Deleting Branches from GitHub: A Step-By-Step Guide

Berra Sarı
3 min readAug 19, 2023

Creating a branch is easy, but deleting a branch can be a bit tricky in the GitHub repositories. It is essential to know how to delete a branch safely and without affecting the other branches. To help you understand and successfully delete a branch, we have created this comprehensive guide.

This guide will walk you through the following:

  • What are the steps to delete a branch from GitHub
  • How to make sure all the branch changes have been saved
  • What happens when a branch is deleted
  • FAQs for deleting branches from GitHub

What are the Steps to Delete a Branch from GitHub?

Deleting a branch from GitHub is a straightforward task. Here are the steps you should follow to delete a branch in GitHub:

  1. Make sure the branch has been fully merged and all the branch changes have been saved
  2. Log in to your GitHub account
  3. Select the repository in which the branch is created
  4. Select the branch that you want to delete
  5. Click on the branch name
  6. Swipe the branch with the Delete button
  7. Confirm the delete

How to Make Sure All the Branch Changes Have Been Saved

Before deleting a branch in GitHub, it is important to make sure that all the changes have been saved. To do this, you can follow the below steps:

  1. Check the state of the branch in the GitHub breakdown
  2. If the branch has not been fully merged, check with the other contributors and get approval to merge the branch
  3. Make sure your commits are recorded on the branch
  4. Sync your branch with the central repository
  5. Make sure any new changes or additional commits are pushed to the branch

What Happens When a Branch is Deleted

When a branch is deleted, all the data associated with it is permanently cleared from the repository. This includes all the commits and changes made in the branch.

Deleting a branch in GitHub can be confusing or intimidating, especially if you’re new to it. As long as you follow the above steps, you can delete a branch safely and without any fears of losing data.

FAQs for Deleting Branches from GitHub

How Long Does it Take to Delete a Branch in GitHub?

It usually takes a few seconds to delete a branch in GitHub. Depending on the size of your repository, it can take longer to delete the branch.

Does Deleting a Branch Affects Other Branches in GitHub?

No, deleting a branch does not affect other branches in your GitHub repository. You can delete any branch without having to worry about any other branches.

How Do I Unmerge a Branch in GitHub?

If you want to unmerge a branch in GitHub, you can either delete it or open a pull request to unmerge it.

How Do I Delete a Remote Branch?

You can delete a remote branch by running the following command in the terminal:

git push [remote] --delete [branch name]

How Do I Delete a Local Branch?

You can delete a local branch by running the following command in the terminal:

git branch -d [branch name]

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