Subject: [PATCH v11 6/6] branch: add --dry-run for --prune-merged

From: "Harald Nordgren via GitGitGadget" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 22 May 2026 11:31:38 +0000

From: Harald Nordgren <[email-masked]>

With --dry-run, --prune-merged prints the local branches it would
delete -- one "Would delete branch <name>" line per candidate --
and exits without touching any ref.

This is the natural sanity check before letting a broad pattern
like 'origin/*' run for real: the @{push}-vs-@{upstream} and
unmerged filtering still applies, so the dry-run output is
exactly the set that the live run would delete.

--dry-run is only meaningful in combination with --prune-merged
and is rejected otherwise.

Signed-off-by: Harald Nordgren <[email-masked]>
---
 Documentation/git-branch.adoc |  8 ++++++-
 builtin/branch.c              | 13 ++++++++---
 t/t3200-branch.sh             | 44 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 61 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/git-branch.adoc b/Documentation/git-branch.adoc
index 1bd28c4e37..ee9a6354fd 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-branch.adoc
+++ b/Documentation/git-branch.adoc
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ git branch (-c|-C) [<old-branch>] <new-branch>
 git branch (-d|-D) [-r] <branch-name>...
 git branch --edit-description [<branch-name>]
 git branch --forked <branch>...
-git branch --prune-merged <branch>...
+git branch --prune-merged [--dry-run] <branch>...
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
@@ -235,6 +235,12 @@ Branches refused by the "fully merged" safety check are listed as
 warnings and skipped; pass them to `git branch -D` explicitly if
 you want them gone.
 
+`--dry-run`::
+	With `--prune-merged`, print which branches would be
+	deleted and exit without touching any ref.  Useful for
+	sanity-checking a wide pattern like `'origin/*'` before
+	committing to the deletion.
+
 `-v`::
 `-vv`::
 `--verbose`::
diff --git a/builtin/branch.c b/builtin/branch.c
index 187d5d1563..7a2db11cd4 100644
--- a/builtin/branch.c
+++ b/builtin/branch.c
@@ -857,7 +857,8 @@ static int list_forked_branches(int argc, const char **argv)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-static int prune_merged_branches(int argc, const char **argv, int quiet)
+static int prune_merged_branches(int argc, const char **argv, int quiet,
+				 int dry_run)
 {
 	struct ref_store *refs = get_main_ref_store(the_repository);
 	struct string_list candidates = STRING_LIST_INIT_DUP;
@@ -914,7 +915,7 @@ static int prune_merged_branches(int argc, const char **argv, int quiet)
 				      quiet,
 				      1, /* warn_only */
 				      1, /* no_head_fallback */
-				      0  /* dry_run */);
+				      dry_run);
 
 	strvec_clear(&deletable);
 	string_list_clear(&candidates, 0);
@@ -964,6 +965,7 @@ int cmd_branch(int argc,
 	    unset_upstream = 0, show_current = 0, edit_description = 0;
 	int forked = 0;
 	int prune_merged = 0;
+	int dry_run = 0;
 	const char *new_upstream = NULL;
 	int noncreate_actions = 0;
 	/* possible options */
@@ -1021,6 +1023,8 @@ int cmd_branch(int argc,
 			N_("list local branches whose upstream matches the given <branch>...")),
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "prune-merged", &prune_merged,
 			N_("delete local branches whose upstream matches the given <branch>... and is merged")),
+		OPT_BOOL(0, "dry-run", &dry_run,
+			N_("with --prune-merged, only print which branches would be deleted")),
 		OPT__FORCE(&force, N_("force creation, move/rename, deletion"), PARSE_OPT_NOCOMPLETE),
 		OPT_MERGED(&filter, N_("print only branches that are merged")),
 		OPT_NO_MERGED(&filter, N_("print only branches that are not merged")),
@@ -1079,6 +1083,9 @@ int cmd_branch(int argc,
 	if (noncreate_actions > 1)
 		usage_with_options(builtin_branch_usage, options);
 
+	if (dry_run && !prune_merged)
+		die(_("--dry-run requires --prune-merged"));
+
 	if (recurse_submodules_explicit) {
 		if (!submodule_propagate_branches)
 			die(_("branch with --recurse-submodules can only be used if submodule.propagateBranches is enabled"));
@@ -1120,7 +1127,7 @@ int cmd_branch(int argc,
 		ret = list_forked_branches(argc, argv);
 		goto out;
 	} else if (prune_merged) {
-		ret = prune_merged_branches(argc, argv, quiet);
+		ret = prune_merged_branches(argc, argv, quiet, dry_run);
 		goto out;
 	} else if (show_current) {
 		print_current_branch_name();
diff --git a/t/t3200-branch.sh b/t/t3200-branch.sh
index da7e174e09..0e0629d19e 100755
--- a/t/t3200-branch.sh
+++ b/t/t3200-branch.sh
@@ -2020,4 +2020,48 @@ test_expect_success 'branch -d still deletes a pruneMerged=false branch' '
 	test_must_fail git -C pm-optout-d rev-parse --verify refs/heads/one
 '
 
+test_expect_success '--prune-merged --dry-run lists but does not delete' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf pm-dry" &&
+	git clone pm-upstream pm-dry &&
+	git -C pm-dry remote add fork ../pm-fork &&
+	test_config -C pm-dry remote.pushDefault fork &&
+	test_config -C pm-dry push.default current &&
+	git -C pm-dry branch one one-commit &&
+	git -C pm-dry branch --set-upstream-to=origin/next one &&
+	git -C pm-dry branch two two-commit &&
+	git -C pm-dry branch --set-upstream-to=origin/next two &&
+
+	git -C pm-dry branch --prune-merged --dry-run "origin/*" >actual &&
+	test_grep "Would delete branch one " actual &&
+	test_grep "Would delete branch two " actual &&
+
+	git -C pm-dry rev-parse --verify refs/heads/one &&
+	git -C pm-dry rev-parse --verify refs/heads/two
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--prune-merged --dry-run only lists branches the live run would delete' '
+	test_when_finished "rm -rf pm-dry-mixed" &&
+	git clone pm-upstream pm-dry-mixed &&
+	git -C pm-dry-mixed remote add fork ../pm-fork &&
+	test_config -C pm-dry-mixed remote.pushDefault fork &&
+	test_config -C pm-dry-mixed push.default current &&
+	git -C pm-dry-mixed checkout -b wip origin/next &&
+	git -C pm-dry-mixed branch --set-upstream-to=origin/next wip &&
+	test_commit -C pm-dry-mixed local-only &&
+	git -C pm-dry-mixed checkout - &&
+	git -C pm-dry-mixed branch merged one-commit &&
+	git -C pm-dry-mixed branch --set-upstream-to=origin/next merged &&
+
+	git -C pm-dry-mixed branch --prune-merged --dry-run "origin/*" >out &&
+	test_grep "Would delete branch merged" out &&
+	test_grep ! "Would delete branch wip" out &&
+	git -C pm-dry-mixed rev-parse --verify refs/heads/wip &&
+	git -C pm-dry-mixed rev-parse --verify refs/heads/merged
+'
+
+test_expect_success '--dry-run without --prune-merged is rejected' '
+	test_must_fail git -C forked branch --dry-run 2>err &&
+	test_grep "requires --prune-merged" err
+'
+
 test_done
-- 
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