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smithery.ai

vulture-dead-code

Vulture and deadcode tools for detecting unused Python code (functions, classes, imports). Use when cleaning up codebases or removing dead code. Triggers vulture, deadcode.

First seen Mar 21, 2026

Installation

$ npx skills add https://smithery.ai
View on skills.sh ↗ Website ↗

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Vulture and deadcode tools for detecting unused Python code (functions, classes, imports). Use …

117 installs

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More details

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Skill metadata

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Allowed toolsBash, Read, Grep, Glob

Package contents

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  • skill md SKILL.md 4,916 B
  • docs SUMMARY.md 311 B

History

  1. First seen on skills.sh
  2. First recorded snapshot · 5 installs

SKILL.md

Vulture and deadcode - Dead Code Detection

Tools for finding unused Python code including functions, classes, variables, imports, and attributes.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when... Use another tool instead when...
Detecting unused functions, classes, variables Finding unused imports only (use ruff --select F401)
Cleaning up dead code in a codebase Checking type correctness (use basedpyright)
Enforcing code hygiene in CI Formatting code (use ruff format)
Generating whitelists for false positives Running general linting (use ruff check)

Overview

Vulture (mature, confidence-based) and deadcode (newer, AST-based) both detect unused code but with different approaches:

Feature Vulture deadcode
Approach Static analysis + confidence scores AST-based detection
Accuracy Confidence scores (60-100%) High accuracy, fewer false positives
Speed Fast Very fast
Configuration Whitelist files TOML configuration
Maturity Mature (2012) Newer (2023+)
Best For Large codebases, gradual cleanup New projects, strict enforcement

Installation

# Install vulture
uv add --dev vulture

# Install deadcode (newer alternative)
uv add --dev deadcode

# Install both for comparison
uv add --dev vulture deadcode

Vulture - Confidence-Based Detection

Basic Usage

# Check entire project
vulture .

# Check specific files/directories
vulture src/ tests/

# Minimum confidence threshold (60-100%)
vulture --min-confidence 80 .

# Exclude patterns
vulture . --exclude "**/migrations/*,**/tests/*"

# Sort by confidence
vulture --sort-by-size .

# Generate whitelist of current issues
vulture . --make-whitelist > vulture_whitelist.py

Configuration (pyproject.toml)

[tool.vulture]
min_confidence = 80
paths = ["src", "tests"]
exclude = [
    "**/migrations/*",
    "**/__pycache__/*",
    ".venv/*"
]
ignore_decorators = [
    "@app.route",
    "@pytest.fixture",
    "@property",
    "@staticmethod",
    "@classmethod"
]
ignore_names = [
    "test_*",
    "setUp*",
    "tearDown*",
]

deadcode - AST-Based Detection

Basic Usage

# Check entire project
deadcode .

# Check specific files/directories
deadcode src/

# Verbose output
deadcode --verbose .

# Dry run (show what would be removed)
deadcode --dry-run .

# Show unreachable code
deadcode --show-unreachable .

# Generate configuration
deadcode --init

Configuration (pyproject.toml)

[tool.deadcode]
paths = ["src"]
exclude = [
    "tests/*",
    "**/__pycache__/*",
    "**/migrations/*",
]
ignore_names = [
    "test_*",
    "setUp",
    "tearDown",
    "main",
]
ignore_decorators = [
    "app.route",
    "pytest.fixture",
    "property",
    "staticmethod",
    "classmethod",
    "abstractmethod"
]
show_unreachable = false

Choosing Between Tools

Choose Vulture when... Choose deadcode when...
Large, mature codebases New projects
Need confidence-based filtering Want fewer false positives
Need whitelist file approach Prefer TOML configuration
Dynamic code (getattr, exec) Need unreachable code detection

Hybrid Approach

# Run both for comprehensive detection
vulture --min-confidence 80 .
deadcode .

Agentic Optimizations

Context Command
Quick vulture check vulture --min-confidence 90 .
Quick deadcode check deadcode .
Generate whitelist vulture . --make-whitelist > vulture_whitelist.py
CI enforcement vulture --min-confidence 80 . vulture_whitelist.py
Unreachable code deadcode --show-unreachable .
Combined check vulture --min-confidence 80 . && deadcode .

Quick Reference

Vulture Flags

Flag Description
--min-confidence N Minimum confidence (60-100%)
--exclude PATTERN Exclude glob patterns
--sort-by-size Sort results by size
--make-whitelist Generate whitelist file

deadcode Flags

Flag Description
--verbose Verbose output
--dry-run Show without modifying
--show-unreachable Detect unreachable code
--init Generate configuration
--strict Strict enforcement mode

For detailed examples, advanced patterns, and best practices, see [REFERENCE.md](REFERENCE.md).