tessl/npm-knip

Find and fix unused dependencies, exports and files in your TypeScript and JavaScript projects

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Overview

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Files

CLI Usage

Name: tessl/npm-knip
Author: tessl

Comprehensive command-line interface with extensive options for analysis, fixing, and workflow integration. The CLI provides access to all Knip functionality with detailed configuration options.

Capabilities

Basic Commands

Core CLI commands for different analysis modes.

# Basic analysis of current project
knip

# Analyze with specific configuration file  
knip --config knip.json
knip -c knip.config.js

# Analyze with TypeScript configuration
knip --tsConfig tsconfig.json
knip -t tsconfig.build.json

# Production analysis only (no test files, devDependencies)
knip --production

# Strict mode (only direct dependencies)
knip --strict

# Analyze single workspace
knip --workspace packages/frontend
knip -W packages/backend

# Run from different directory
knip --directory /path/to/project

# Show help
knip --help
knip -h

# Show version
knip --version
knip -V

Analysis Options

Control what gets analyzed and how.

# Enable caching for faster repeated runs
knip --cache

# Specify cache location
knip --cache-location node_modules/.cache/knip-custom

# Watch mode for continuous analysis
knip --watch

# Don't use .gitignore files
knip --no-gitignore

# Include type definitions from external dependencies
knip --include-libs

# Include entry exports in unused exports report
knip --include-entry-exports

# Isolate workspaces into separate programs
knip --isolate-workspaces

Issue Type Filtering

Control which types of issues are reported.

# Include only specific issue types (can be repeated)
knip --include dependencies
knip --include dependencies,exports,files
knip --include dependencies --include exports

# Exclude specific issue types (can be repeated)  
knip --exclude types
knip --exclude types,classMembers
knip --exclude types --exclude classMembers

# Shortcut for dependency-related issues
knip --dependencies
# Equivalent to: --include dependencies,unlisted,binaries,unresolved

# Shortcut for export-related issues
knip --exports  
# Equivalent to: --include exports,nsExports,classMembers,types,nsTypes,enumMembers,duplicates

# Shortcut for unused files only
knip --files
# Equivalent to: --include files

Available Issue Types:

files - Unused files
dependencies - Unused dependencies
devDependencies - Unused devDependencies
optionalPeerDependencies - Referenced optional peerDependencies
unlisted - Unlisted dependencies
binaries - Unlisted binaries
unresolved - Unresolved imports
exports - Unused exports
nsExports - Exports in used namespace
types - Unused exported types
nsTypes - Exported types in used namespace
enumMembers - Unused exported enum members
classMembers - Unused exported class members
duplicates - Duplicate exports

Fixing Options

Automatically fix detected issues.

# Fix all fixable issues
knip --fix

# Fix only specific issue types
knip --fix-type exports
knip --fix-type dependencies,exports
knip --fix-type exports --fix-type types

# Allow Knip to remove files (dangerous!)
knip --allow-remove-files

# Format files after fixing
knip --format

Fixable Issue Types:

Unused imports and exports
Unused variable declarations
Unused dependencies in package.json
Some unused files (with --allow-remove-files)

Output and Reporting

Control output format and verbosity.

# Select reporter (can be repeated for multiple outputs)
knip --reporter symbols        # Default terminal output
knip --reporter compact        # Compact terminal output
knip --reporter json          # JSON format
knip --reporter markdown      # Markdown format
knip --reporter codeowners    # GitHub CODEOWNERS format
knip --reporter codeclimate   # Code Climate format
knip --reporter disclosure    # Issue summary

# Multiple reporters
knip --reporter json --reporter markdown

# Pass options to reporters (JSON format)
knip --reporter json --reporter-options '{"indent":2,"sort":true}'

# Don't show dynamic progress updates
knip --no-progress
knip -n

# Suppress configuration hints
knip --no-config-hints

# Treat configuration hints as errors (exit code 1)
knip --treat-config-hints-as-errors

Preprocessing

Transform results before reporting.

# Apply preprocessors (can be repeated)
knip --preprocessor sort
knip --preprocessor filter --preprocessor sort

# Pass options to preprocessors (JSON format)
knip --preprocessor-options '{"filter":{"minSeverity":"error"}}'

Tag Filtering

Filter exports based on JSDoc-style tags.

# Include or exclude tagged exports
knip --tags

# Legacy flag (deprecated, use --tags)
knip --experimental-tags

Supported Tags:

@public - Mark as public API
@internal - Mark as internal/private
@beta - Mark as beta/experimental
@alias - Mark as alias

Exit Codes and Error Handling

Control CLI exit behavior.

# Always exit with code 0 (success)
knip --no-exit-code

# Set maximum issues before error exit (default: 0)
knip --max-issues 10

Exit Codes:

0 - Success (no issues or --no-exit-code)
1 - Issues found exceeding --max-issues threshold
2 - Runtime error or configuration problem

Debug and Performance

Debugging and performance analysis options.

# Show debug output
knip --debug
knip -d

# Show trace output for analysis
knip --trace

# Trace specific exports
knip --trace-export MyFunction
knip --trace-export MyClass,MyInterface

# Trace exports in specific file
knip --trace-file src/api.ts

# Performance measurement
knip --performance

# Measure specific function performance
knip --performance-fn analyzeSourceFile

# Memory usage tracking
knip --memory

# Real-time memory usage logging
knip --memory-realtime

Configuration Examples

Common CLI usage patterns.

# Development workflow
knip --watch --reporter compact

# CI/CD pipeline
knip --production --reporter json --no-progress --max-issues 0

# Pre-commit hook  
knip --include exports,types --fix --format

# Code review
knip --reporter markdown > knip-report.md

# Dependency audit
knip --dependencies --reporter json

# Export cleanup
knip --exports --fix --no-exit-code

# Performance analysis
knip --performance --memory --debug

# Monorepo analysis
knip --workspace packages/frontend --production
knip --isolate-workspaces --reporter json

Environment Variables

Environment variables that affect CLI behavior.

# Disable progress in CI environments (automatic)
CI=true knip

# Custom cache location
KNIP_CACHE_LOCATION=/tmp/knip-cache knip --cache

# Node environment affects plugin behavior
NODE_ENV=production knip

Integration Examples

Package.json Scripts:

{
  "scripts": {
    "knip": "knip",
    "knip:prod": "knip --production --strict",
    "knip:fix": "knip --fix --format",
    "knip:ci": "knip --reporter json --no-progress"
  }
}

GitHub Actions:

- name: Run Knip
  run: |
    npm run knip:ci > knip-results.json
    if [ -s knip-results.json ]; then
      echo "Issues found:"
      cat knip-results.json
      exit 1
    fi

Pre-commit Hook:

#!/bin/sh
# .git/hooks/pre-commit
npx knip --include exports --fix --format --no-exit-code
git add -u

Watch Script:

#!/bin/bash
# watch-knip.sh
npx knip --watch --reporter compact --no-progress

CLI Arguments Interface

TypeScript interface for CLI arguments (for tool integration).

interface CLIArguments {
  /** Configuration file path */
  config?: string;
  /** TypeScript configuration path */
  tsConfig?: string;
  /** Production mode */
  production?: boolean;
  /** Strict mode */
  strict?: boolean;
  /** Single workspace analysis */
  workspace?: string;
  /** Working directory */
  directory?: string;
  /** Enable caching */
  cache?: boolean;
  /** Cache location */
  'cache-location'?: string;
  /** Watch mode */
  watch?: boolean;
  /** Don't use .gitignore */
  'no-gitignore'?: boolean;
  /** Issue types to include */
  include?: string | string[];
  /** Issue types to exclude */
  exclude?: string | string[];
  /** Dependency shortcut */
  dependencies?: boolean;
  /** Exports shortcut */
  exports?: boolean;
  /** Files shortcut */
  files?: boolean;
  /** Fix issues */
  fix?: boolean;
  /** Fix specific types */
  'fix-type'?: string | string[];
  /** Allow file removal */
  'allow-remove-files'?: boolean;
  /** Format after fixing */
  format?: boolean;
  /** Include external libs */
  'include-libs'?: boolean;
  /** Include entry exports */
  'include-entry-exports'?: boolean;
  /** Isolate workspaces */
  'isolate-workspaces'?: boolean;
  /** Don't show progress */
  'no-progress'?: boolean;
  /** Preprocessor */
  preprocessor?: string | string[];
  /** Preprocessor options */
  'preprocessor-options'?: string;
  /** Reporter */
  reporter?: string | string[];
  /** Reporter options */
  'reporter-options'?: string;
  /** Tag filtering */
  tags?: string | string[];
  /** Disable config hints */
  'no-config-hints'?: boolean;
  /** Config hints as errors */
  'treat-config-hints-as-errors'?: boolean;
  /** Always exit 0 */
  'no-exit-code'?: boolean;
  /** Maximum issues */
  'max-issues'?: number;
  /** Debug output */
  debug?: boolean;
  /** Trace output */
  trace?: boolean;
  /** Trace export */
  'trace-export'?: string | string[];
  /** Trace file */
  'trace-file'?: string | string[];
  /** Performance measurement */
  performance?: boolean;
  /** Performance function */
  'performance-fn'?: string | string[];
  /** Memory usage */
  memory?: boolean;
  /** Real-time memory */
  'memory-realtime'?: boolean;
  /** Show help */
  help?: boolean;
  /** Show version */
  version?: boolean;
}