Clean Up Gone Git Branches with clean-gone Skill

Where this fits

You've just merged three PRs. Locally, your branch list is littered with [gone] branches no longer on the remote, plus worktrees attached to them. Instead of manually checking git status and deleting each, tell your agent: "clean up branches that are gone on the remote." That is the gap clean-gone fills: a safe-by-default Git hygiene routine for agents.

Why agents benefit

• It separates dry runs from destructive action: the agent can call with --dry-run and show a plan before asking for confirmation.
• It checks for unmerged commits and uncommitted work before deleting, so the agent won't recommend deletion when it would lose data.
• It handles worktrees attached to gone branches, not just branch refs; many cleanup scripts miss that.
• It constrains allowed tools to read-only Git operations plus AskUserQuestion, keeping the agent inside a predictable permission envelope.
• It gives agents an explicit confirmation protocol, reducing risk when run inside automated workflows.

Practical scenarios

After a PR merge wave

The agent scans all local branches, identifies those whose upstream is [gone], presents a dry-run list, then deletes only branches with no unmerged commits and no attached worktrees after the user confirms.

Before starting fresh work

The developer wants a clean branch list. The agent prunes gone branches and removes associated worktrees, then reports which branches remain and their upstream status.

Recovering from remote branch deletion

A teammate deleted a remote branch that still has unmerged local commits. The agent detects the divergence, warns the user, and asks whether to keep or force-delete instead of assuming.

Add it to your agent workflow

Install with npx:

npx skills add rlajous/claude-code-commands --skill clean-gone

Then invoke it conversationally:

User: Clean up branches that are gone on the remote.
Agent: Running dry-run first...
Removed if confirmed:
  feature/old-login (gone, no unmerged commits)
  fix/sidebar (gone, worktree attached)
Proceed? [Yes / No]

Compare before adopting

Before adopting, look at how long the repository has been maintained, whether issues are addressed, and whether current Git versions are supported. Compare with generic git fetch --prune plus manual deletion: clean-gone remains useful because it also removes worktrees and asks for confirmation. Check the allowed-tools list against your agent runtime, and decide whether you want agent-initiated destructive Git cleanup or only user-invoked mode.

Why it is worth tracking

This skill has more than 30 stars on GitHub, and its author positions it as part of a broader command set for Claude Code and compatible runtimes. It is worth tracking because its safety-first design aligns with how teams want agents to handle destructive operations: show a plan, ask for consent, act only within a narrow tool scope. As Git worktree usage grows, a skill that cleans refs and attached worktrees in one pass becomes more valuable; evaluate it again when your team expands agent automation to daily repo maintenance. For a snapshot of its quality signals, see the skill page at https://www.openagentskill.com/skills/rlajous-clean-gone.