dead-code

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Find orphan functions, dangling imports, and dead code via GitNexus CLI (npx gitnexus@latest). CLI ONLY - NO MCP server exists, never use readMcpResource with gitnexus:// URIs. TRIGGERS - dead code, orphan functions, unused imports, dangling references, unreachable code.

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Sourceterrylica/cc-skills

Added on2026-02-28

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add terrylica/cc-skills dead-code

SKILL.md Content

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GitNexus Dead Code Detector

CLI ONLY — no MCP server exists. Never use
readMcpResource
with
gitnexus://
URIs.

Find orphan functions, dangling imports, isolated files, and unreachable code using the GitNexus knowledge graph.

When to Use

Periodic codebase cleanup
Before a major release to reduce surface area
After a refactor to find newly orphaned code
"Are there any unused functions?"

For language-specific dead code tools (vulture, knip, clippy): use

quality-tools:dead-code-detector

instead. This skill uses the GitNexus graph for cross-file structural analysis.

Workflow

Step 1: Verify Index

Run from the repo root (the CLI auto-detects the repo from cwd):

bash

npx gitnexus@latest status

If stale, suggest running

/gitnexus-tools:reindex

first.

Step 2: Run Cypher Queries

Run these 4 queries to detect different categories of dead code:

Orphan Functions

Functions with no incoming CALLS edges and not participating in any process:

bash

npx gitnexus@latest cypher "MATCH (f:Function) WHERE NOT EXISTS { MATCH ()-[:CALLS]->(f) } AND NOT EXISTS { MATCH ()-[:STEP_IN_PROCESS]->(f) } RETURN f.name, f.file, f.line ORDER BY f.file LIMIT 50"

Dangling Imports

Import edges with low confidence (< 0.5), indicating potentially broken references:

bash

npx gitnexus@latest cypher "MATCH (a)-[r:IMPORTS]->(b) WHERE r.confidence < 0.5 RETURN a.name, b.name, r.confidence, a.file ORDER BY r.confidence LIMIT 30"

Dead Code (Unreachable)

Functions unreachable from any entry point — no callers and no process membership:

bash

npx gitnexus@latest cypher "MATCH (f:Function) WHERE NOT EXISTS { MATCH ()-[:CALLS]->(f) } AND NOT EXISTS { MATCH ()-[:STEP_IN_PROCESS]->(f) } AND NOT f.name STARTS WITH '_' AND NOT f.name STARTS WITH 'test_' RETURN f.name, f.file, f.line ORDER BY f.file LIMIT 50"

Isolated Files

Files with no imports in or out:

bash

npx gitnexus@latest cypher "MATCH (f:File) WHERE NOT EXISTS { MATCH (f)-[:IMPORTS]->() } AND NOT EXISTS { MATCH ()-[:IMPORTS]->(f) } RETURN f.path ORDER BY f.path LIMIT 30"

Step 3: Filter Results

Exclude false positives:

Test files (
```
**/test_*
```
,
```
**/tests/*
```
,
```
**/*_test.*
```
) — test functions are legitimately "uncalled"
__init__
files — may be legitimately empty or used for re-exports
Entry points (
```
main
```
,
```
cli
```
,
```
__main__
```
) — called by the runtime, not by other code
Private helpers prefixed with
```
_
```
— may be used via dynamic dispatch

Step 4: Structured Report

Present categorized by module/directory:

## Dead Code Report

### Orphan Functions (N found)
| Function | File | Line |
|----------|------|------|
| ...      | ...  | ...  |

### Dangling Imports (N found)
| Source | Target | Confidence |
|--------|--------|------------|
| ...    | ...    | ...        |

### Isolated Files (N found)
- path/to/file.py
- ...

### Summary
- Total orphans: N
- Total dangling: N
- Total isolated: N

Notes

Results depend on index freshness — reindex if results seem wrong
The graph captures static relationships only — dynamic dispatch, reflection, and plugin loading may cause false positives
Use
```
quality-tools:dead-code-detector
```
for language-specific analysis (vulture, knip, clippy) which complements this structural view

dead-code

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

GitNexus Dead Code Detector

When to Use

Workflow

Step 1: Verify Index

Step 2: Run Cypher Queries

Orphan Functions

Dangling Imports

Dead Code (Unreachable)

Isolated Files

Step 3: Filter Results

Step 4: Structured Report

Notes