Dead Code Scan
Find the code nobody calls anymore. No signup required.
Prerequisites
- None. Pure Claude Code. Will use a static analyzer if present
(
knip, ts-prune, vulture, deadcode), otherwise reasons from grep + imports.
Trigger
- "Find dead code in this repo"
- "Any unused exports / files?"
- "What can I safely delete?"
Workflow
Detect language and reach for the right tool if installed:
- JS/TS β
knip or ts-prune Β· Python β vulture Β· Go β deadcode / staticcheck
Parse its output. If none is installed, do a grep-based pass (below).
Grep-based pass:
- For each exported symbol, search the repo for references outside its own file.
Zero references (and not a public API entry point) β candidate dead export.
- Unused imports: imported name never referenced in the file.
- Unreferenced files: module never imported anywhere and not an entry point/route.
- Unreachable code: statements after
return/throw/break; if (false) blocks.
Assign confidence β be conservative. Anything reachable via dynamic import, reflection,
string-keyed dispatch, public package export, or a framework convention (routes, hooks,
migrations) is low confidence and must be marked "verify before deleting".
Output:
## Dead Code Scan β 42 files
**High confidence: 6 Β· Verify first: 4**
### Safe to remove
- `utils/legacy.ts:1-60` β file never imported anywhere.
- `services/auth.ts:88` β `export function oldHash()` β 0 references.
- `components/Modal.tsx:14` β unused import `useMemo`.
- `parser.py:120-126` β unreachable block after `return` on line 119.
### Verify before deleting (dynamic / convention)
- `routes/webhooks.ts` β no static import, but may be auto-registered. Check the router.
- `tasks/cleanup.py` β referenced only by a string in a Celery schedule. Keep.
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