git-helpers

A set of helper scripts for the Git command line designed to automate repetitive tasks and keep your repository clean.

🚀 Installation & Setup

To ensure portability across different machines and operating systems without hardcoding paths, this repository includes setup scripts that register the installation directory as an environment variable (GIT_HELPERS).

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

Clone the repository and run the Bash installation script. This will add the GIT_HELPERS variable to your .bashrc or .profile.

git clone [https://github.com/bernardbr/git-helpers.git](https://github.com/bernardbr/git-helpers.git)
cd git-helpers
chmod +x install-env.sh
./install-env.sh

Apply the changes:

source ~/.bashrc

macOS (Zsh)

Clone the repository and run the Zsh installation script optimized for macOS. This will add the GIT_HELPERS variable to your .zshrc.

git clone [https://github.com/bernardbr/git-helpers.git](https://github.com/bernardbr/git-helpers.git)
cd git-helpers
chmod +x install.zsh
./install.zsh

Apply the changes:

source ~/.zshrc

Windows (PowerShell)

Clone the repository and run the PowerShell installation script. Instead of a shell rc file, it registers GIT_HELPERS as a User environment variable (persisted in the registry, no admin rights required), so it is visible to git.exe and Git Bash from any terminal.

git clone https://github.com/bernardbr/git-helpers.git
cd git-helpers
./install-env.ps1

If script execution is blocked by the current policy, run it for this session only:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install-env.ps1

The variable is set in the current session automatically. Other terminals and applications pick it up after being restarted.

Note: the helper scripts are Bash scripts, so Git for Windows (which ships with Git Bash) must be installed — the !bash ... aliases below work as-is.

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⚙️ Configuration

Once the GIT_HELPERS variable is set, you can configure your global .gitconfig using the variable. This approach works natively on Linux, macOS, WSL, and Windows (Git Bash resolves $GIT_HELPERS at runtime).

Option A: Edit .gitconfig directly (Recommended)

Open your global config (git config --global -e) and paste the following block:

[alias]
    # Deletes local branches that are gone on the remote
    delete-stale-branches = !bash "$GIT_HELPERS"/delete-stale-branches.sh
    
    # Renames current branch locally and on remote
    rename = !bash "$GIT_HELPERS"/rename-branch.sh
    
    # Shows the latest tag
    last-tag = !bash "$GIT_HELPERS"/show-last-tag.sh
    
    # Deletes local tags that are gone on the remote
    delete-stale-tags = !bash "$GIT_HELPERS"/delete-stale-tags.sh

Option B: Via Command Line

Alternatively, you can run these commands one by one:

git config --global alias.delete-stale-branches '!bash "$GIT_HELPERS"/delete-stale-branches.sh'
git config --global alias.rename '!bash "$GIT_HELPERS"/rename-branch.sh'
git config --global alias.last-tag '!bash "$GIT_HELPERS"/show-last-tag.sh'
git config --global alias.delete-stale-tags '!bash "$GIT_HELPERS"/delete-stale-tags.sh'

On PowerShell, use double quotes with the $ escaped so PowerShell does not expand it:

git config --global alias.delete-stale-branches "!bash `"`$GIT_HELPERS`"/delete-stale-branches.sh"
git config --global alias.rename "!bash `"`$GIT_HELPERS`"/rename-branch.sh"
git config --global alias.last-tag "!bash `"`$GIT_HELPERS`"/show-last-tag.sh"
git config --global alias.delete-stale-tags "!bash `"`$GIT_HELPERS`"/delete-stale-tags.sh"

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🛠️ Scripts Description

Delete Stale Branches

Checks for all local branches that no longer exist on the server (remote) and deletes them.

• Usage: git delete-stale-branches

Rename Branch

Renames both the local and remote branches while maintaining tracking.

• Usage: git rename <new-branch-name>

Show Last Tag

Displays the latest tag created in the current tree.

• Usage: git last-tag

Delete Stale Tags

Syncs your local tags with the remote, removing tags locally that were deleted on the server.

• Usage: git delete-stale-tags

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Made with ❤️ by Bernardo