How to Delete a Git Branch (Local and Remote)

Quick Answer: To delete a local branch that has been merged, run git branch -d <branch-name>. To force delete an unmerged local branch, run git branch -D <branch-name>. To delete a remote branch on GitHub/GitLab, run git push origin --delete <branch-name>.

Quick Reference Commands

1. Delete a Local Branch

⚠️ You cannot delete the branch you are currently on. Switch to main first.

# 1. Switch to a main or base branch
$ git checkout main

# 2. Delete local branch (safe mode — checks if merged)
$ git branch -d feature-login

If the branch contains unmerged work and Git prevents deletion, force delete it with capital -D:

$ git branch -D feature-login

2. Delete a Remote Branch (GitHub / GitLab)

Deleting a local branch does not remove it from your remote server. To delete the branch on origin:

$ git push origin --delete feature-login

3. Prune Stale Remote Branch References

When teammates delete branches on GitHub, your local environment still holds outdated remote reference pointers (origin/feature-login). Clean them up using prune:

# Remove local references to deleted remote branches
$ git fetch --prune
# (or git remote prune origin)

Read our /git-branch and /git-remote tutorials to learn how branch references are stored in .git/refs/.