Re: Automatically remote prune

[Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>]

John Tapsell <johnflux@gmail.com> writes:

> $> git branch -r
> origin/blah1 [Deleted]
> origin/blah2
>
> (Some branches have been deleted on the remote server.  Use  "git
> remote prune origin" to remove these)

There is no information locally available to do this, unless you are
willing to contact the remote every time somebody says "branch -r" (or
"branch -a").  I tend to think it is not very nice for the branch command
that has long been a "local" command to suddenly start talking to outside
world.

You could store necessary information somewhere else when you contacted
the remote the last time, but we need to consider what the benefits are to
give this information in the first place.a

The [Deleted] mark in your suggestion tells the user:

    This is already removed in the remote, and this tracking copy is the
    only way for you to view it ever again.  Do not run 'remote prune
    origin' blindly otherwise you will lose it.

But that is already possible with "git remote show origin", isn't it?