task: Audit and Refactor Branch Cleanup Infrastructure

[ashleyshaw]

Objective

Implement branch cleanup infrastructure to audit Git branch state, categorise branches (KEEP/DELETE/DISCUSS), and automate cleanup with safety guardrails.

Related Work

• Specification: .github/specs/009-audit-branch-cleanup/ (SpecKit workflow complete)
• PR: docs(specs/009): record branch naming clarification and align working branch #3358 - Implementation branch and spec consolidation
• Branch: task/branch-cleanup-refactor

Scope

• Branch categorization engine (KEEP/DELETE/DISCUSS classification)
• Branch audit tooling with exclusion patterns and age calculations
• Safe deletion workflow with dry-run and confirmation
• GitHub Actions integration for scheduled/manual audits
• Comprehensive reporting (text, JSON, metrics)
• SpecKit specification and planning documentation

Acceptance Criteria

• Branch categorization logic implemented and tested
• Audit script with dry-run capability
• Changelog validation and metrics aggregation
• Specification complete with task breakdown
• Implementation branch naming compliant (task/branch-cleanup-refactor)
• All code passes linting and style checks

Next Steps

1. Review PR docs(specs/009): record branch naming clarification and align working branch #3358 for implementation details
2. Integrate into GitHub Actions workflows
3. Run initial audit in staging/test environment
4. Gather team feedback and refine delete thresholds

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[linear-code]

LS-4212