Finds and deletes stale branches. By default it aligns with this definition, but can be configured for other use cases.
When a branch has been inactive for more than the days-before-stale input, it is considered stale. The branch will be deleted once it has been inactive longer than days-before-delete.
- By default, a stale branch is defined as a branch that:
- has had no commits in the last 120 days.
- has no protection rules.
- is not the default branch of the repository.
- See inputs for more info.
- See example workflow.
Create a workflow .yml file in your repository's .github/workflows directory. An example workflow is available below. For more information, reference the GitHub Help Documentation for Creating a workflow file.
Inputs are defined in action.yml. None are required.:
| Name | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
repo-token |
Token used to authenticate with GitHub's API. Can be passed in using ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}. |
${{ github.token }} |
days-before-stale |
Number of days a branch has been inactive before it is considered stale. | 120 days |
days-before-delete |
Number of days a branch has been inactive before it is deleted. | 180 days |
comment-updates |
A comment with updated information will be added to existing issues each workflow run. | false |
max-issues |
This dictates the number of stale branch 🗑️ issues that can exist. Also, the max number of branches that can be deleted per run. |
20 |
tag-committer |
When an issue is opened, the last committer will be tagged in the comments. | false |
stale-branch-label |
Label to be applied to issues created for stale branches. As of v2, this must be unique to this workflow. |
stale branch 🗑️ |
compare-branches |
This compares each branch to the repo's default branch.
|
off |
branches-filter-regex |
An optional Regex that will be used to filter branches from this action. | '' |
rate-limit |
If this is enabled, the action will stop if it exceeds 95% of the GitHub API rate limit. | true |
pr-check |
If this is enabled, the action will first check for incoming/outgoing PRs associated with the branch. If a branch has an active pr, it will be ignored. | false |
dry-run |
If this is enabled, the action will not delete or tag any branches. | false |
ignore-issue-interaction |
If this is enabled, the action will not interact with Github issues. | false |
Outputs are defined in action.yml:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
stale-branches |
List of all branches identified as stale during a workflow run. |
deleted-branches |
List of all branches deleted during a workflow run. |
- Output is grouped by branch.
- Active branches are green
- Stale branches are yellow
- Dead branches are red
- Skipped branches are blue
# .github/workflows/stale-branches.yml
name: Stale Branches
on:
schedule:
- cron: '0 6 * * 1-5'
permissions:
issues: write
contents: write
jobs:
stale_branches:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Stale Branches
uses: crs-k/[email protected]# .github/workflows/stale-branches.yml
name: Stale Branches
on:
schedule:
- cron: '0 6 * * 1-5'
permissions:
issues: write
contents: write
jobs:
stale_branches:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Stale Branches
uses: crs-k/[email protected]
with:
repo-token: '${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}'
days-before-stale: 120
days-before-delete: 180
comment-updates: false
max-issues: 20
tag-committer: false
stale-branch-label: 'stale branch 🗑️'
compare-branches: 'info'
branches-filter-regex: '^((?!dependabot))'
rate-limit: false
pr-check: false
dry-run: false
ignore-issue-interaction: false
Contributions are welcomed. Please read the contributing.