Sync your local git repository with GitHub/GitLab to safely sweep dead remote branches — without ever losing unmerged work.
Features
Dead branch detection — queries the GitHub/GitLab API for PR/MR status, detects squashed merges, and scores every branch 0–100%.
Safe cleanup — only branches confirmed safe to delete are cleaned, and every deletion creates a git safety ref (refs/brancla/backups/...) so it's 100% reversible.
One-click restore — bring back any deleted branch from the sidebar.
Live dashboard — see Safe / Warning / Protected branches at a glance, with safety-score bars and reasons.
Requirements
VS Code^1.75.0 or newer.
No Go install required for normal extension use. Run Brancla: Install or Repair CLI from the Command Palette once; the extension downloads the matching CLI release into ~/.brancla/bin and uses that location automatically from any .py, .js, .ts, Go, Rust, Java, C/C++, C#, PHP, Ruby, shell, HTML/CSS, JSON, or YAML project.
The extension auto-starts the local daemon on activation. If ~/.brancla/bin is on your shell PATH, you can also start it manually:
brancla server
Building the CLI from source is only needed for development.
Usage
Open a git repository as your workspace folder.
Click the Brancla icon in the Activity Bar (left side).
Press Sync & Scan to fetch branch statuses.
Review the Safe to Clean list, then press Clean Safe.
Need a branch back? Hit the Restore link on any deleted branch.
Commands
Command
Description
Brancla: Scan Workspace for Dead Branches
Scan repo & sync remote PR statuses
Brancla: Clean Dead Branches Safely
Delete safe dead branches with backup refs
Brancla: Restore Deleted Branch
Restore a branch from local backup ref
Brancla: Install or Repair CLI
Install the CLI globally to ~/.brancla/bin
How safe is it?
Status
Score
What it means
SAFE_TO_DELETE
100%
PR merged, remote branch deleted
SAFE_SQUASH_MERGED
95%
Commits squashed & merged
WARNING_CLOSED_PR
60%
PR closed unmerged, remote branch gone
WARNING_UNMERGED
35%
Dead on remote but has unpushed commits
PROTECTED
0%
main/master/dev/staging/release/*
CURRENT
0%
Currently checked out
Protected and current branches can never be deleted. Warnings are never auto-cleaned.
