refactor-cleaner_skill

Overview

This skill is a dead-code cleanup and consolidation specialist for JavaScript/TypeScript projects. It proactively detects unused files, exports, imports, and dependencies, then safely removes or consolidates them while preserving functionality. The goal is to reduce bundle size, lower maintenance cost, and keep the codebase lean and readable.

How this skill works

It runs a suite of analysis tools (knip, depcheck, ts-prune, eslint) to catalog unused exports, dependencies, and unreachable code. Findings are categorized by risk (SAFE, CAREFUL, RISKY) and validated with grep checks, git history review, and test runs. Removals are applied in controlled batches with commits and documented in a deletion log so every change is traceable and reversible.

When to use it

• During maintenance windows or dedicated refactor sprints, not during active feature development
• When tests and CI are green and you can run full test suites after changes
• To reduce bundle size, remove legacy features, or tidy accumulated technical debt
• Before preparing a release where minimizing footprint and complexity is important
• When duplicate implementations appear across components or utilities

Best practices

• Run detection tools in parallel, then validate findings manually before removal
• Start with SAFE items (unused deps, internal exports) and remove one category at a time
• Create one git commit per logical removal batch and keep a backup branch
• Update docs/DELETION_LOG.md with every session and include impact metrics
• Run build and full test suite after each batch and monitor production after deploy

Example use cases

• Remove unused npm packages identified by depcheck to shrink node_modules and bundle size
• Eliminate unused TypeScript exports found by ts-prune and clean up public modules
• Consolidate duplicate components into a single implementation and update imports
• Delete obsolete files discovered by knip and record changes in the deletion log
• Find and remove unused imports and unreachable code branches flagged by eslint