When to Delete branches?
Normally in a contribution flow Branches are a great way to work on different features, fixes, etc. while isolating them from the main codebase. So a repo may have a master branch, and separate branches to work on different features.
Typically once the work is completed on a feature and it is recommended to delete the branch.
The Delete workflow:
Lets say you have a repo called as AwesomeRepo, and its hosted on Github, at a location such as https://github.com/my_username/AwesomeRepo.
Also lets assume it has the branches like:
master
feature/some-cool-new-stuff
fix/authentication
staging
For consistency we will assume branch names are same on local as well as on the remote.
Now, lets say you are done with that fix for authentication and want to remove the branch fix/authentication.
Deleting the branch REMOTELY:
Simply do:
git push --delete <remote> <branch>.
For example: git branch --delete origin fix/authentication
Deleting the branch LOCALLY:
First checkout to a branch other that the one you want to delete:
git checkout <branch>. For example: git checkout master
Git will not let you delete the branch you are currently on.
Then proceed with deleting:
git branch -D <branch>. For example: git branch -D fix/authentication