GitHub Actions Has a Cleanup Problem — So I Built a Tool

#github #githubactions #cli #python

gh-prune 🧹

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Keep your GitHub Actions clean. No more ghost workflows.

The Problem

If you use GitHub Actions regularly, you’ve probably noticed something odd:

You delete a workflow file (.github/workflows/old-flow.yml).
But the workflow still appears in the Actions tab.

Then comes the painful part:

Clicking through runs one by one.
Manually deleting history.
Realizing there’s no native bulk cleanup button.

As a DevOps engineer, this felt like unnecessary friction.

gh-prune solves this.

What is gh-prune?

gh-prune is a Python-based CLI tool built on top of the GitHub CLI. It is designed to inspect your repository, identify workflow runs, and help you bulk-delete old or unwanted history to properly clean up the Actions UI.

Key Features

🔍 Inspect GitHub Actions workflows.
📋 List workflow runs clearly.
🗑️ Bulk Delete old or unwanted runs.
✨ Clean the Actions UI of "deleted" workflows that persist in history.

Prerequisites

Because gh-prune leverages the official GitHub CLI for authentication and API interaction, you must have it installed and authenticated.

Install GitHub CLI: Installation Guide
Authenticate:
```
gh auth login
```

Installation

gh-prune is available on PyPI. You can install it via pip:

pip install gh-prune

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