Import & Dead Code Optimizer

A VS Code extension that uses real AST analysis (powered by ts-morph) to find and remove unused code in TypeScript/JavaScript projects — safely.

Features

Feature	Auto-fixable	Description
Unused imports	✅	Detects and removes import specifiers not referenced in the file
Namespace → named	✅	Converts `import * as X` to `import { a, b }` when only specific members are used
Type-only imports	✅	Converts `import { X }` to `import type { X }` when X is only used as a type
Unused functions	✅	Finds non-exported functions with zero references
Unused classes	✅	Finds non-exported classes with zero references
Unused variables	✅	Finds non-exported variables with zero references
Unused types/interfaces	✅	Finds non-exported type aliases and interfaces with zero references
Unused exports	⚠️	Detects exported symbols not imported by any other file (manual review)
Unreferenced files	⚠️	Detects files not imported anywhere in the project (manual review)
Unused dependencies	⚠️	Detects npm packages in package.json not imported in source (manual review)

Commands

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and search for:

Command	Description
Import Optimizer: Analyze Workspace	Full project analysis — scans every file
Import Optimizer: Analyze Current File	Analyze only the active editor file
Import Optimizer: Fix All Issues in Current File	Apply all safe auto-fixes in the current file
Import Optimizer: Fix All Safe Issues in Workspace	Apply all safe auto-fixes across the whole project
Import Optimizer: Clear Diagnostics	Clear all analysis results

How It Works

AST-First Approach

Every analysis is done via the TypeScript Compiler API (through ts-morph). No regex guessing, no string matching. The extension:

Loads the project using tsconfig.json (or auto-discovers files)
Builds a file dependency graph from import/export declarations
Builds a symbol usage graph (references per identifier)
Identifies candidates: unused imports, functions, classes, variables, types, exports
Runs safety validation before marking anything as fixable
Presents results as diagnostics (squiggly lines), quick fixes, and a tree view

Safety Validation

Before marking any symbol for removal, the extension checks for:

Dynamic imports: require(variable), import(expr)
eval() usage: If eval is present, all symbols are preserved
Decorators: Decorated classes/methods are preserved (NestJS, Angular, etc.)
Reflect API: If Reflect metadata is used, decorated symbols are kept
Side-effect imports: import "polyfill", CSS imports, etc. are preserved
Framework conventions: Next.js pages/routes, NestJS modules/services, Angular components, test files, config files, index files
Global assignments: window.X, globalThis.Y

If uncertain → the symbol is kept. Conservative by design.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`importOptimizer.analyzeOnSave`	`false`	Automatically analyze on file save
`importOptimizer.autoFixOnSave`	`false`	Auto-fix unused imports on save
`importOptimizer.ignorePaths`	`["/node_modules/", ...]`	Glob patterns to ignore
`importOptimizer.preserveSideEffectImports`	`true`	Keep side-effect imports
`importOptimizer.convertToTypeImports`	`true`	Convert type-only imports to `import type`
`importOptimizer.optimizeNamespaceImports`	`true`	Narrow `import *` to named imports
`importOptimizer.detectUnusedExports`	`true`	Find exports not imported elsewhere
`importOptimizer.detectUnusedDependencies`	`true`	Find unused npm dependencies
`importOptimizer.detectUnreferencedFiles`	`true`	Find files not imported anywhere
`importOptimizer.safetyLevel`	`"strict"`	`strict` / `moderate` / `aggressive`

UI

Diagnostics: Issues show as squiggly underlines with Unnecessary tag (faded text)
Quick Fixes: Lightbulb actions appear on hover — click to fix
Tree View: "Import Optimizer" panel in the Explorer sidebar shows all findings grouped by category
Status Bar: Click the "⟡ Import Optimizer" item in the status bar to trigger analysis

Getting Started

# Clone and install
git clone <repo>
cd import-optimizer
npm install

# Compile
npm run compile

# Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host

Architecture

src/
├── extension.ts                    # VS Code entry point
├── types.ts                        # Shared type definitions
├── utils.ts                        # Configuration, patterns, helpers
├── analyzer/
│   ├── projectAnalyzer.ts          # Main orchestrator
│   ├── importAnalyzer.ts           # Per-file import analysis
│   ├── symbolAnalyzer.ts           # Per-file symbol usage analysis
│   ├── exportAnalyzer.ts           # Cross-file export analysis
│   ├── fileReferenceAnalyzer.ts    # File dependency graph
│   ├── dependencyAnalyzer.ts       # npm dependency analysis
│   └── safetyValidator.ts          # Dynamic usage / safety checks
├── providers/
│   ├── diagnosticsProvider.ts      # Squiggly lines in editor
│   ├── codeActionProvider.ts       # Quick fix lightbulbs
│   └── treeViewProvider.ts         # Results panel tree view
└── commands/
    └── commands.ts                 # Command handlers

License

MIT

Import & Dead Code Optimizer

Saurav Pandey

Import & Dead Code Optimizer

Features

Commands

How It Works

AST-First Approach

Safety Validation

Settings

UI

Getting Started

Architecture

License