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Delete a branch

After a branch has served its purpose — whether it's been merged, abandoned, or superseded — it can be deleted. Deleting a branch that has not been merged will permanently discard all changes accumulated on it.

Ways to delete a branch​

Branches can be deleted in two ways:

  • Manually via the branch detail view or any Infrahub interface (CLI, GraphQL).
  • Automatically after merge when delete_branch_after_merge is enabled in the configuration.

Automatic branch cleanup after merge​

Infrahub can automatically delete a branch after it is successfully merged, keeping your branch list tidy without manual cleanup.

The branch is deleted immediately after a successful merge, whether initiated through a direct branch merge or a Proposed Change. This behavior is opt-in: set delete_branch_after_merge = true (or INFRAHUB_DELETE_BRANCH_AFTER_MERGE=true) to enable it.

To also remove the linked Git branch, set delete_git_branch_after_merge = true (INFRAHUB_GIT_DELETE_GIT_BRANCH_AFTER_MERGE=true). This has no effect unless Infrahub branch deletion is also enabled.

What happens after deletion​

Once deleted, a branch no longer exists and cannot be interacted with.

If the branch was linked to a Git repository, the deletion is propagated to Git. If the remote deletion fails, a log entry is available under the repository view in Infrahub.

  • Branches — branch lifecycle and concepts
  • Merge a branch — common predecessor to deletion
  • Configuration — delete_branch_after_merge and delete_git_branch_after_merge settings