Git Delete Tags

Delete local and remote Git tags with dry-run, summary, and protection.

What it Does

git-delete-tags removes one or more tags from a repository — locally, on a remote, or both. You can name specific tags, pass all to target every tag, and protect selected names from deletion.

Use it when cleaning up stale release tags, resetting tag namespaces before a fresh release cycle, or removing tags that should never have been pushed.

Install

With Homebrew:

brew tap the-lupaxa-project/tap
brew trust the-lupaxa-project/tap
brew install git-delete-tags

Or run the script from a clone: ./src/git-delete-tags --help.

Quick Start

./src/git-delete-tags all --summary      # plan only — no changes
./src/git-delete-tags -n v1.0.0          # dry-run (commands simulated)
./src/git-delete-tags v1.0.0             # delete one tag (local + remote)
./src/git-delete-tags all -y             # delete all tags (non-interactive)

This is destructive. Prefer --summary or -n first.

Default Behaviour

With no mode flags, the script will:

1. Resolve requested tags (explicit names or all)
2. Drop protected tags (-T / --protect-tag)
3. Delete matching tags on the remote (one git push --delete per tag)
4. Delete matching tags locally (one git tag -d per tag)

Remote tag names are discovered via git ls-remote --tags.

Common Options

Flag	Purpose
-r, --remote NAME	Remote to operate on (default: origin)
--local-only	Delete only local tags (no remote operations)
--remote-only	Delete only remote tags (keep local tags)
-T, --protect-tag TAG	Protect a specific tag from deletion (repeatable)
-y, --yes	Skip the interactive DELETE confirmation
-n, --dry-run	Simulate commands without changing anything
-S, --summary	Print a detailed plan based on all options and exit
-V, --version	Print version and exit

./src/git-delete-tags --help

Examples

Preview what deleting all tags would do:

./src/git-delete-tags all --summary

Dry-run a single tag delete:

./src/git-delete-tags v2.0.0 --dry-run

Delete all tags except protected ones:

./src/git-delete-tags all -T v1.0.0 -T latest --yes

Remove tags from the remote only:

./src/git-delete-tags all --remote-only --yes

Safety Notes

• --dry-run prints the action plan and simulates commands without asking for DELETE.
• Real runs require typing DELETE unless you pass -y / --yes.
• --summary resolves tags and prints the plan only — no deletes are run.
• Protection is applied before existence checks, so a missing explicit tag that is also protected (for example, no-such -T no-such) is skipped and may exit 0.
• Explicit tag names: the script fails if a named tag is missing from every place the selected mode would touch (default: local and/or remote; --local-only: local; --remote-only: remote).
• With all, only tags that exist for the selected mode are deleted; the script may exit 0 with nothing to delete.
• Remote tag discovery uses git ls-remote --tags; a missing or unreachable remote fails before any deletes.
• Remote deletes run before local deletes; a remote failure aborts before local tags are touched.