ide-dead-code-hunter

name	ide-dead-code-hunter
description	Find unused exports, dead functions, and unreachable code across the workspace using LSP analysis. Cross-verifies detectUnusedCode with findReferences to eliminate false positives. Use to clean up technical debt or before a major refactor.
context	fork
agent	general-purpose
effort	medium
argument-hint	[optional: file or directory to scope the search]

IDE Dead Code Hunter

Prerequisites

1. Check if getToolCapabilities is available.
   • Not available: tell the user this skill requires the Claude IDE Bridge with a connected VS Code extension, then stop.
   • Available: call it. If extensionConnected is false: show the same message and stop. If true: proceed.

Goal

Find dead code — unused exports, functions with zero callers, unused imports — and produce a prioritized cleanup list with confidence badges.

Workflow

Phase 1: Scope

1. Note the argument: $ARGUMENTS

   • If a specific file path: scope search to that file only
   • If a directory: scope to that directory
   • If empty: search the entire workspace

2. Use getProjectInfo to understand the project type and entry points (to avoid flagging intentional public API exports as dead)

Phase 2: Detect unused symbols

3. Call detectUnusedCode on each in-scope file (or workspace-wide if no scope)

4. For each reported unused symbol, call findReferences to cross-verify:

   • Zero references: confirmed dead — high confidence
   • References only in the same file: likely dead (internal-only) — medium confidence
   • References in other files: false positive from detectUnusedCode — skip

5. Call searchWorkspace with pattern ^export on TypeScript/JS files to find exported symbols not caught by detectUnusedCode, then run findReferences on each to check usage outside the file

Phase 3: Unused imports

6. Use getDocumentSymbols on each in-scope file to list import declarations
7. For any import whose symbol has zero findReferences results in the current file body: flag as unused import

Phase 4: Build the report

Produce a Markdown table sorted by priority:

## Dead Code Report

Scoped to: [scope or "workspace-wide"]
Analyzed: N files

### High Confidence (zero external references)

| Symbol | File | Line | Type | Action |
|--------|------|------|------|--------|
| `functionName` | src/foo.ts | 42 | function | Delete |
| ...

### Medium Confidence (internal refs only)

| Symbol | File | Line | Type | Refs | Action |
|--------|------|------|------|------|--------|
| `helperFn` | src/bar.ts | 15 | function | 2 (same file) | Review |
| ...

### Unused Imports

| Import | File | Line | Action |
|--------|------|------|--------|
| `{ OldType }` | src/baz.ts | 3 | Remove |
| ...

### Summary
- High confidence dead code: N symbols
- Medium confidence: M symbols
- Unused imports: K declarations
- Estimated line reduction: ~X lines

Guidelines

• Never suggest deleting public API exports that match entry points identified in Phase 1
• Flag test files separately — unused test helpers may be intentional scaffolding
• If a symbol is referenced only in *.test.ts files with no production callers, note it as "test-only" rather than dead
• Keep report under 60 lines for workspaces with fewer than 20 dead symbols; truncate to top 20 by confidence for larger codebases