I want to delete a branch both locally and remotely.
$ git branch -d remotes/origin/bugfix
error: branch 'remotes/origin/bugfix' not found.
$ git branch -d origin/bugfix
error: branch 'origin/bugfix' not found.
$ git branch -rd origin/bugfix
Deleted remote branch origin/bugfix (was 2a14ef7).
$ git push
Everything up-to-date
$ git pull
From github.com:gituser/gitproject
* [new branch] bugfix -> origin/bugfix
Already up-to-date.
What should I do differently to successfully delete the remotes/origin/bugfix
branch both locally and remotely?
This question is related to
git
version-control
git-branch
git-push
git-remote
Here is a mashup of all the other answers. It requires Ruby 1.9.3+ and is tested only on OS X.
Call this file git-remove
, make it executable, and put it in your path. Then use, for example, git remove temp
.
#!/usr/bin/env ruby
require 'io/console'
if __FILE__ == $0
branch_name = ARGV[0] if (ARGV[0])
print "Press Y to force delete local and remote branch #{branch_name}..."
response = STDIN.getch
if ['Y', 'y', 'yes'].include?(response)
puts "\nContinuing."
`git branch -D #{branch_name}`
`git branch -D -r origin/#{branch_name}`
`git push origin --delete #{branch_name}`
else
puts "\nQuitting."
end
end
If you want more detailed explanations of the following commands, then see the long answers in the next section.
git push origin --delete <branch> # Git version 1.7.0 or newer
git push origin -d <branch> # Shorter version (Git 1.7.0 or newer)
git push origin :<branch> # Git versions older than 1.7.0
git branch --delete <branch>
git branch -d <branch> # Shorter version
git branch -D <branch> # Force-delete un-merged branches
git branch --delete --remotes <remote>/<branch>
git branch -dr <remote>/<branch> # Shorter
git fetch <remote> --prune # Delete multiple obsolete remote-tracking branches
git fetch <remote> -p # Shorter
When you're dealing with deleting branches both locally and remotely, keep in mind that there are three different branches involved:
X
.X
.origin/X
that tracks the remote branch X
.The original poster used:
git branch -rd origin/bugfix
Which only deleted his local remote-tracking branch origin/bugfix
, and not the actual remote branch bugfix
on origin
.
To delete that actual remote branch, you need
git push origin --delete bugfix
The following sections describe additional details to consider when deleting your remote and remote-tracking branches.
Note that deleting the remote branch X
from the command line using a git push
will also remove the local remote-tracking branch origin/X
, so it is not necessary to prune the obsolete remote-tracking branch with git fetch --prune
or git fetch -p
. However, it wouldn't hurt if you did it anyway.
You can verify that the remote-tracking branch origin/X
was also deleted by running the following:
# View just remote-tracking branches
git branch --remotes
git branch -r
# View both strictly local as well as remote-tracking branches
git branch --all
git branch -a
If you didn't delete your remote branch X
from the command line (like above), then your local repository will still contain (a now obsolete) remote-tracking branch origin/X
. This can happen if you deleted a remote branch directly through GitHub's web interface, for example.
A typical way to remove these obsolete remote-tracking branches (since Git version 1.6.6) is to simply run git fetch
with the --prune
or shorter -p
. Note that this removes all obsolete local remote-tracking branches for any remote branches that no longer exist on the remote:
git fetch origin --prune
git fetch origin -p # Shorter
Here is the relevant quote from the 1.6.6 release notes (emphasis mine):
"git fetch" learned
--all
and--multiple
options, to run fetch from many repositories, and--prune
option to remove remote tracking branches that went stale. These make "git remote update" and "git remote prune" less necessary (there is no plan to remove "remote update" nor "remote prune", though).
Alternatively, instead of pruning your obsolete local remote-tracking branches through git fetch -p
, you can avoid making the extra network operation by just manually removing the branch(es) with the --remote
or -r
flags:
git branch --delete --remotes origin/X
git branch -dr origin/X # Shorter
According to the latest document using a terminal we can delete in the following way.
Delete in local:
git branch -D usermanagement
Delete in remote location:
git push --delete origin usermanagement
Delete remote branch
git push origin :<branchname>
Delete local branch
git branch -D <branchname>
Delete local branch steps:
I added the following aliases to my .gitconfig
file. This allows me to delete branches with or without specifying the branch name. Branch name is defaulted to the current branch if no argument is passed in.
[alias]
branch-name = rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD
rm-remote-branch = !"f() { branch=${1-$(git branch-name)}; git push origin :$branch; }; f"
rm-local-branch = !"f() { branch=${1-$(git branch-name)}; git checkout master; git branch -d $branch; }; f"
rm-branch-fully = !"f() { branch=${1-$(git branch-name)}; git rm-local-branch $branch; git rm-remote-branch $branch; }; f"
In addition to the other answers, I often use the git_remote_branch tool. It's an extra install, but it gets you a convenient way to interact with remote branches. In this case, to delete:
grb delete branch
I find that I also use the publish
and track
commands quite often.
A one-liner command to delete both local, and remote:
D=branch-name; git branch -D $D; git push origin :$D
Or add the alias below to your ~/.gitconfig. Usage: git kill branch-name
[alias]
kill = "!f(){ git branch -D \"$1\"; git push origin --delete \"$1\"; };f"
An alternative option to the command line for deleting remote branches is the GitHub branches page.
See for example: https://github.com/angular/angular.js/branches
Found in the Code
-> Branches
page of a GitHub repository.
I generally prefer command line myself but this GitHub page shows you lots more information about the branches, such as last updated date and user, and number of commits ahead and behind. It is useful when dealing with a large number of branches.
Since January 2013, GitHub included a Delete branch button next to each branch in your "Branches" page.
Relevant blog post: Create and delete branches
If you want to complete both these steps with a single command, you can make an alias for it by adding the below to your ~/.gitconfig
:
[alias]
rmbranch = "!f(){ git branch -d ${1} && git push origin --delete ${1}; };f"
Alternatively, you can add this to your global configuration from the command line using
git config --global alias.rmbranch \
'!f(){ git branch -d ${1} && git push origin --delete ${1}; };f'
NOTE: If using -d
(lowercase d), the branch will only be deleted if it has been merged. To force the delete to happen, you will need to use -D
(uppercase D).
I created the following convenient function in my .bash_aliases file:
git-delete-branch()
{
if [[ -n $1 ]]; then
git checkout master > /dev/null;
branch_name="$1";
echo "Deleting local $branch_name branch...";
git branch -D "$branch_name";
echo "Deleting remote $branch_name branch...";
git push origin --delete "$branch_name";
git remote prune origin;
echo "Your current branches are:";
git branch -a;
else
echo "Usage: git-delete-branch <branch_name>";
fi
}
The most flexible way is to use a custom Git command. For example, create the following Python script somewhere in your $PATH
under the name git-rmbranch
and make it executable:
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import argparse
import subprocess
import sys
def rmbranch(branch_name, remote, force):
try:
print(subprocess.run(['git', 'branch', '-D' if force else '-d', branch_name],
capture_output=True, check=True, encoding='utf-8').stdout, end='')
except subprocess.CalledProcessError as exc:
print(exc.stderr.replace(f'git branch -D {branch_name}', f'git rmbranch -f {branch_name}'), end='')
return exc.returncode
return subprocess.run(['git', 'push', remote, '--delete', branch_name]).returncode
if __name__ == '__main__':
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Delete a Git branch locally and remotely.')
parser.add_argument('-r', '--remote', default='origin', help="The remote name (defaults to 'origin')")
parser.add_argument('-f', '--force', action='store_true', help='Force deletion of not fully merged branches')
parser.add_argument('branch_name', help='The branch name')
args = parser.parse_args()
sys.exit(rmbranch(args.branch_name, args.remote, args.force))
Then git rmbranch -h
will show you usage information:
usage: git-rmbranch [-h] [-r REMOTE] [-f] branch_name
Delete a Git branch locally and remotely.
positional arguments:
branch_name The branch name
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-r REMOTE, --remote REMOTE
The remote name (defaults to 'origin')
-f, --force Force deletion of not fully merged branches
Note that git push origin --delete <branch_name>
also removes the local remote-tracking branch (origin/<branch_name>
by default), so no need to care about that.
P.S. You can find the latest version of this Git command here. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Let's assume our work on branch "contact-form" is done and we've already integrated it into "master". Since we don't need it anymore, we can delete it (locally):
$ git branch -d contact-form
And for deleting the remote branch:
git push origin --delete contact-form
You can also do this using git remote prune origin
$ git remote prune origin
Pruning origin
URL: [email protected]/yourrepo.git
* [pruned] origin/some-branchs
It prunes and deletes remote-tracking branches from a git branch -r
listing.
Matthew's answer is great for removing remote branches and I also appreciate the explanation, but to make a simple distinction between the two commands:
To remove a local branch from your machine:
git branch -d {the_local_branch}
(use -D
instead to force deleting the branch without checking merged status)
To remove a remote branch from the server:
git push origin --delete {the_remote_branch}
Reference: Git: Delete a branch (local or remote)
To delete locally - (normal)
git branch -d my_branch
If your branch is in a rebasing/merging progress and that was not done properly, it means you will get an error, Rebase/Merge in progress
, so in that case, you won't be able to delete your branch.
So either you need to solve the rebasing/merging. Otherwise, you can do force delete by using,
git branch -D my_branch
To delete in remote:
git push --delete origin my_branch
You can do the same using:
git push origin :my_branch # Easy to remember both will do the same.
Graphical representation:
Before executing
git branch --delete <branch>
make sure you determine first what the exact name of the remote branch is by executing:
git ls-remote
This will tell you what to enter exactly for <branch>
value. (branch
is case sensitive!)
I got sick of googling for this answer, so I took a similar approach to the answer that crizCraig posted earlier.
I added the following to my Bash profile:
function gitdelete(){
git push origin --delete $1
git branch -D $1
}
Then every time I'm done with a branch (merged into master
, for example) I run the following in my terminal:
gitdelete my-branch-name
...which then deletes my-branch-name
from origin
as as well as locally.
Now you can do it with the GitHub Desktop application.
After launching the application
Switch to the branch you would like to delete
From the "Branch" menu, select, "Unpublish...", to have the branch deleted from the GitHub servers.
From the "Branch" menu, select, 'Delete "branch_name"...', to have the branch deleted off of your local machine (AKA the machine you are currently working on)
Delete locally:
To delete a local branch, you can use:
git branch -d <branch_name>
To delete a branch forcibly, use -D
instead of -d
.
git branch -D <branch_name>
Delete remotely:
There are two options:
git push origin :branchname
git push origin --delete branchname
I would suggest you use the second way as it is more intuitive.
You can also use the following to delete the remote branch
git push --delete origin serverfix
Which does the same thing as
git push origin :serverfix
but it may be easier to remember.
I use the following in my Bash settings:
alias git-shoot="git push origin --delete"
Then you can call:
git-shoot branchname
git push origin --delete <branch Name>
is easier to remember than
git push origin :branchName
To delete your branch locally and remotely
Checkout to master branch - git checkout master
Delete your remote branch - git push origin --delete <branch-name>
Delete your local branch - git branch --delete <branch-name>
Using Git Bash you can execute the following:
git branch --delete <branch>
Or
-
From the GitHub desktop application, when you have the branch checked out, you can delete the local branch via the Branch menu strip:
If you are not using the GitHub desktop application and are using an IDE like Visual Studio for your local source control, all you have to do is a couple of quick steps:
Then, once logged in to your GitHub account online, go to the repository and click the All Branches tab. From there, just click the little trash can icon on the right on the name of the branch you wish to delete.
*Keep in mind - if the branch isn't published, there isn't any need to try to delete it from your online repository.
Use:
git push origin :bugfix # Deletes remote branch
git branch -d bugfix # Must delete local branch manually
If you are sure you want to delete it, run
git branch -D bugfix
Now to clean up deleted remote branches run
git remote prune origin
Both CoolAJ86's and apenwarr's answers are very similar. I went back and forth between the two trying to understand the better approach to support a submodule replacement. Below is a combination of them.
First navigate Git Bash to the root of the Git repository to be split. In my example here that is ~/Documents/OriginalRepo (master)
# Move the folder at prefix to a new branch
git subtree split --prefix=SubFolderName/FolderToBeNewRepo --branch=to-be-new-repo
# Create a new repository out of the newly made branch
mkdir ~/Documents/NewRepo
pushd ~/Documents/NewRepo
git init
git pull ~/Documents/OriginalRepo to-be-new-repo
# Upload the new repository to a place that should be referenced for submodules
git remote add origin [email protected]:myUsername/newRepo.git
git push -u origin master
popd
# Replace the folder with a submodule
git rm -rf ./SubFolderName/FolderToBeNewRepo
git submodule add [email protected]:myUsername/newRepo.git SubFolderName/FolderToBeNewRepo
git branch --delete --force to-be-new-repo
Below is a copy of above with the customize-able names replaced and using HTTPS instead. The root folder is now ~/Documents/_Shawn/UnityProjects/SoProject (master)
# Move the folder at prefix to a new branch
git subtree split --prefix=Assets/SoArchitecture --branch=so-package
# Create a new repository out of the newly made branch
mkdir ~/Documents/_Shawn/UnityProjects/SoArchitecture
pushd ~/Documents/_Shawn/UnityProjects/SoArchitecture
git init
git pull ~/Documents/_Shawn/UnityProjects/SoProject so-package
# Upload the new repository to a place that should be referenced for submodules
git remote add origin https://github.com/Feddas/SoArchitecture.git
git push -u origin master
popd
# Replace the folder with a submodule
git rm -rf ./Assets/SoArchitecture
git submodule add https://github.com/Feddas/SoArchitecture.git
git branch --delete --force so-package
Tip: When you delete branches using
git branch -d <branchname> # Deletes local branch
or
git push origin :<branchname> # Deletes remote branch
only the references are deleted. Even though the branch is actually removed on the remote, the references to it still exists in the local repositories of your team members. This means that for other team members the deleted branches are still visible when they do a git branch -a
.
To solve this, your team members can prune the deleted branches with
git remote prune <repository>
This is typically git remote prune origin
.
It's very simple:
To delete the remote branch
git push -d origin <branch-name>
Or
git push origin :<branch-name>
To forcefully delete local branch
git branch -D <branch-name>
Happy Coding :)
There are good answers, but, in case that you have a ton of branches, deleting them one by one locally and remotely, would be a tedious tasks. You can use this script to automate these tasks.
branch_not_delete=( "master" "develop" "our-branch-1" "our-branch-2")
for branch in `git branch -a | grep remotes | grep -v HEAD | grep -v master`; do
# Delete prefix remotes/origin/ from branch name
branch_name="$(awk '{gsub("remotes/origin/", "");print}' <<< $branch)"
if ! [[ " ${branch_not_delete[*]} " == *" $branch_name "* ]]; then
# Delete branch remotly and locally
git push origin :$branch_name
fi
done
Source: Removing Git branches at once
Another approach is:
git push --prune origin
WARNING: This will delete all remote branches that do not exist locally. Or more comprehensively,
git push --mirror
will effectively make the remote repository look like the local copy of the repository (local heads, remotes and tags are mirrored on remote).
git branch -D <name-of-branch>
git branch -D -r origin/<name-of-branch>
git push origin :<name-of-branch>
If you want to delete a branch, first checkout to the branch other than the branch to be deleted.
git checkout other_than_branch_to_be_deleted
Deleting the local branch:
git branch -D branch_to_be_deleted
Deleting the remote branch:
git push origin --delete branch_to_be_deleted
This is simple: Just run the following command:
To delete a Git branch both locally and remotely, first delete the local branch using this command:
git branch -d example
(Here example
is the branch name.)
And after that, delete the remote branch using this command:
git push origin :example
For deleting the remote branch:
git push origin --delete <your_branch>
For deleting the local branch, you have three ways:
1: git branch -D <branch_name>
2: git branch --delete --force <branch_name> # Same as -D
3: git branch --delete <branch_name> # Error on unmerge
Explain: OK, just explain what's going on here!
Simply do git push origin --delete
to delete your remote branch only, add the name of the branch at the end and this will delete and push it to remote at the same time...
Also, git branch -D
, which simply delete the local branch only!...
-D
stands for --delete --force
which will delete the branch even it's not merged (force delete), but you can also use -d
which stands for --delete
which throw an error respective of the branch merge status...
I also create the image below to show the steps:
This won't work if you have a tag with the same name as the branch on the remote:
$ git push origin :branch-or-tag-name
error: dst refspec branch-or-tag-name matches more than one.
error: failed to push some refs to '[email protected]:SomeName/some-repo.git'
In that case you need to specify that you want to delete the branch, not the tag:
git push origin :refs/heads/branch-or-tag-name
Similarly, to delete the tag instead of the branch you would use:
git push origin :refs/tags/branch-or-tag-name
Simply say:
git branch -d <branch-name>
git push origin :<branch-name>
Many of the other answers will lead to errors/warnings. This approach is relatively fool proof although you may still need git branch -D branch_to_delete
if it's not fully merged into some_other_branch
, for example.
git checkout some_other_branch
git push origin :branch_to_delete
git branch -d branch_to_delete
Remote pruning isn't needed if you deleted the remote branch. It's only used to get the most up-to-date remotes available on a repository you're tracking. I've observed git fetch
will add remotes, not remove them. Here's an example of when git remote prune origin
will actually do something:
User A does the steps above. User B would run the following commands to see the most up-to-date remote branches:
git fetch
git remote prune origin
git branch -r
Source: Stackoverflow.com