Git Delete Branch — Avoid Deleting Develop in Bulk Cleanup

# io.thecodeforge — Git Branch Deletion

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# SAFE DELETE — refuses if branch has unmerged commits
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git branch -d feature/payment-retry
# Output: Deleted branch feature/payment-retry (was a3f9c2e).
# Or: error: The branch 'feature/payment-retry' is not fully merged.

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# FORCE DELETE — no safety check
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git branch -D feature/payment-retry
# Output: Deleted branch feature/payment-retry (was a3f9c2e).
# No check. Branch ref removed. Commits still in object store.

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# INSPECT BEFORE FORCE-DELETING
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

# Check what's merged into main before deleting
git branch --merged main
# Output: branches whose tips ARE reachable from main (safe to -d)

git branch --no-merged main
# Output: branches with commits NOT yet in main (need -D or review first)

# See exactly what commits you'd lose with -D
git log feature/wip-refactor --not main --oneline
# Output:
# 9c3e8a2 WIP: experimental retry pattern
# 7b2d4f1 Spike: circuit breaker approach
# If these commits matter, merge or cherry-pick before deleting.

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# BULK DELETE: delete all local branches already merged into main
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

# Review the list first
git branch --merged main | grep -vE '^\*|^\s*main$|^\s*master$|^\s*develop$'

# If the list looks right, pipe to delete:
git branch --merged main | grep -vE '^\*|^\s*main$|^\s*master$|^\s*develop$' | xargs -r git branch -d

# io.thecodeforge — Delete Remote Branch

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# DELETE THE REMOTE BRANCH
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git push origin --delete feature/payment-retry
# Output: To github.com:io/thecodeforge/payments-service.git
#  - [deleted]         feature/payment-retry

# Older syntax — same effect, less readable
git push origin :feature/payment-retry

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# CLEAN UP YOUR STALE REMOTE-TRACKING REFS
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git fetch --prune
# Removes any local refs to remote branches that no longer exist
# Output:
# From github.com:io/thecodeforge/payments-service.git
#  - [deleted]         (none)     -> origin/feature/payment-retry

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# DO BOTH IN ONE STEP
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git push origin --delete feature/payment-retry && git fetch --prune

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# CONFIGURE AUTO-PRUNE (do this once, globally)
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git config --global fetch.prune true
# Now every git fetch and git pull automatically prunes dead tracking refs.
# You never need to run git fetch --prune manually again.

# Verify auto-prune is configured
git config --global fetch.prune
# Output: true

# io.thecodeforge — Full Branch Cleanup Workflow

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# FULL CLEANUP — run after a PR is merged
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

# Step 1: Switch away from the branch you want to delete
git checkout main
git pull origin main   # Get latest main before cleanup

# Step 2: Delete local branch
git branch -d feature/payment-retry
# Use -D if you squash-merged (the tip won't be reachable via ancestry)

# Step 3: Delete the remote branch
git push origin --delete feature/payment-retry

# Step 4: Prune stale remote-tracking refs on your machine
git fetch --prune

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# ONE-LINER for the muscle-memory inclined
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git checkout main && git pull && git branch -d feature/payment-retry && git push origin --delete feature/payment-retry

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# NUCLEAR: delete all local branches merged into main (with exclusions)
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

# Review the list first before running
git branch --merged main | grep -vE '^\*|^\s*main$|^\s*master$|^\s*develop$|^\s*release/'
# If the list looks right, pipe to delete:
git branch --merged main | grep -vE '^\*|^\s*main$|^\s*master$|^\s*develop$|^\s*release/' | xargs -r git branch -d

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# HANDLE RENAMED BRANCHES
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

# If you renamed old-name to new-name mid-development:
# The old remote branch 'old-name' still exists
git push origin --delete old-name  # Delete the old remote branch name
# The new-name remote branch (if pushed) stays — delete it separately after merge

# io.thecodeforge — Recover Deleted Branch

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# SCENARIO: You deleted feature/payment-retry by mistake
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

# Step 1: Find the commit that was the branch tip
git reflog
# Look for the last checkout of the deleted branch or the last commit on it
# Output:
# a3f9c2e HEAD@{0}: checkout: moving from feature/payment-retry to main
# 7b2d4f1 HEAD@{1}: commit: Add retry logic with exponential backoff
# 9c3e8a2 HEAD@{2}: commit: Add PaymentRetryService skeleton

# Step 2: Recreate the branch at the commit you want
git branch feature/payment-retry a3f9c2e
# Or use the reflog shorthand:
git branch feature/payment-retry HEAD@{1}

# Step 3: Verify you got the right commits
git log feature/payment-retry --oneline -5

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# SCENARIO: Branch was deleted remotely and you still have it locally
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

# Push the local branch to recreate the remote branch
git push origin feature/payment-retry
# Recreates the remote branch from your local copy.

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# SCENARIO: Branch was deleted both locally and remotely
# But a teammate still has it locally
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

# Ask the teammate to push it:
# On teammate's machine:
git push origin feature/payment-retry

# Or ask them for the commit hash, then recreate on your end:
git fetch origin
git branch feature/payment-retry origin/feature/payment-retry

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# SCENARIO: Nobody has the branch — check GitHub's API
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

# GitHub keeps deleted branch refs accessible via the API for a limited time
# Use the GitHub API to list recent branch deletions:
curl -s -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.github.com/repos/your-org/your-repo/events" \
  | grep -A5 'DeleteEvent'
# Find the SHA of the last commit on the deleted branch
# Then recreate: git branch feature/payment-retry <sha> && git push origin feature/payment-retry

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# PREVENTION: Extend the reflog retention window
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

git config --global gc.reflogExpire 90.days
git config --global gc.reflogExpireUnreachable 90.days
# Default is 30 days. Extend to 90 for more recovery window.
# Trade-off: more disk usage for reflog entries.

# io.thecodeforge — GitHub Actions workflow for stale branch cleanup
name: Cleanup stale branches

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 6 * * 1'  # Every Monday at 6 AM UTC
  workflow_dispatch:  # Allow manual trigger

jobs:
  delete-stale-branches:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0  # Need all branches for --merged check

      - name: Dry-run — list branches that would be deleted
        run: |
          echo "=== Branches merged into main (excluding protected) ==="
          git branch --merged origin/main | grep -vE '^\*|main|master|develop|release/|staging' || true

      - name: Delete stale merged branches locally and remotely
        run: |
          git branch --merged origin/main | grep -vE '^\*|main|master|develop|release/|staging' | while read branch; do
            echo "Deleting $branch"
            git branch -d "$branch"
            git push origin --delete "$branch" || echo "Failed to delete remote $branch (maybe already gone)"
          done

      - name: Prune local remote-tracking refs
        run: |
          git fetch --prune