Git Fresh

A safe, selective cleanup tool for Git repos with stash-first protection and cross-platform support

Git Fresh is a cross-platform CLI tool that safely resets Git repositories to a clean state while selectively preserving environment files and untracked changes. It’s designed with rollback safety, non-destructive principles, and full support for .env file detection, stash-first workflows, and fine-grained cleanup logic.

My Role in the Project

As the creator and only developer, I:

• Designed the full security-first architecture, prioritizing stash-based recovery and selective deletion.
• Implemented cross-platform cleanup logic, supporting path normalization and safe file operations.
• Built interactive CLI flows using Inquirer.js and Commander.js.
• Optimized performance with parallel glob processing and error-tolerant file deletion.

Technical Details and Interesting Aspects

File Protection & Options

• .env and custom glob patterns are detected and protected by default.
• Offers selective preservation via interactive prompts.
• CLI flags include --ignoreEnvFiles, --ignoreGlobFiles, --skipConfirmation.

Cleanup Logic

• Uses rmSync(..., { recursive: true, force: true }) for efficient removal.
• Operates with a non-destructive stance: .git/ and protected files are never touched.
• Generates unique sets from normalized paths to avoid redundant checks.

Git Integration

• Automatically stashes all changes before cleanup.

• Commands used:

  • git stash push -u -m "git-fresh: temporary stash"
  • git restore . and git stash pop
  • git stash list for rollback support

User Interaction

• Uses inquirer prompts to allow:

  • Full skip, selective, or no preservation of .env files.
  • Checkbox selection for granular control.

• Visual progress via ora spinners.

Error Handling

• Gracefully aborts if stash fails.
• Conflicts or restore issues are logged, stash is preserved.
• All file-related warnings are non-blocking.

Platform Support

• Path normalization supports mixed separators (/, \).
• windowsHide: true avoids flashing terminals on Windows.
• Compatible with macOS, Linux, and Windows environments.

Development Tooling

• Written in TypeScript, built to CommonJS with Bun.
• CLI framework: Commander.js
• Testing via manual repos + interactive workflows.
• Linting and formatting with Prettier.
• Published to npm with provenance enabled.

Conclusion

Git Fresh is a highly practical CLI tool that turns error-prone manual cleaning into a safe, repeatable operation. Its architecture reflects my focus on developer safety, DX-first interfaces, and reliability across all environments.