[BUG] Claude Code on the web: proxy still blocks deleting remote branches (#85454 closed as inactive)
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet. It was reported as #85454 (with #85456 closed as its duplicate), but #85454 was closed for inactivity, not fixed, and the bot asked for a new issue if it is still relevant. It is.
- [x] This is a single bug report
- [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code
What's Wrong?
Claude Code on the web sessions still can't delete remote branches. #85456 describes the mechanism in detail: the sandbox's GitHub proxy returns 403 for git push origin --delete <branch> and for DELETE /git/refs/heads/<branch>, and the GitHub MCP server has no delete_branch. Yet the same proxy allows force-pushes.
In practice the agent creates a branch per task, the PRs get squash-merged, and the branches pile up. In late September my repo had 12 stale agent-created branches, and the session's handoff note had to list deleting them as a manual to-do for me (source, "Your to-dos": "Delete 12 stale branches. The session cannot push deletions.").
What Should Happen?
A session should be able to delete a branch it created, at least once that branch's PR is merged or closed. Or the policy should be documented, so agents and users know up front that cleanup is manual. It's also odd that deleting a merged feature branch is blocked while force-pushing is allowed (see #85456).
Steps to Reproduce
Per #85456, and consistent with my sessions:
- Start a Claude Code on the web session on a GitHub repo.
- Have it create and push a branch.
- Ask it to delete that remote branch:
git push origin --delete <branch>. - The proxy returns HTTP 403.
Is this a regression?
No, it has been this way since at least #85454.
Platform / OS
Claude Code on the web (Anthropic-hosted cloud environment).
Additional Information
Previous reports: #85454 (closed, inactive), #85456 (closed as a duplicate of #85454). A related request is #80133 (CLI cleanup doesn't propagate to origin).