branch-pruner .

Usage

List merged branches

# List all merged branches (sorted oldest first)
git-branch-pruner list

# Only branches older than 30 days
git-branch-pruner list --older-than 30

# Include remote branches
git-branch-pruner list --remote

# Sort by name instead of age
git-branch-pruner list --sort name

# Output as JSON (for scripting)
git-branch-pruner list --format json

# Output as CSV
git-branch-pruner list --format csv

# Write output to a file (format auto-detected from extension)
git-branch-pruner list --output branches.json
git-branch-pruner list --output branches.csv

# Include the first-commit author per branch (slower)
git-branch-pruner list --authors

# Check against a specific target branch
git-branch-pruner list --target main

list flags

Delete merged branches

# Preview what would be deleted (dry run)
git-branch-pruner prune --dry-run

# Delete with confirmation prompt
git-branch-pruner prune

# Delete without confirmation
git-branch-pruner prune --no-confirm

# Only delete branches older than 90 days
git-branch-pruner prune --older-than 90

# Include remote branches
git-branch-pruner prune --remote

# Output candidates as JSON without deleting
git-branch-pruner prune --json

# Delete exactly the branches listed in a file (produced by list --output)
git-branch-pruner prune --input branches.csv

prune flags

Global flags

Note: --protected replaces the default list (main, master, develop). Always include every branch you want protected. Example: --protected main,master,develop,staging — not just --protected staging. The tool will warn you when the override excludes all default branches.

Note: Remote branch operations assume the remote is named origin. Repositories using a different primary remote name are not currently supported for --remote operations.

Examples

# Clean up old feature branches in another repo
git-branch-pruner prune -C /path/to/repo --older-than 60

# Custom protected branches
git-branch-pruner prune --protected main,staging,production

# Scripting: get merged branches as JSON
git-branch-pruner list --format json | jq '.branches[].name'

# Full pipeline: list, review, then prune
git-branch-pruner list --older-than 30
git-branch-pruner prune --older-than 30 --dry-run
git-branch-pruner prune --older-than 30

# Review-and-delete workflow: export, edit the file, then prune from it
git-branch-pruner list --output branches.csv
# (edit branches.csv to remove any branches you want to keep)
git-branch-pruner prune --input branches.csv

# Protect a release branch hierarchy
git-branch-pruner list --tiers "main,master <- release/* <- hotfix/*"

License

MIT