Knip Code Cleanup

Setup

1. Check if knip is available:
   • Run

     npx knip --version

     to test
   • If it fails or is very slow, check if

     knip

     is in package.json devDependencies
   • If not installed locally, install with

     npm install -D knip

     (or pnpm/yarn equivalent based on lockfile present)
2. If no

   knip.json

   or

   knip.jsonc

   config exists and knip reports many false positives, consider creating a minimal config based on the frameworks detected in package.json

Execution

1. Run

   npx knip

   to get initial report
2. Review the output categories:
   • Unused files - files not imported anywhere
   • Unused dependencies - packages in package.json not imported
   • Unused devDependencies - dev packages not used
   • Unused exports - exported functions/variables not imported elsewhere
   • Unused types - exported types not used

Cleanup Strategy

Auto-delete (high confidence):

• Unused exports that are clearly internal (not part of public API)
• Unused type exports
• Unused dependencies (remove from package.json)
• Unused files that are clearly orphaned (not entry points, not config files)

--fix --allow-remove-files

Ask first (needs clarification):

• Files that might be entry points or dynamically imported
• Exports that might be part of a public API (index.ts, lib exports)
• Dependencies that might be used via CLI or peer dependencies
• Anything in paths like

  src/index

  ,

  lib/

  , or files with "public" or "api" in the name

Workflow

1. Run knip, capture full output
2. Categorize each issue as auto-delete or needs-clarification
3. Ask about uncertain items in a single batch question
4. Perform all deletions (use Edit tool to remove exports, Bash to remove files/deps)
5. Re-run knip to verify cleanup is complete
6. Repeat until no issues remain or only intentionally-ignored items exist

Common Commands

# Basic run
npx knip

# Production only (ignore test files)
npx knip --production

# Auto-fix what's safe
npx knip --fix

# Auto-fix including file deletion
npx knip --fix --allow-remove-files

# JSON output for parsing
npx knip --reporter json

Notes

• If knip config exists, respect its ignore patterns
• Watch for monorepo setups - may need

  --workspace

  flag
• Some frameworks need plugins enabled in config
• Re-run after each batch of fixes to catch newly-exposed unused code