Vulture and deadcode - Dead Code Detection Tools for finding unused Python code including functions, classes, variables, imports, and attributes. When to Use This Skill Use this skill when... Use another tool instead when... Detecting unused functions, classes, variables Finding unused imports only (use ruff --select F401 ) Cleaning up dead code in a codebase Checking type correctness (use basedpyright) Enforcing code hygiene in CI Formatting code (use ruff format) Generating whitelists for false positives Running general linting (use ruff check) Overview Vulture (mature, confidence-based) and deadcode (newer, AST-based) both detect unused code but with different approaches: Feature Vulture deadcode Approach Static analysis + confidence scores AST-based detection Accuracy Confidence scores (60-100%) High accuracy, fewer false positives Speed Fast Very fast Configuration Whitelist files TOML configuration Maturity Mature (2012) Newer (2023+) Best For Large codebases, gradual cleanup New projects, strict enforcement Installation

Install vulture

uv add --dev vulture

Install deadcode (newer alternative)

uv add --dev deadcode

Install both for comparison

uv add --dev vulture deadcode Vulture - Confidence-Based Detection Basic Usage

Check entire project

vulture .

Check specific files/directories

vulture src/ tests/

Minimum confidence threshold (60-100%)

vulture --min-confidence 80 .

Exclude patterns

vulture . --exclude "/migrations/*,/tests/*"

Sort by confidence

vulture --sort-by-size .

Generate whitelist of current issues

vulture . --make-whitelist

vulture_whitelist.py Configuration (pyproject.toml) [ tool.vulture ] min_confidence = 80 paths = [ "src" , "tests" ] exclude = [ "/migrations/*" , "/pycache/" , ".venv/" ] ignore_decorators = [ "@app.route" , "@pytest.fixture" , "@property" , "@staticmethod" , "@classmethod" ] ignore_names = [ "test_" , "setUp" , "tearDown*" , ] deadcode - AST-Based Detection Basic Usage

Check entire project

deadcode .

Check specific files/directories

deadcode src/

Verbose output

deadcode --verbose .

Dry run (show what would be removed)

deadcode --dry-run .

Show unreachable code

deadcode --show-unreachable .

Generate configuration

deadcode --init Configuration (pyproject.toml) [ tool.deadcode ] paths = [ "src" ] exclude = [ "tests/" , "/pycache/" , "/migrations/" , ] ignore_names = [ "test_" , "setUp" , "tearDown" , "main" , ] ignore_decorators = [ "app.route" , "pytest.fixture" , "property" , "staticmethod" , "classmethod" , "abstractmethod" ] show_unreachable = false Choosing Between Tools Choose Vulture when... Choose deadcode when... Large, mature codebases New projects Need confidence-based filtering Want fewer false positives Need whitelist file approach Prefer TOML configuration Dynamic code (getattr, exec) Need unreachable code detection Hybrid Approach

Run both for comprehensive detection

vulture --min-confidence 80 . deadcode . Agentic Optimizations Context Command Quick vulture check vulture --min-confidence 90 . Quick deadcode check deadcode . Generate whitelist vulture . --make-whitelist > vulture_whitelist.py CI enforcement vulture --min-confidence 80 . vulture_whitelist.py Unreachable code deadcode --show-unreachable . Combined check vulture --min-confidence 80 . && deadcode . Quick Reference Vulture Flags Flag Description --min-confidence N Minimum confidence (60-100%) --exclude PATTERN Exclude glob patterns --sort-by-size Sort results by size --make-whitelist Generate whitelist file deadcode Flags Flag Description --verbose Verbose output --dry-run Show without modifying --show-unreachable Detect unreachable code --init Generate configuration --strict Strict enforcement mode For detailed examples, advanced patterns, and best practices, see REFERENCE.md .