/git:repo-delete-check
Run this before any deletion of a git checkout — rm -rf, a cleanup
sweep over old clones, or a disk-space prune.
Before rm -rf'ing a git repository, verify that its work is preserved
somewhere else. A local checkout that has no remote is the only copy —
deletion is permanent and silently destroys committed history plus all
uncommitted work.
Preflight check
git -C <repo> remote -v
| Output | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
Has origin <url> | Pushed work lives on the remote | Local delete is safe; uncommitted work and unpushed commits are still lost — surface them first |
| Empty / no output | Local-only repo | Stop. The repo's entire history is in this checkout |
Always run this check before deleting, even when the user has explicitly said "delete this repo" — they may not realize a particular checkout is local-only.
When the repo is local-only
Surface the situation and offer three options, in increasing destructiveness, before doing anything:
- Push to a new GitHub repo first. Preserves the work on the remote, then the local checkout can be deleted safely. Requires creating the GitHub repo (or knowing it exists empty).
- Tar to a labelled backup.
tar -czf ~/Backups/<name>-$(date -I).tar.gz <repo>. Preserves the work on disk under a date-stamped name; the local checkout can then be deleted. - Delete with no backup. Confirm the user genuinely wants the work gone — including any uncommitted files, branches, and stashes.
Default when the user says a generic "go" / "yes" without specifying: option 2 (tar backup, then delete). It preserves the work without requiring remote setup or losing anything, and the backup can be deleted later when confidence builds.
Also surface before deleting
Even when a remote exists, these conditions warrant a pause:
- Uncommitted changes.
git status --porcelainis non-empty — those files are not on any remote. - Unpushed commits.
git log @{u}..HEAD --onelineis non-empty — those commits exist only locally. - Stashes.
git stash listis non-empty — stashes are pure working-copy state. - Untracked branches.
git branch -vvshows branches without upstreams — those branches' commits may be local-only.
If any are present, list them in the same message as the deletion prompt so the user can decide knowing what disappears.
Rationale
The general system-prompt rule ("destructive operations need confirmation") covers the spirit. This rule is the concrete check to run before nuking a repo: the failure mode of skipping it is silent permanent data loss, with no way to recover.
Related
hooks-pluginrepo-deletion-safety.sh— the deterministic enforcement half. Its block message reports the preflight findings and points here for the options above; the only thing it restates is option 2's tar command, because writing that tarball is what clears the block. Change option 2's archive name or its backup directory and that hook has to change with it, or the command it prints stops clearing its own block (hooks-plugin/hooks/test-repo-deletion-safety.shruns the printed command end to end).git-plugin:git-coworker-check— is another agent writing here? (different question, same safety-diagnostic shape)git-plugin:git-maintain— maintenance inside a surviving repogit-plugin:deadbranch— deleting branches, not the checkoutmacos-plugin:macos-disk-usage— the likely caller when disk pressure prompts a clone cleanup