Re: [PATCH] branch: let --delete-merged default to every upstream

[Phillip Wood <phillip.wood123@gmail.com>]

Hi Harald

On 02/10/2026 17:55, Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget wrote:
> From: Harald Nordgren <haraldnordgren@gmail.com>
> 
> Cleaning up every branch whose work has landed upstream required
> typing '*/*' as the pattern.
> 
> Let a bare "git branch --delete-merged" consider every upstream. As
> with "--merged" without a commit, this applies only when the option
> comes last, so "git branch --dry-run --delete-merged" previews the
> cleanup.

PARSE_OPT_LASTARG_DEFAULT is a usability footgun that I think it is best 
to avoid. If we ever wanted to add a new option that worked with 
"--delete-merged" (for example to control whether it looked for branches 
that had been squashed) then

	git branch --delete-merged --foo

would behave differently to

	git branch --foo --delete-merged

With hindsight maybe

	git branch --delete-merged [<upstream>...] -- [<branch>...]

and

	git branch --forked [<upstream>...] -- [<branch>...]

would have been a better design. That's the sort of design mistake that 
is much more likely to happen when a contributor sends an endless stream 
of patches because they're eager to get something merged, rather than 
engaging in a thoughtful discussion with the reviewer.

Thanks

Phillip

> Signed-off-by: Harald Nordgren <haraldnordgren@gmail.com>
> ---
>      branch: let --delete-merged default to every upstream
>      
>      A bare git branch --delete-merged now considers every upstream.
> 
> Published-As: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/releases/tag/pr-git-2428%2FHaraldNordgren%2Fbranch-delete-merged-default-v1
> Fetch-It-Via: git fetch https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git pr-git-2428/HaraldNordgren/branch-delete-merged-default-v1
> Pull-Request: https://github.com/git/git/pull/2428
> 
>   Documentation/git-branch.adoc |  6 ++++--
>   builtin/branch.c              | 14 +++++++++++---
>   t/t3200-branch.sh             | 25 ++++++++++++++++++++++---
>   3 files changed, 37 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-branch.adoc b/Documentation/git-branch.adoc
> index bfdf459329..4a91ae6879 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-branch.adoc
> +++ b/Documentation/git-branch.adoc
> @@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ git branch (-m|-M) [<old-branch>] <new-branch>
>   git branch (-c|-C) [<old-branch>] <new-branch>
>   git branch (-d|-D) [-r] <branch-name>...
>   git branch --edit-description [<branch-name>]
> +git branch [--dry-run] --delete-merged
>   git branch [--dry-run] (--delete-merged <pattern>)... [<branch-pattern>...]
>   
>   DESCRIPTION
> @@ -202,14 +203,15 @@ This option is only applicable in non-verbose mode.
>   	Print the name of the current branch. In detached `HEAD` state,
>   	nothing is printed.
>   
> -`--delete-merged <pattern>`::
> +`--delete-merged [<pattern>]`::
>   	Delete local branches whose configured upstream matches
>   	_<pattern>_, but only when their tip is reachable from that
>   	upstream. In other words, the work on the branch has already
>   	landed on the upstream it tracks, so the local copy is no longer
>   	needed. _<pattern>_ may name a ref, a remote (using the branch its
>   	`HEAD` points at), or a shell-style glob. The option can be
> -	repeated to widen the upstream match.
> +	repeated to widen the upstream match. Without _<pattern>_, every
> +	upstream matches.
>   	Optional _<branch-pattern>_ arguments limit which local branches
>   	are considered, e.g. `git branch --delete-merged 'origin/*'
>   	'topic-*'`.
> diff --git a/builtin/branch.c b/builtin/branch.c
> index a613148fc7..f2a4e117dc 100644
> --- a/builtin/branch.c
> +++ b/builtin/branch.c
> @@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ static const char * const builtin_branch_usage[] = {
>   	N_("git branch [<options>] (-c | -C) [<old-branch>] <new-branch>"),
>   	N_("git branch [<options>] [-r | -a] [--points-at]"),
>   	N_("git branch [<options>] [-r | -a] [--format]"),
> +	N_("git branch [<options>] --delete-merged"),
>   	N_("git branch [<options>] (--delete-merged <pattern>)... "
>   	   "[<branch-pattern>...]"),
>   	NULL
> @@ -1029,9 +1030,16 @@ int cmd_branch(int argc,
>   		OPT_BOOL(0, "create-reflog", &reflog, N_("create the branch's reflog")),
>   		OPT_BOOL(0, "edit-description", &edit_description,
>   			 N_("edit the description for the branch")),
> -		OPT_CALLBACK_F(0, "delete-merged", &delete_merged, N_("pattern"),
> -			N_("delete merged branches whose upstream matches <pattern> (repeatable)"),
> -			PARSE_OPT_NONEG, parse_opt_strvec),
> +		{
> +			.type = OPTION_CALLBACK,
> +			.long_name = "delete-merged",
> +			.value = &delete_merged,
> +			.argh = N_("pattern"),
> +			.help = N_("delete merged branches whose upstream matches <pattern> (repeatable)"),
> +			.flags = PARSE_OPT_LASTARG_DEFAULT | PARSE_OPT_NONEG,
> +			.callback = parse_opt_strvec,
> +			.defval = (intptr_t) "**",
> +		},
>   		OPT_BOOL(0, "dry-run", &dry_run,
>   			N_("with --delete-merged, only print which branches would be deleted")),
>   		OPT__FORCE(&force, N_("force creation, move/rename, deletion"), PARSE_OPT_NOCOMPLETE),
> diff --git a/t/t3200-branch.sh b/t/t3200-branch.sh
> index cdb6c6a634..e60f4794c8 100755
> --- a/t/t3200-branch.sh
> +++ b/t/t3200-branch.sh
> @@ -2133,9 +2133,28 @@ test_expect_success '--delete-merged result is independent of stacked branch nam
>   	)
>   '
>   
> -test_expect_success '--delete-merged requires a value' '
> -	test_must_fail git -C forked branch --delete-merged 2>err &&
> -	test_grep "requires a value" err
> +test_expect_success '--delete-merged without a pattern matches every upstream' '
> +	setup_repo_for_delete_merged &&
> +	create_merged_branch merged &&
> +	(
> +		cd repo &&
> +		git branch --track local-topic main &&
> +		git checkout --detach &&
> +
> +		git branch --dry-run --delete-merged &&
> +
> +		check_branches <<-\EOF &&
> +		local-topic
> +		main
> +		merged
> +		EOF
> +
> +		git branch --delete-merged &&
> +
> +		check_branches <<-\EOF
> +		main
> +		EOF
> +	)
>   '
>   
>   test_expect_success '--delete-merged honours branch.<name>.deleteMerged=false' '
> 
> base-commit: a018953688f1b10bddf91bff8747068f5f4746a4