Dead Code Detector

Reduce Technical Debt and Codebase Bloat

As codebases evolve, unused functions, orphaned imports, and unreachable logic inevitably accumulate. This skill provides a comprehensive, multi-language engine to identify and help remove "dead" code that slows down developers and increases maintenance overhead.

What it does

The Dead Code Detector performs high-confidence static analysis across your entire project. It goes beyond simple linter rules by cross-referencing symbols across files to ensure a function or variable really isn't used anywhere in the codebase. It detects:

• Unused imports, variables, and private methods.
• Orphaned functions, classes, and exported symbols.
• Unreachable code paths after return or throw statements.
• Leftover debugging statements (console.log, debugger) and large commented-out code blocks.

Supported Languages & Frameworks

Developed for polyglot environments, it supports Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, Rust, Java, and C/C++. It is framework-aware, meaning it understands that decorators in Flask/Django or components in React/Vue constitute "usage" even if they lack direct references in the source logic.

Why use this skill?

Unlike raw AI prompts that only see the current file, this skill applies a systematic multi-pass workflow. It validates findings against project-wide greps, handles framework-specific entry points, and recognizes dynamic usage patterns (like reflection or DI). The result is a severity-ranked report that distinguishes between "Safe to Remove" and "Verify Before Removal," giving you 100% confidence before hitting delete.