CI/CD Integration

While the Vite plugin provides a visual interface for development, you should run Knip directly in your CI/CD pipeline to enforce code quality.

Available Scripts

The project provides two scripts for different use cases:

Script	Command	Behavior
lint:knip	pnpm lint:knip	Fails if any dead code is found
lint:knip:ci	pnpm lint:knip:ci	Reports issues without failing

GitHub Actions

Add Knip to your CI workflow to catch dead code before it reaches production:

name: CI

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install pnpm
        uses: pnpm/action-setup@v4

      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20
          cache: pnpm

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile

      - name: Build
        run: pnpm build

      - name: Typecheck
        run: pnpm typecheck

      - name: Check for dead code (Knip)
        run: pnpm lint:knip

Enforcement Modes

Strict Mode (Recommended)

Use pnpm lint:knip to fail the build when any dead code is detected:

- name: Check for dead code (Knip)
  run: pnpm lint:knip

This is the recommended approach for:

• New projects starting fresh
• Projects that have completed their initial cleanup

Gradual Mode

Use pnpm lint:knip:ci to report issues without failing the build:

- name: Check for dead code (Knip)
  run: pnpm lint:knip:ci

This is useful for:

• Existing projects with technical debt
• Teams in the process of cleaning up dead code

Migration Path

For projects adopting Knip incrementally:

Phase 1: Discovery

Run Knip in report-only mode to understand the scope:

- name: Check for dead code (Knip)
  run: pnpm lint:knip:ci

Phase 2: Cleanup

Address issues iteratively. Use knip.json to ignore known issues temporarily:

{
  "$schema": "https://unpkg.com/knip@latest/schema.json",
  "ignore": ["legacy/**"],
  "ignoreDependencies": ["legacy-package"]
}

Phase 3: Enforcement

Once cleaned up, switch to strict mode:

- name: Check for dead code (Knip)
  run: pnpm lint:knip

Pre-commit Hooks (Optional)

For faster feedback during development, add Knip to your pre-commit hooks.

With lint-staged

Add to your package.json:

{
  "lint-staged": {
    "*.{ts,tsx,js,jsx}": ["knip --no-progress"]
  }
}

With Husky

Create .husky/pre-commit:

#!/bin/sh
. "$(dirname "$0")/_/husky.sh"

npx knip --no-progress

GitLab CI

knip:
  stage: test
  script:
    - pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
    - pnpm lint:knip

Other CI Systems

Knip works with any CI system that can run npm scripts. The key commands are:

# Strict: exit 1 on issues
npx knip

# Report only: always exit 0
npx knip --no-exit-code

# JSON output for custom processing
npx knip --reporter json

Troubleshooting

False Positives

If Knip reports false positives, configure exceptions in knip.json:

{
  "ignore": ["src/polyfills.ts"],
  "ignoreDependencies": ["@types/node"]
}

Performance

For large codebases, enable caching:

npx knip --cache

See Knip Configuration for more options.