knip-deadcode

Community Knip Dead Code Detection Best Practices Comprehensive guide for detecting and removing dead code in JavaScript and TypeScript projects using Knip. Contains 43 rules across 8 categories, prioritized by impact to guide configuration, CI integration, and cleanup workflows. When to Apply Reference these guidelines when: Configuring Knip for a new project or monorepo Investigating false positives or false negatives Setting up CI pipelines to prevent dead code regressions Using auto-fix to clean up unused code Optimizing Knip performance for large codebases Rule Categories by Priority Priority Category Impact Prefix 1 Configuration Foundations CRITICAL config- 2 Entry Point Strategy CRITICAL entry- 3 Workspace & Monorepo HIGH workspace- 4 Dependency Analysis HIGH deps- 5 Export Detection MEDIUM-HIGH exports- 6 CI Integration MEDIUM ci- 7 Auto-Fix Workflow MEDIUM fix- 8 Performance Optimization LOW-MEDIUM perf- Quick Reference 1. Configuration Foundations (CRITICAL) config-avoid-broad-ignore - Avoid broad ignore patterns config-configure-path-aliases - Configure path aliases in Knip config-enable-plugins-explicitly - Enable framework plugins explicitly config-run-without-config - Run without config first for baseline config-separate-entry-project - Separate entry files from project files config-use-json-schema - Use JSON schema for configuration validation config-use-negation-patterns - Use negation patterns for exclusions config-use-production-mode - Use production mode for shipping code analysis 2. Entry Point Strategy (CRITICAL) entry-add-dynamic-imports - Add dynamic import targets as entry points entry-exclude-test-files - Exclude test files from production entries entry-include-all-entry-points - Include all application entry points entry-include-bin-scripts - Include binary scripts as entry points entry-use-compilers - Use compilers for non-standard file types entry-use-plugin-entries - Use plugin entry points for frameworks entry-verify-with-debug - Verify entry points with debug mode 3. Workspace & Monorepo (HIGH) workspace-configure-root-workspace - Configure root workspace explicitly workspace-ignore-specific - Ignore specific workspaces when needed workspace-isolate-for-strict - Isolate workspaces for strict dependency checking workspace-list-cross-deps - List cross-workspace dependencies explicitly workspace-per-workspace-plugins - Configure plugins per workspace workspace-use-workspace-globs - Use workspace globs for consistent configuration 4. Dependency Analysis (HIGH) deps-add-unlisted-deps - Add unlisted dependencies to package.json deps-avoid-transitive-reliance - Avoid relying on transitive dependencies deps-configure-plugin-deps - Configure plugins for tool-specific dependencies deps-fix-files-first - Fix unused files before dependencies deps-ignore-conditional-deps - Ignore conditionally loaded dependencies deps-remove-obsolete-types - Remove obsolete type definition packages 5. Export Detection (MEDIUM-HIGH) exports-check-class-members - Check class members for unused code exports-enable-entry-exports - Enable entry export checking for private packages exports-handle-reexports - Handle re-exports in barrel files exports-ignore-same-file - Ignore exports used in same file exports-tag-public-api - Tag public API exports with JSDoc exports-trace-usage - Trace export usage before removal exports-use-include-libs - Use include libs for type-based consumption 6. CI Integration (MEDIUM) ci-add-to-pipeline - Add Knip to CI pipeline ci-separate-production-check - Separate production and default mode checks ci-use-cache - Enable cache for faster CI runs ci-use-max-issues - Use max issues for gradual adoption ci-use-reporters - Use appropriate reporters for CI output ci-watch-mode-local - Use watch mode for local development 7. Auto-Fix Workflow (MEDIUM) fix-allow-remove-files - Explicitly allow file removal fix-format-after-fix - Format code after auto-fix fix-review-before-commit - Review auto-fix changes before commit fix-update-deps-after - Update package manager after dependency fix fix-use-fix-type - Use fix type for targeted cleanup 8. Performance Optimization (LOW-MEDIUM) perf-filter-issue-types - Filter issue types for focused analysis perf-limit-output - Limit output for large codebases perf-profile-performance - Profile performance for slow analysis perf-use-bun-runtime - Use Bun runtime for faster analysis perf-use-cache-flag - Enable cache for repeated analysis perf-use-workspace-filter - Filter workspaces for faster monorepo analysis How to Use Read individual reference files for detailed explanations and code examples: Section definitions - Category structure and impact levels Rule template - Template for adding new rules Reference Files File Description references/_sections.md Category definitions and ordering assets/templates/_template.md Template for new rules metadata.json Version and reference information