awesome-claude-code-toolkit/commands/refactoring/cleanup.md

Find and remove dead code, unused imports, and unreachable branches.

Steps

1. Detect the language and available tooling:
   • TypeScript/JavaScript: Use tsc --noEmit for unused locals, eslint with no-unused-vars.
   • Python: Use vulture or pyflakes for dead code detection.
   • Go: go vet reports unused variables; staticcheck finds dead code.
   • Rust: Compiler warnings for dead code with #[warn(dead_code)].
2. Scan for unused exports:
   • Find all exported symbols.
   • Search the codebase for imports of each symbol.
   • Flag exports with zero import references (excluding entry points).
3. Detect unreachable code:
   • Code after unconditional return/throw/break statements.
   • Branches with impossible conditions (always true/false guards).
   • Feature flags that are permanently enabled or disabled.
4. Find unused dependencies:
   • Compare package.json dependencies against actual imports.
   • Check for packages used only in removed code.
5. Present findings grouped by category with confidence levels.
6. Apply removals only for high-confidence dead code (no dynamic references).
7. Run tests after each removal batch to catch false positives.

Format

Dead Code Analysis
==================

Unused imports: <N>
  - <file>:<line> - import { <symbol> } from '<module>'

Unused exports: <N>
  - <file>:<line> - export <symbol> (0 references)

Unreachable code: <N>
  - <file>:<lines> - <reason>

Unused dependencies: <N>
  - <package> (last used: never / removed in <commit>)

Safe to remove: <N> items
Needs review: <N> items

Rules

• Never remove code that might be used via dynamic imports, reflection, or string references.
• Preserve exports that are part of a public API or SDK.
• Skip test utilities, fixtures, and development-only code.
• Run the full test suite after removing each batch to catch false positives.
• Log removed code with git commit messages for easy reversal.