Add --fetch flag to delete command by alexrinass · Pull Request #103 · gittower/git-flow-next

alexrinass · 2026-04-07T09:25:42Z

Adds --fetch/--no-fetch flags to the delete command so it can fetch from remote before checking merge status, solving the common case where branches are merged remotely (e.g., via GitHub PR) but Git thinks they have unmerged changes.

The implementation fetches both the parent and topic branch, fast-forwards the local parent from its remote-tracking counterpart so git branch -d correctly detects remote merges, and checks whether the local topic branch is in sync with remote (aborting if behind, unless --force). This mirrors the finish command's fetch behavior. Config key gitflow.<type>.delete.fetch (default false), RemoteExists guard, and non-fatal fetch errors. Changes touch cmd/delete.go, cmd/topicbranch.go, cmd/shorthand.go, internal/git/repo.go, manpages, and add 4 new tests.

Resolves #88

Remarks

Default is false (no fetch), consistent with start; users opt in via flag or config
After fetch, the parent branch is fast-forwarded so git branch -d can detect remote merges
Local topic branch sync is checked after fetch — aborts if behind remote (unless --force)
The shorthand git flow delete also supports the new flags

Review focus:

cmd/delete.go:94-144 - fetch, fast-forward, and sync check logic
internal/git/repo.go - new MergeFFOnly helper

When branches are merged remotely (e.g., via GitHub PR), the local repo doesn't know about it. Without --fetch, deleting such a branch fails because Git thinks it has unmerged changes. The --fetch flag updates local refs before the merge check, solving this without needing --force. Supports CLI flags (--fetch/--no-fetch), config key (gitflow.<type>.delete.fetch), and silently skips fetch when no remote is configured. Resolves #88

Add --fetch/--no-fetch options to the delete manpage with examples and configuration reference. Add gitflow.<type>.delete.fetch config key to the configuration manpage.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds optional remote fetching to git flow <type> delete so users can update refs before deletion checks, aiming to improve deletion of branches merged via remote PR workflows.

Changes:

Adds --fetch/--no-fetch flags (tri-state via *bool) to topic-branch delete and shorthand delete commands.
Implements gitflow.<type>.delete.fetch configuration support and performs a guarded, non-fatal fetch before delete.
Updates delete/config manpages and adds 4 new delete tests for flag/config/override/no-remote cases.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
`cmd/delete.go`	Adds fetch resolution + guarded fetch execution before performing deletion.
`cmd/topicbranch.go`	Wires new delete flags into the per-branch-type `delete` subcommand.
`cmd/shorthand.go`	Wires new delete flags into `git flow delete` shorthand command.
`docs/gitflow-config.5.md`	Documents the new `gitflow.<type>.delete.fetch` config key.
`docs/git-flow-delete.1.md`	Documents new CLI flags and provides examples/config snippet.
`test/cmd/delete_test.go`	Adds tests covering flag/config/override/no-remote behavior for fetch.

Copilot · 2026-04-07T09:34:00Z

+	if shouldFetch && git.RemoteExists(cfg.Remote) {
+		fmt.Printf("Fetching from remote '%s'...\n", cfg.Remote)
+		if err := git.Fetch(cfg.Remote); err != nil {
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Warning: %v\n", err)
+		}
+	}


The current --fetch implementation only runs git fetch <remote>, which updates remote-tracking refs but does not update the local base branch (e.g., develop). Since deletion still relies on git branch -d/-D (merge check against local refs), fetching alone will not change whether Git considers the branch “fully merged”, so this likely won’t resolve the remotely-merged-PR scenario described in the PR/Issue #88.

To make --fetch achieve the intended behavior, consider checking merge status against the remote-tracking base (e.g., refs/remotes/<remote>/<parent>) after fetching and, when it’s merged there, proceed with a safe force-delete (or an explicit, well-documented alternative).

Copilot · 2026-04-07T09:34:01Z

+// TestDeleteFeatureWithFetchFlag tests that the --fetch flag fetches before deleting.
+// Steps:
+// 1. Sets up a test repository with remote (includes git-flow init)
+// 2. Starts a feature branch
+// 3. Runs 'git flow feature delete my-feature --fetch'
+// 4. Verifies output contains "Fetching from remote"
+// 5. Verifies branch is deleted
+func TestDeleteFeatureWithFetchFlag(t *testing.T) {


These new tests assert that the output contains a fetch message, but they don’t set up the failure mode from Issue #88 (branch merged into the remote base branch while the local base is behind). As written, they won’t catch regressions where fetch runs but deletion still fails without --force in the real-world remotely-merged-PR scenario.

Consider adding a test that: (1) pushes the base branch to a remote, (2) merges the topic branch into the remote base via a second clone, (3) leaves the original repo’s local base behind, and (4) verifies delete --fetch succeeds without --force where delete (without fetch) fails.

Copilot · 2026-04-07T09:34:01Z

+**gitflow.*type*.delete.fetch**
+: Fetch from remote before deleting a topic branch. When enabled, updates local refs so that Git can correctly detect whether the branch has been merged remotely (e.g., via a GitHub PR merge), avoiding the need for `--force`.
+: *Type*: boolean
+: *Default*: false
+


A new configuration key gitflow.<type>.delete.fetch is introduced here, but it’s not documented in CONFIGURATION.md (which appears to be the central config reference). Please add the same key there to keep the two configuration docs in sync.

Copilot · 2026-04-07T09:34:02Z

+### Fetch Before Delete
+
+Delete a remotely-merged branch without needing `--force`:
+```bash
+git flow feature delete my-feature --fetch
+```


The docs claim --fetch lets users “Delete a remotely-merged branch without needing --force”. With the current implementation only doing git fetch before git branch -d, this may not be true because fetching doesn’t update the local base branch used by Git’s “fully merged” check. Either adjust the implementation to match this behavior, or reword the documentation to set correct expectations (e.g., that users may still need to update/fast-forward their base branch).

The --fetch flag only ran git fetch, which updates remote-tracking refs but not the local parent branch. This meant git branch -d still could not detect branches merged remotely (e.g., via GitHub PR). Now --fetch also fetches the topic branch, fast-forwards the parent branch from its remote-tracking counterpart, and checks if the local topic branch is in sync with remote (aborting if behind, unless --force is given). - Fetch both parent and topic branch individually - Fast-forward parent after checkout so git branch -d works - Add CompareBranchWithRemote sync check (matching finish behavior) - Add MergeFFOnly helper to internal/git/repo.go - Document delete.fetch in CONFIGURATION.md - Clarify manpage description for --fetch behavior

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

cmd/delete.go:38

executeDelete loads config but doesn’t enforce that git-flow is initialized. Most other commands explicitly call config.IsInitialized() and return errors.NotInitializedError{} when false (e.g., cmd/start.go:31-38, cmd/list.go:29-36). Adding the same guard here would prevent delete from silently running with DefaultConfig() in uninitialized repos.

func executeDelete(branchType string, name string, force *bool, remote *bool, fetch *bool) error {
	// Load configuration
	cfg, err := config.LoadConfig()
	if err != nil {
		return &errors.GitError{Operation: "load configuration", Err: err}
	}

	// Get branch configuration
	branchConfig, ok := cfg.Branches[branchType]
	if !ok {
		return &errors.InvalidBranchTypeError{BranchType: branchType}

Copilot · 2026-04-08T08:23:02Z

+			var fetch *bool
+			if cmd.Flags().Changed("fetch") {
+				f, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("fetch")
+				fetch = &f
+			} else if cmd.Flags().Changed("no-fetch") {
+				f := false
+				fetch = &f
+			}


The fetch/no-fetch parsing duplicates the existing getBoolFlag(positive, negative) helper used in cmd/topicbranch.go. Consider reusing that helper here as well so flag-to-*bool conversion stays consistent across commands and is easier to maintain.

Suggested change

var fetch *bool

if cmd.Flags().Changed("fetch") {

f, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("fetch")

fetch = &f

} else if cmd.Flags().Changed("no-fetch") {

f := false

fetch = &f

}

fetch := getBoolFlag(cmd, "fetch", "no-fetch")

Copilot · 2026-04-08T08:23:02Z

+	cmd := exec.Command("git", "merge", "--ff-only", branch)
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("fast-forward merge failed: %s", strings.TrimSpace(string(output)))


MergeFFOnly drops useful context by not including the branch name and not wrapping the underlying err. Consider returning an error that includes the branch argument and wraps err (while still attaching trimmed command output) to improve diagnostics and allow callers to inspect the cause.

Suggested change

return fmt.Errorf("fast-forward merge failed: %s", strings.TrimSpace(string(output)))

outputStr := strings.TrimSpace(string(output))

return fmt.Errorf("fast-forward merge failed for branch %q: %w: %s", branch, err, outputStr)

Use the existing getBoolFlag helper in shorthand delete command instead of duplicating flag-to-*bool conversion. Also include branch name and wrap error in MergeFFOnly for better diagnostics. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

alexrinass added 2 commits April 7, 2026 11:14

docs(delete): Document --fetch flag and config

39b9fb8

Add --fetch/--no-fetch options to the delete manpage with examples and configuration reference. Add gitflow.<type>.delete.fetch config key to the configuration manpage.

alexrinass requested a review from Copilot April 7, 2026 09:28

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of alexrinass April 7, 2026 09:29 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 7, 2026

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alexrinass requested a review from Copilot April 8, 2026 08:18

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of alexrinass April 8, 2026 08:19 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 8, 2026

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Add --fetch flag to delete command#103

Add --fetch flag to delete command#103
alexrinass wants to merge 4 commits intomainfrom
feature/88-fetch-before-delete

alexrinass commented Apr 7, 2026 •

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	return fmt.Errorf("fast-forward merge failed: %s", strings.TrimSpace(string(output)))
	outputStr := strings.TrimSpace(string(output))
	return fmt.Errorf("fast-forward merge failed for branch %q: %w: %s", branch, err, outputStr)

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alexrinass commented Apr 7, 2026 •

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