Your First Cleanup

You installed Knip and ran it once. The first report can look like a lot. This page helps you sort it out.

If the output is overwhelming, start with only a few issues:

npm run knip -- --max-show-issues 5

# alternatively, include only a single type of issue:
npm run knip -- --include files

pnpm knip --max-show-issues 5

# alternatively, include only a single type of issue:
pnpm knip --include files

bun knip --max-show-issues 5

# alternatively, include only a single type of issue:
bun knip --include files

yarn knip --max-show-issues 5

# alternatively, include only a single type of issue:
yarn knip --include files

Read the report from the top

Knip groups issues by type, and unused files come first. Work the report top-down, because findings come in chains: one unused file also makes its exports and the dependencies it imports look unused. Fix the file and the rest disappears. How Knip works explains why.

Fix an unused file

Take the first unused file and decide which kind it is:

Genuinely dead: nothing references it and no dependency loads it. Delete it.
A reachability gap: some tool or convention loads it that Knip doesn’t know about yet (a config file, a route, a generated entry). Don’t delete it, but instead teach Knip: add the file to entry. Or rather, add the first file in its import chain.

Not sure which? Search the codebase for the filename. And for dynamic patterns like import() or require() with a variable.

Re-run Knip after you delete a file. Exports and dependencies used only by that chain of files are now gone from the report too.

Fix an unused export

An unused export is a value or type nothing else imports. Either remove only the export keyword or delete the whole declaration if it has no use at all.

Knip can do this for you:

knip --fix --exports

The export keyword is stripped from unused exports and types.

This might reveal more unused variables and types, resulting in more code to delete. Then, Knip may find even more unused code. Rinse and repeat!

Fix a dependency

Two findings, two different fixes:

Unused dependency: in package.json, but nothing imports it. Remove it, unless a tool uses it that Knip has no plugin for (a reachability gap again).
Unlisted dependency: imported, but it’s not in package.json. It resolves today only because something else happens to install it (a phantom or transitive dependency). Add it to package.json so it can’t vanish from under you and to control the version being used.

When a result looks wrong

If Knip flags something you’re sure is used, there might be a gap in what it can reach. The fix is usually to teach Knip (add an entry, customize a plugin, add a dependency), not to silence it with ignore.

Often the issue is subtle. There could be a typo, a missing file or room for improvement in the configuration. Not filing it under ignore immediately will pay off in the long run.

Resolving reported issues walks through every issue type. Configuring project files helps you tune and get the most out of Knip.

Keep it tidy

Commit your cleanup, then add Knip to CI so unused code can’t pile up again. See Running Knip in CI.

On a large or legacy codebase, adopt Knip gradually over chasing “inbox zero” in one pass.