Running Knip

Knip is a tool for finding unused files, dependencies, and exports in TypeScript/JavaScript projects.

Installation

Install knip globally:

npm install -g knip

Or use it without installing via npx:

npx knip

Usage

Run knip from the project root (where .knip.json is located):

knip

Or with npx:

npx knip

Common Output Categories

Knip reports issues in several categories:

• Unused files — Files not reachable from any entry point
• Unused exports — Exported symbols not imported anywhere
• Unused dependencies — Packages in package.json not imported in code
• Duplicate exports — Multiple exports resolving to the same value

Useful Flags

# Show only specific issue types
knip --include files
knip --include exports

# Output as JSON
knip --reporter json

# Show dependency issues only
knip --include dependencies

Configuration Reference

A .knip.json file is placed at the project root. Key options:

Option	Description
entry	Entry points knip uses to trace the dependency graph. The ! suffix disables built-in default entry patterns.
project	Glob patterns defining which files belong to the project.
ignore	Glob patterns for files/directories to exclude from analysis.
ignoreDependencies	Package names to exclude from unused dependency checks.
ignoreBinaries	Binary names to exclude from checks.

See the full configuration docs for all options.

---

file-storage

Configuration (.knip.json)

{
	"$schema": "https://unpkg.com/knip@5/schema.json",
	"entry": ["src/apps/*.ts!", "scripts/**/*.{js,ts}!"],
	"project": ["**/*.{js,ts}!"],
	"ignore": ["src/infra/**/*"],
	"ignoreDependencies": ["eslint-config-prettier", "eslint-plugin-prettier"]
}

Explanation

• entry:
  • src/apps/*.ts — NestJS app entry points (files-storage, files-storage-consumer, preview-generator-consumer)
  • scripts/**/*.{js,ts} — Project scripts (e.g. testing setup)
• project: All JS/TS files in the workspace are considered part of the project.
• ignore: Directories excluded from analysis:
  • src/infra/**/* — Infrastructure code (too tightly coupled to trace cleanly)
• ignoreDependencies: Packages excluded from unused dependency checks:
  • eslint-config-prettier — Used via ESLint config extension, not directly imported
  • eslint-plugin-prettier — Used via ESLint config extension, not directly imported

---

h5p-server

Configuration (.knip.json)

{
	"$schema": "https://unpkg.com/knip@5/schema.json",
	"entry": ["src/apps/*.ts!", "scripts/**/*.{js,ts}!"],
	"project": ["**/*.{js,ts}!"],
	"ignore": ["src/infra/**/*"],
	"ignoreDependencies": ["eslint-config-prettier", "eslint-plugin-prettier"]
}

Explanation

• entry:
  • src/apps/*.ts — NestJS app entry points (h5p-editor, h5p-editor-consumer, h5p-library-management)
  • scripts/**/*.{js,ts} — Project scripts (e.g. H5P library packaging, testing setup)
• project: All JS/TS files in the workspace are considered part of the project.
• ignore: Directories excluded from analysis:
  • src/infra/**/* — Infrastructure code (too tightly coupled to trace cleanly)
• ignoreDependencies: Packages excluded from unused dependency checks:
  • eslint-config-prettier — Used via ESLint config extension, not directly imported
  • eslint-plugin-prettier — Used via ESLint config extension, not directly imported

---

schulcloud-server

Configuration (.knip.json)

{
	"$schema": "https://unpkg.com/knip@5/schema.json",
	"entry": [
		"src/app.js!",
		"apps/server/src/apps/*.ts!",
		"apps/server/src/migrations/**/*.ts!",
		"scripts/**/*.{js,ts}!"
	],
	"project": ["**/*.{js,ts}!"],
	"ignore": ["apps/server/src/core/**/*", "apps/server/src/infra/**/*", "src/**/*"]
}

Explanation

• entry:
  • src/app.js — Legacy Feathers app entry point
  • apps/server/src/apps/*.ts — NestJS app entry points
  • apps/server/src/migrations/**/*.ts — Database migrations
  • scripts/**/*.{js,ts} — Project scripts
• project: All JS/TS files in the workspace are considered part of the project.
• ignore: Directories excluded from analysis:
  • apps/server/src/core/**/* — Core infrastructure code (too tightly coupled to trace cleanly)
  • apps/server/src/infra/**/* — Infrastructure code (same reason)
  • src/**/* — Legacy source code (not yet migrated to NestJS)

---

tldraw-server

Configuration (.knip.json)

{
	"$schema": "https://unpkg.com/knip@5/schema.json",
	"entry": ["src/apps/*.ts!", "scripts/**/*.{js,ts}!"],
	"project": ["**/*.{js,ts}!"],
	"ignore": ["src/infra/**/*"]
}

Explanation

• entry:
  • src/apps/*.ts — NestJS app entry points (tldraw-server, tldraw-worker)
  • scripts/**/*.{js,ts} — Project scripts (e.g. client generation, testing setup)
• project: All JS/TS files in the workspace are considered part of the project.
• ignore: Directories excluded from analysis:
  • src/infra/**/* — Infrastructure code (too tightly coupled to trace cleanly)

---

Template for Other Repositories

Copy the section below and fill in the details for your repository.

<repository-name>

Configuration (.knip.json)

{
	"$schema": "https://unpkg.com/knip@5/schema.json",
	"entry": ["<path/to/entry-point>!"],
	"project": ["**/*.{js,ts}!"],
	"ignore": ["<path/to/ignored/directory>/**/*"]
}

Explanation

• entry:
  • <path/to/entry-point> — Description of this entry point
• project: Description of what is included.
• ignore: Directories excluded from analysis:
  • <path/to/ignored/directory>/**/* — Reason for exclusion