Knip VS Code Extension

The usual suspects like red squiggles for unused exports are there. What really moves the needle for DX with Knip's module graph is navigation. A completely unique way to view & fly through codebases for developers who care. Connect the dots during development and refactors, while keeping things in check. We're starting out with 3 key features:

1. Hover over Export for import & usage locations
2. Imports Tree View for direct links to implementations
3. Exports Tree View for direct links to import & usage locations

About Knip

This extension is powered by Knip. Find unused files, dependencies, and exports in your JavaScript/TypeScript projects.

• Website: knip.dev
• GitHub repo: webpro-nl/knip
• Follow @webpro.nl on Bluesky for updates
• Blogpost: Knip for Editors & Agents
• Sponsor Knip

Features

• Diagnostics for unused files, dependencies, and exports
• Hover on exports to see import locations
• Tree views for imports and exports
• Code actions to fix or ignore issues
• CodeLens showing import counts for exports

MCP Tools

The extension provides MCP tools for coding agents:

• knip-configure — Run Knip and configure
• knip-docs — Get Knip documentation by topic

In other words, you can tell your coding agent to "configure knip" and it will RTFM so you don't have to. Using a newer model results in an optimized knip.json file and an uncluttered codebase.

Screenshots

• Lint Problems
• Imports & Exports
• Contention
  • Circular Dependencies
  • Conflicts
  • Branching
• VS Code Extension Settings

Lint Problems

Imports & Exports

Contention

The IDE extension shows extra issues in the tree views like circular dependencies. We're starting out with some extra novelties like conflicting and branched/diamond-shaped import chains.

Circular Dependencies

If an import is part of a circular dependency, Knip will display:

Conflicts

TypeScript shows direct conflicts when importing or re-exporting the same named export from different files. Except when the problem is more subtle and the chain spans more than one file. Knip warns:

Branching

Branched or diamond-shaped imports chains indicate unnecessary re-exports and complexity. They help to untangle large codebases and shrink or get rid of barrel files. Knip warns:

VS Code Extension Settings