Git: Deleting branches

How to delete branches#

Deleting branches is one of the basic git operations. Branches may exist locally (on your machine) or remotely (on a remote repository). You may want to delete these branches from time to time to clean up the repository.

Branches with the same name on local and remote are not hard-linked copies; meaning, deleting one does not delete the corresponding branch locally or on remote.

There are separate commands for deleting branches locally and on remote.

Deleting local branch#

To begin deleting a local branch, first ensure you are not on the branch you want to delete. Then, run this command:

$ git branch -d <branch>

It will delete the branch if it has been merged to master.

What if you want to delete a branch, whether it has been merged to master or not?

Use the -D option:

$ git branch -D <branch>

It will delete the local branch forcefully.

Deleting remote branch#

Deleting remote branches require a push operation. Here is how you do it:

$ git push origin --delete <branch>

Alternatively, you can also use:

$ git push origin :<branch>

Summary#

Local git branches can be deleted using the git branch command with the -d or -D option. Remote git branches can be deleted using the git push command with the --delete option or :.