dead-code

Dead Code Eliminator

Scan for dead code — unused exports, unreachable branches, dead variables, and obsolete imports — and remove it after confirmation.

Scope

Focus area (if provided): $ARGUMENTS If no focus area is provided, scan the entire codebase.

Process

1. Detect language and available tools

Identify the primary language(s) in the repo and check for available static analysis tools:

TypeScript / JavaScript

# Check for TypeScript
ls tsconfig.json 2>/dev/null && echo "TypeScript project"
# Check for ESLint with unused-vars rule
ls .eslintrc* eslint.config* 2>/dev/null

Python

# Check for pyflakes, vulture, or ruff
which pyflakes vulture ruff 2>/dev/null

Go

# Check for staticcheck
which staticcheck 2>/dev/null

2. Scan for dead code

Run all applicable checks in parallel:

Unused exports (TypeScript)

# ts-prune or grep-based analysis
npx ts-prune 2>/dev/null || \
  grep -rn "^export " --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" | \
  grep -v "node_modules" | head -100

Unused imports

• TypeScript: tsc --noEmit often surfaces these; or ESLint no-unused-vars
• Python: pyflakes . or ruff check --select F401 .
• Go: compiler enforces this — no unused imports compile

Dead variables / unreachable branches

• TypeScript: tsc --noEmit for noUnusedLocals, noUnusedParameters
• Python: vulture . for dead code detection
• Go: staticcheck ./...

Unreachable code patterns (language-agnostic grep)

# Code after return/throw at same indentation level
grep -rn "return\b" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.js" .

Commented-out code blocks

# Large commented blocks (3+ consecutive comment lines)
grep -rn "^[[:space:]]*//" --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" | \
  awk -F: '{print $1 ":" $2}' | uniq -c | awk '$1 >= 3 {print}'

3. Compile and present findings

Group findings by category:

Category	Count	Severity
Unused exports	N	Medium
Unused imports	N	Low
Dead variables	N	Low
Unreachable branches	N	High
Commented-out code	N	Low

For each finding, show:

• File path and line number
• The dead code snippet (1–3 lines)
• Why it's considered dead

Skip findings in:

• node_modules/, dist/, build/, .next/
• Generated files (*.generated.ts, *.d.ts)
• Test files (dead code in tests can be intentional fixtures)

4. Confirm before acting

Use AskUserQuestion to group findings into batches of at most 4 questions. For each batch:

• Describe what will be removed
• Show the file:line reference
• Default to the safe action (remove)
• Allow keeping if user prefers

Wait for all confirmations before proceeding.

5. Execute removals

For each confirmed removal:

1. Remove the dead code (delete lines, remove import, delete function/variable)
2. Verify the file still parses (run tsc --noEmit or language equivalent if available)
3. Report what was removed

After all removals:

# Verify nothing broke
tsc --noEmit 2>/dev/null || echo "No TypeScript to check"

Commit with: chore: remove dead code and open a PR targeting develop.