Delete your local branches

I create a branch every time I open a PR, and I end up with dozens of stale local branches. It’s a slow accumulation — each one feels harmless, but eventually git branch scrolls off the screen and I can’t find anything.

The usual fix

I can periodically purge merged branches with git delete-merged-branches. It works, but it’s a chore I have to remember to do, and by the time I think of it, the clutter is already bad.

Deleting immediately after pushing

Once I’ve pushed a branch to the remote for a PR, why keep it locally? It’s saved up there. I just delete it and switch back to main:

git push origin my-feature
git switch main
git branch -D my-feature

This keeps my local repo clean at all times, with zero periodic maintenance. I’ve saved this in a script called git-shove, so this is all as easy as a push.

What about review iterations?

The obvious problem: someone reviews my PR and requests changes. I need the branch back to push fixes.

But review can take days. In the meantime, I’m working on other things with a cleaner branch list. When I do need to revisit the PR, I pull it down with git pr:

git pr 42

This checks out the PR branch directly from the remote. I make my changes, push, and delete the local branch again.

The feeling

There’s something deeply satisfying about running git branch and seeing just main. It’s the git equivalent of a clean desk. I know it doesn’t actually matter. I know I could just ignore the clutter. But every time I see that single line of output, a small, irrational part of my brain thinks: yes. Order. I am in control of at least this one thing.