Getting Started

Requirements

Knip v6 requires at least Node.js v20.19.0. Or Bun.

Want to try Knip without installation? Visit the playground.

Installation

The easiest and recommended way to install Knip:

npm

npm init @knip/config

pnpm

pnpm create @knip/config

bun

bun create @knip/config

yarn

yarn create @knip/config

Run

Now you can run Knip to lint your project:

npm

npm run knip

pnpm

pnpm knip

bun

bun knip

yarn

yarn knip

Knip will lint your project and report unused dependencies, exports and files.

The next step is to learn more about how Knip works or go straight to your first cleanup.

Tip

Try the Knip Editor Extension! Let your coding agent use the built-in MCP Server and create a custom knip.json for you.

Manual

Alternatively, manually install Knip using your package manager:

npm

npm install -D knip typescript @types/node

pnpm

pnpm add -D knip typescript @types/node

bun

bun add -D knip typescript @types/node

yarn

yarn add -D knip typescript @types/node

Knip uses typescript and @types/node as peer dependencies to increase compatibility with your project. No worries, they’re probably in your node_modules already.

Then add a knip script to your package.json:

package.json

{
  "name": "my-project",
  "scripts": {
    "knip": "knip"
  }
}

Without installation

To run Knip without adding it to your project:

npm

npx knip

pnpm

pnpm dlx knip

bun

bunx knip

In this scenario typescript and @types/node are expected to be installed already.