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After running achievements, your target repository will contain many commits, branches, and pull requests. This guide shows you how to clean up and restore your repository to a clean state.

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What Gets Created

When you run achievements, the CLI creates:
  • Branches: Temporary feature branches (e.g., pair-extraordinaire-1, pull-shark-2)
  • Commits: Multiple commits on each branch
  • Pull Requests: PRs for each operation (later merged and closed)
  • Issues: For Quickdraw achievement
  • Discussions: For Galaxy Brain achievement
While branches are automatically deleted after merging, the commits remain in your repository’s history.
For most achievements, you might run 10-1024 operations, resulting in thousands of commits in your repository’s history.

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Reset Repo History Feature

The CLI includes a built-in Reset Repo History feature that squashes all commits into a single clean commit.

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How It Works

The reset feature uses Git’s orphan branch strategy:
  1. Creates a new orphan branch (clean-slate) with no history
  2. Stages all current files
  3. Creates a single “Initial commit”
  4. Deletes the old main branch
  5. Renames clean-slate to main
  6. Force pushes to the remote repository
From src/app/screens/ResetHistoryScreen.tsx:38-58:
await execAsync('git checkout --orphan clean-slate');
await execAsync('git add -A');
await execAsync('git commit -m "Initial commit"');
await execAsync('git branch -D main');
await execAsync('git branch -m main');
await execAsync('git push -f origin main');
  • ✅ All current files in the repository
  • ✅ Current code state
  • ✅ Repository settings
  • ❌ Commit history (squashed to one commit)
  • ❌ Branch references (reset to new history)
Even after resetting commit history:
  • ✅ Pull requests remain visible
  • ✅ Issues remain visible
  • ✅ Discussions remain visible
  • ✅ All are still listed in your GitHub contribution graph
To fully clear these, you must delete and recreate the repository (see below).

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Using Reset Repo History

1

Open the main menu

Run npm start to launch the CLI.
2

Select 'Reset Repo History'

Use arrow keys to navigate to Reset Repo History and press Enter.
3

Review the warning

You’ll see:
This will squash all commits into a single "Initial commit".
Target: your-username/your-repo

Warning: This will permanently delete all commit history!
Make sure you understand the implications before proceeding.
4

Confirm the operation

Type y or select Yes to confirm.The CLI will:
  1. Create an orphan branch
  2. Stage all files
  3. Create a clean commit
  4. Replace the main branch
  5. Force push to GitHub
5

Wait for completion

You’ll see progress messages:
Creating orphan branch...
Staging all files...
Creating clean commit...
Removing old main branch...
Renaming to main...
Force pushing to remote...

✓ Repository history has been reset!
All commits squashed into a single clean commit.
This operation cannot be undone! Make sure you have a backup if you need to preserve the commit history.

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What Happens During Reset

The reset operation follows this sequence:

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Manual Git Reset (Alternative)

If you prefer to reset manually without the CLI: 
cd /path/to/your/repo

# Create orphan branch
git checkout --orphan clean-slate

# Stage all files
git add -A

# Create initial commit
git commit -m "Initial commit"

# Delete old main branch
git branch -D main

# Rename clean-slate to main
git branch -m main

# Force push to remote (WARNING: destructive!)
git push -f origin main
Force pushing (git push -f) is destructive and will overwrite the remote repository. Make sure no one else is working on this repository.

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Cleaning Up Branches

Most branches are automatically deleted after PRs are merged, but you can verify:

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Check for Remaining Branches

cd /path/to/your/repo
git branch -a
You should only see:
  • main (local)
  • remotes/origin/main (remote)

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Delete Local Branches

If you see leftover achievement branches: 
# Delete all local branches except main
git branch | grep -v "main" | xargs git branch -D

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Delete Remote Branches

Check for remote branches: 
git ls-remote --heads origin
Delete them: 
# Delete specific branch
git push origin --delete branch-name

# Or use GitHub's web interface:
# Repo > Branches > Delete each branch

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Deleting and Recreating the Repository

To completely clear PR history from your GitHub profile, you must delete and recreate the repository.
This is the most destructive option. Only do this if you want to completely remove all traces of achievement operations from your GitHub profile.
1

Back up your repository (if needed)

If you have any files you want to keep:
cd /path/to/your/repo

# Save current state
cp -r . ~/backup/repo-backup/

# Or create a git bundle
git bundle create repo-backup.bundle --all
2

Delete the repository on GitHub

  1. Go to your repository on GitHub
  2. Click Settings
  3. Scroll to the bottom to the “Danger Zone”
  4. Click Delete this repository
  5. Type the repository name to confirm
  6. Click I understand the consequences, delete this repository
3

Create a new repository with the same name

  1. Go to github.com/new
  2. Enter the exact same repository name
  3. Choose public or private (same as before)
  4. Do NOT initialize with README (if you want to push your backup)
  5. Click Create repository
4

Push your code to the new repository

cd /path/to/your/repo

# Update remote URL (should be the same)
git remote set-url origin https://github.com/your-username/your-repo.git

# Push to new repository
git push -u origin main

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What This Clears

  • ✅ All commit history
  • ✅ All pull requests (no longer visible)
  • ✅ All issues (no longer visible)
  • ✅ All discussions (no longer visible)
  • ✅ All activity from contribution graph

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What This Preserves

  • ✅ Repository name and URL
  • ✅ Current code/files (if you pushed them)
  • ❌ Stars, watchers, forks (these are lost)
  • ❌ Settings (must reconfigure)
Your achievement badges remain on your profile! GitHub’s achievement system tracks that you earned them, even if the repository is deleted.

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Best Practices for Cleanup

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Immediate Cleanup

After running achievements:
  1. ✅ Wait for achievements to appear on your profile (can take a few minutes)
  2. ✅ Use Reset Repo History to squash commits
  3. ✅ Keep the repository if you might run more achievements later

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Deep Cleanup

If you’re done with achievements and want a completely clean slate:
  1. ✅ Verify achievements appear on your profile
  2. ✅ Use Reset Repo History first
  3. ✅ Wait 24 hours (ensures GitHub’s systems have registered achievements)
  4. ✅ Delete and recreate the repository
  5. ✅ Revoke access tokens if no longer needed

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Keep for Reference

If you want to keep a record:
  1. ✅ Don’t delete the repository
  2. ✅ Use Reset Repo History to clean commit history
  3. ✅ Archive the repository (Settings > Archive this repository)
  4. ✅ This keeps PRs/issues visible but marks the repo as read-only

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Cleaning Up Other Resources

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Access Tokens

After you’re done with achievements:
1

Revoke main account token

  1. Go to Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens
  2. Find your “GitHub Achievement CLI” token
  3. Click Delete
2

Revoke helper account token

  1. Log in as helper account
  2. Go to Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens
  3. Find the helper token
  4. Click Delete

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Local Database

Clean up local progress tracking: 
# Remove all database files
rm achievements-data-*.json

# Or remove just your user's database
rm achievements-data-your-username.json

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Helper Account

Decide whether to keep or delete: Keep if:
  • You might run achievements again
  • You want to help others earn achievements
  • You might use it for testing GitHub features
Delete if:
  • You’re done with achievements permanently
  • You don’t want to maintain another account
To delete: Settings > Account > Delete your account

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Troubleshooting Reset Issues

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”Failed to delete old main branch”

Problem: The old main branch can’t be deleted.
Solution: 
# Force delete the branch
git branch -D main

# If that fails, skip that step and continue
git branch -m main
git push -f origin main

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“Push rejected: protected branch”

Problem: Branch protection rules prevent force pushing.
Solution:
  1. Go to repository Settings > Branches
  2. Temporarily remove branch protection rules
  3. Run the reset operation
  4. Re-enable branch protection after completion

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”Push failed: permission denied”

Problem: Your token lacks push permissions.
Solution:
  1. Verify your GITHUB_TOKEN has the repo scope
  2. Regenerate the token if necessary
  3. Update .env with the new token

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”Working directory is not clean”

Problem: Uncommitted changes in the repository.
Solution: 
# Stash changes
git stash

# Or commit them
git add -A
git commit -m "Save work before reset"

# Then run reset again

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