diff --git a/.github/workflows/clear_old_branches.yml b/.github/workflows/clear_old_branches.yml
index 514cd3c22..073ce3038 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/clear_old_branches.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/clear_old_branches.yml
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@ jobs:
 
           echo "Found $(echo "$EXISTING_BRANCHES" | wc -l) branches to check."
 
-          # Get branches from old merged/closed PRs
+          # Get branches from merged/closed PRs older than 7 days
           echo "Fetching closed/merged PRs older than 7 days..."
-          OLD_PR_BRANCHES=$(gh pr list \
+          OLD_CLOSED_PR_BRANCHES=$(gh pr list \
             --state all \
             --base main \
             --json state,mergedAt,closedAt,headRefName \
@@ -50,12 +50,32 @@ jobs:
             select(((.mergedAt // .closedAt) | fromdateiso8601) < ($cutoff | tonumber)) |
             .headRefName' | sort -u)
 
-          # Delete only branches that exist AND are from old PRs
+          # Get branches with open PRs (never delete these)
+          echo "Fetching branches with open PRs..."
+          OPEN_PR_BRANCHES=$(gh pr list \
+            --state open \
+            --base main \
+            --json headRefName \
+            --limit 500 |
+          jq -r '.[].headRefName' | sort -u)
+
+          # Delete only branches that:
+          # 1. Exist in repo
+          # 2. Have a merged/closed PR older than 7 days
+          # 3. Do NOT have an open PR
           for branch in $EXISTING_BRANCHES; do
-            if echo "$OLD_PR_BRANCHES" | grep -qx "$branch"; then
-              echo "Deleting branch: $branch"
+            # Skip if branch has an open PR
+            if echo "$OPEN_PR_BRANCHES" | grep -qx "$branch"; then
+              echo "Skipping (open PR): $branch"
+              continue
+            fi
+            # Only delete if branch has a closed/merged PR
+            if echo "$OLD_CLOSED_PR_BRANCHES" | grep -qx "$branch"; then
+              echo "Deleting branch: $branch (PR was merged/closed >7 days ago)"
               gh api -X DELETE repos/${{ github.repository }}/git/refs/heads/$branch \
                 || echo "Failed to delete branch $branch"
+            else
+              echo "Skipping (no closed PR found): $branch"
             fi
           done