This guide provides detailed instructions on how to delete Git branches, both locally and remotely hosted on GitHub, ensuring your project remains organized and efficient.
Understanding branch deletion in GitHub
In Git, branches are pointers to a specific commit in a repository. Deleting a branch removes this pointer, which can help in reducing clutter and focusing on currently active development tasks. This is particularly useful after merging feature branches into the main branch, where the feature branch is no longer needed.
Deleting a branch from the CLI
Before deleting a branch remotely, you might want to delete it from your local repository.
Step 1: Check out a different branch
Ensure you are not currently on the branch you wish to delete. Switch to another branch using the checkout command:
git checkout main
Step 2: Delete the local branch
To delete the branch locally, use the following Git command:
git branch -d <branch-name>
Replace <branch-name> with the name of the branch you wish to delete. If the branch has changes that have not been merged, you will need to use the -D flag instead to force deletion:
git branch -D <branch-name>
Step 3: Push the deletion to GitHub
After deleting the branch locally, you need to push the deletion to GitHub to update the remote repository:
git push origin --delete <branch-name>
This command tells Git to remove the branch from the remote repository as well.
Deleting a branch using the GitHub UI
Step 1: Navigate to your repository
Log into your GitHub account and go to the repository from which you want to delete the branch.
Step 2: Access the branches list
On the repository page, click on the “Branches” link near the top of the page. This will display a list of all the branches in the repository.
Step 3: Locate the branch to delete
Find the branch you wish to delete in the list. You can use the search bar to quickly find the branch by typing its name.
Step 4: Delete the branch
Next to the branch name, you’ll see a trash can icon. Click this icon to delete the branch. GitHub will ask you to confirm the deletion. Confirm it, and the branch will be permanently removed from the repository. Caveat: the branch may still be accessible under certain conditions. Specifically, if there are any open pull requests associated with the branch or if someone has a local copy of it, the branch can still technically be accessed or even restored. Therefore, while the branch is removed from the visible list on GitHub, its existence may persist in these other forms until all references are fully cleared or merged.
For further reading see the official Git documentation.
