diff --git a/workspaces.py b/workspaces.py
index 485029e..e3a53d2 100755
--- a/workspaces.py
+++ b/workspaces.py
@@ -1373,9 +1373,14 @@ def clean_workspace(
         f"Cleaning workspace [bold]{title or ws_dir.name}[/bold] (dir: {repo.name})"
     )
 
+    run_cmd(["git", "fetch", "--all", "--prune"], cwd=repo)
     local_branches_merged = get_branches_merged(repo, remote=False)
     remote_branches_merged = get_branches_merged(repo, remote=True)
 
+    if len(local_branches_merged) == 0 and len(remote_branches_merged) == 0:
+        console.print("[green]No branches to delete.[/green]")
+        raise typer.Exit(0)
+
     console.print(
         f"[green]Would delete {len(local_branches_merged)} local branches[/green]"
     )
@@ -1401,7 +1406,26 @@ def clean_workspace(
         run_cmd(cmd, cwd=repo)
 
     for b in remote_branches_merged:
-        cmd = ["git", "push", "origin", "--delete", b]
+        # b looks like "origin/feat/workspaces-tmux-support"
+        if "->" in b:
+            # safety: skip symbolic refs like "origin/HEAD -> origin/main"
+            continue
+
+        try:
+            remote, branch = b.split("/", 1)
+        except ValueError:
+            # fallback: no slash? assume origin + raw name
+            remote, branch = "origin", b
+
+        cmd = ["git", "push", remote, "--delete", branch]
+
+        status, out, err = run_cmd(cmd, cwd=repo)
+
+        if status != 0:
+            console.print(f"[red]Failed to delete {remote}/{branch}:[/red]\n{err}")
+            continue
+
+    console.print("[green]Done.[/green]")
 
 
 def in_tmux() -> bool: