# Automate Branch Cleanup And Push Notifications With GitLab

**Published:** 2026-10-29  
**Author:** Kin Lane  
**Canonical:** https://apievangelist.com/2026/10/29/automate-branch-cleanup-and-push-notifications-with-gitlab/

If you manage a software team, you have seen the repository that nobody tidies: hundreds of old branches, release branches someone forgot to protect, and a chat channel that never hears about a push until somebody complains. Those are housekeeping jobs, and housekeeping is exactly what software is good at. [GitLab](https://apis.io/providers/gitlab/) exposes all of it through an API, so a script, your internal tools, or an AI assistant can create, protect and clean up branches and wire notifications to your other systems.

## What GitLab does

GitLab is a DevOps platform for building, securing and managing applications, made by GitLab Inc., an open-core company and one of the best known all-remote employers. It holds your code in Git repositories and adds issues, merge requests (a proposed change waiting for review), pipelines that build and test every change, and the runners that execute them. More on the [GitLab website](https://about.gitlab.com/).

## What you can get done

### Create, protect and clean up branches

[Software Construction Management](https://apis.io/capabilities/software-construction-management/) is the day-to-day work on the code itself. A branch is a separate line of work in a repository; protecting one controls who can push to it.

- `GET /api/v4/projects/{id}/repository/branches` lists all the branches in a project.
- `POST /api/v4/projects/{id}/repository/branches` creates a new branch from main or a specific commit.
- `GET /api/v4/projects/{id}/repository/branches/{branch}` shows one branch and its latest commit.
- `DELETE /api/v4/projects/{id}/repository/branches/{branch}` deletes one named branch.
- `DELETE /api/v4/projects/{id}/repository/merged_branches` deletes every branch that has already been merged.

### Tell your other systems when something happens

[Webhook & Event Subscription Management](https://apis.io/capabilities/webhook-event-subscription-management/) sets up webhooks, which are messages GitLab sends to a web address of yours whenever an event like a push happens.

- `GET /projects/{id}/hooks` lists the webhooks configured on a project.
- `POST /projects/{id}/hooks` adds a webhook, so your server hears about every push.
- `GET /projects/{id}/hooks/{hook_id}` shows which events one webhook is subscribed to.
- `PUT /projects/{id}/hooks/{hook_id}` changes where a webhook delivers.
- `DELETE /projects/{id}/hooks/{hook_id}` stops a webhook altogether.

## Workflows that put it together

A workflow is a recipe of several calls in order that finishes a real job. APIs.io catalogs 24 for GitLab, including:

- [Clean Up a Merged Branch](https://apis.io/arazzos/gitlab/gitlab-cleanup-merged-branch-workflow/) verifies a branch was merged, then unprotects and deletes it.
- [Create and Protect a Release Branch](https://apis.io/arazzos/gitlab/gitlab-create-and-protect-branch-workflow/) cuts a branch and immediately applies push and merge protection.
- [Create a Feature Branch from the Default Branch](https://apis.io/arazzos/gitlab/gitlab-create-branch-from-default-workflow/) finds the tip of the default branch and starts new work from it.
- [Approve a Pending Project Access Request](https://apis.io/arazzos/gitlab/gitlab-approve-project-access-request-workflow/) lists who has asked to join a project and approves the first one waiting.
- [Add and Preview a Project Badge](https://apis.io/arazzos/gitlab/gitlab-add-project-badge-workflow/) previews a status badge, adds it to a project and confirms it.

## Ask for it in plain language

Our conversational overlay for GitLab maps everyday questions to the operation that answers them, so an AI assistant knows which call to make. These are the kinds of things you can ask:

- "How do I clean up every branch that has already been merged in a GitLab project?"
- "How do I create a new branch from main or a specific commit?"
- "How do I send a notification to my server whenever someone pushes to a project?"
- "Which webhooks are configured on my GitLab project?"
- "How do I delete one named branch from a project repository?"

You can see one in the [GitLab Admin phrasing overlay](https://apis.io/overlays/gitlab/gitlab-admin-api-phrasing-overlay/).

## Getting started

GitLab has a free tier with self-serve signup, and you call its hosted service. Read the [REST authentication guide](https://docs.gitlab.com/api/rest/authentication/) first; if you are building an app for other GitLab users, GitLab can act as an [OAuth provider](https://docs.gitlab.com/integration/oauth_provider/). There is also a [GraphQL API](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/api/graphql/) and the [Issues API reference](https://docs.gitlab.com/api/issues/). On APIs.io, see the [GitLab profile](https://apis.io/providers/gitlab/), the [Merge Requests API](https://apis.io/apis/gitlab/apiv4merge-requests/), the [Pipelines API](https://apis.io/apis/gitlab/apiv4pipelines/) and the [Issues API](https://apis.io/apis/gitlab/apiv4issues/). Start with merged-branch cleanup on your busiest project; it is the safest win.