Configuration File

This page lists all configuration options.

Also see dynamic configurations in case you need more flexibility to configure Knip.

File Types

JSON Schema

A $schema field is a URL that you put at the top of your JSON file. This allows you to get red squiggly lines inside of your IDE when you make a typo or provide an otherwise invalid configuration option.

In JSON, you can use the provided JSON schema:

knip.json

{
  "$schema": "https://unpkg.com/knip@5/schema.json"
}

JSONC

In JSONC, you can use the provided JSONC schema:

knip.jsonc

{
  "$schema": "https://unpkg.com/knip@5/schema-jsonc.json"
}

Use JSONC if you want to use comments and/or trailing commas.

TypeScript

See dynamic configuration about dynamic and typed configuration files.

Project

entry

Array of glob patterns to find entry files. Prefix with ! for negation. Example:

knip.json

{
  "entry": ["src/index.ts", "scripts/*.ts", "!scripts/except-this-one.ts"]
}

Also see configuration and entry files.

project

Array of glob patterns to find project files. Example:

knip.json

{
  "project": ["src/**/*.ts", "scripts/**/*.ts"]
}

Also see configuration and entry files.

workspaces

Individual workspace configurations may contain all other options listed on this page, except for the following root-only options:

• exclude / include
• ignoreExportsUsedInFile
• ignoreWorkspaces
• workspaces

Workspaces can’t be nested in a Knip configuration, but they can be nested in a monorepo folder structure.

Also see Monorepos and workspaces.

paths

Tools like TypeScript, webpack and Babel support import aliases in various ways. Knip automatically includes compilerOptions.paths from the TypeScript configuration, but does not automatically use other types of import aliases. They can be configured manually:

knip.json

{
  "paths": {
    "@lib": ["./lib/index.ts"],
    "@lib/*": ["./lib/*"]
  }
}

Each workspace can have its own paths configured. Knip paths follow the TypeScript semantics:

• Path values are an array of relative paths.
• Paths without an * are exact matches.

Plugins

There are a few options to modify the behavior of a plugin:

• Override a plugin’s config or entry location
• Force-enable a plugin by setting its value to true
• Disable a plugin by setting its value to false

knip.json

{
  "mocha": {
    "config": "config/mocha.config.js",
    "entry": ["**/*.spec.js"]
  },
  "playwright": true,
  "webpack": false
}

It should be rarely necessary to override the entry patterns, since plugins also read custom entry file patterns from the tooling configuration (see Plugins → entry files).

Plugin configuration can be set on root and on a per-workspace level. If enabled on root level, it can be disabled on workspace level by setting it to false there, and vice versa.

Also see Plugins.

Rules & Filters

rules

See Rules & Filters.

include

See Rules & Filters.

exclude

See Rules & Filters.

Ignore Issues

ignore

Array of glob patterns to ignore issues from matching files. Example:

knip.json

{
  "ignore": ["src/generated.ts", "fixtures/**"]
}

Use ignore patterns to exclude issues in matching files from being reported.

To prevent matching files from being added to the analysis, use negated patterns in entry and project glob patterns.

ignoreBinaries

Array of binaries to exclude from the report. Regular expressions allowed. Example:

knip.json

{
  "ignoreBinaries": ["zip", "docker-compose", "pm2-.+"]
}

Actual regular expressions can be used in dynamic configurations:

knip.ts

export default {
  ignoreBinaries: [/^pm2-.+/],
};

ignoreDependencies

Array of package names to exclude from the report. Regular expressions allowed. Example:

knip.json

{
  "ignoreDependencies": ["hidden-package", "@org/.+"]
}

Actual regular expressions can be used in dynamic configurations:

knip.ts

export default {
  ignoreDependencies: [/@org\/.*/, /^lib-.+/],
};

ignoreMembers

Array of class and enum members to exclude from the report. Regular expressions allowed. Example:

knip.json

{
  "ignoreMembers": ["render", "on.+"]
}

Actual regular expressions can be used in dynamic configurations.

ignoreWorkspaces

Array of workspaces to ignore, globs allowed. Example:

knip.json

{
  "ignoreWorkspaces": ["packages/ignore", "packages/examples/**"]
}

Exports

ignoreExportsUsedInFile

In files with multiple exports, some of them might be used only internally. If these exports should not be reported, there is a ignoreExportsUsedInFile option available. With this option enabled, when something is also no longer used internally, it will be reported as unused.

knip.json

{
  "ignoreExportsUsedInFile": true
}

In a more fine-grained manner, you can also ignore only specific issue types:

knip.json

{
  "ignoreExportsUsedInFile": {
    "interface": true,
    "type": true
  }
}

includeEntryExports

By default, Knip does not report unused exports in entry files. When a repository (or workspace) is self-contained or private, you may want to include entry files when reporting unused exports:

knip.json

{
  "includeEntryExports": true
}

If enabled, Knip will report unused exports in entry source files and scripts such as those referenced in package.json. But not in entry and configuration files as configured by plugins, such as next.config.js or src/routes/+page.svelte.

This will also enable reporting unused members of exported classes and enums.

Set this option at root level to enable this globally, or within workspace configurations individually.