How to Find and Remove Dead Code in Cursor IDE

Cursor is the AI-first code editor that has become the default IDE for many developers in 2026. Built on VS Code, it adds AI chat, inline code generation, and intelligent tab completion. But AI-assisted coding has an unintended side effect: it generates dead code faster than manual coding does.

When you use Cmd+K to refactor a function, the old implementation sometimes lingers. When Cursor's AI suggests a new approach, the previous code stays behind. When you accept tab completions that import utilities you end up not using, those imports accumulate.

CleanAI solves this by scanning your entire codebase and surfacing every piece of unused code -- regardless of how it got there.

Installing CleanAI in Cursor

Since Cursor is built on VS Code, installing CleanAI is identical:

1. Open the Extensions panel (Cmd+Shift+X)
2. Search for "CleanAI"
3. Click Install

CleanAI appears in the sidebar with its own panel. All features work exactly as they do in VS Code: the webview panel, explorer decorations, editor highlighting, and Auto Clean (Safe).

Running Your First Scan

Open any project in Cursor and run the scan:

1. Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P)
2. Type "CleanAI: Analyze Codebase"
3. Press Enter

CleanAI detects your project's languages and runs the appropriate analysis tools:

• TypeScript/JavaScript: ts-prune for unused exports, ESLint for unused imports
• Swift: Periphery for unused declarations
• Python: Vulture for unused code

Results appear in a webview panel, grouped by file, with each finding showing the type of dead code and the affected line.

AI-Generated Dead Code Patterns

Cursor's AI features create specific patterns of dead code that CleanAI is designed to catch:

Leftover Imports from AI Refactors

When you ask Cursor to refactor a component, it often rewrites the implementation but leaves the original imports intact:

// Cursor rewrote this component to use a different library,
// but these imports from the old approach stayed behind
import { formatDistance, formatRelative } from "date-fns";
import { parseISO } from "date-fns/fp";

// New implementation only uses Intl.DateTimeFormat
export function TimeAgo({ date }: { date: string }) {
  const formatter = new Intl.DateTimeFormat("en", { dateStyle: "relative" });
  return <span>{formatter.format(new Date(date))}</span>;
}

CleanAI flags formatDistance, formatRelative, and parseISO as unused imports.

Abandoned Helper Functions

AI-generated code often creates helper functions that get replaced in subsequent iterations:

// First iteration: AI created this helper
function sanitizeInput(input: string): string {
  return input.replace(/[<>]/g, "").trim();
}

// Second iteration: AI used a library instead
import DOMPurify from "dompurify";

export function processUserInput(input: string): string {
  return DOMPurify.sanitize(input);
}

sanitizeInput is never called. CleanAI detects it as a dead function.

Orphaned Files from AI-Driven Restructuring

When Cursor's AI helps you reorganize your project structure, old files often remain:

src/
  utils/
    formatDate.ts      ← old location, still exists
    helpers/
      formatDate.ts    ← new location, all imports point here

CleanAI detects src/utils/formatDate.ts as an orphaned file -- not imported by anything.

Using CleanAI with Cursor's AI Chat

A powerful workflow combines both tools:

1. Build with Cursor AI -- use chat and Cmd+K to implement features
2. Scan with CleanAI -- run a scan after each feature is complete
3. Review findings -- confirm each finding is truly dead (not dynamically referenced)
4. Auto Clean -- use Auto Clean (Safe) to remove dead code with build verification

This keeps your codebase clean even as AI-assisted development accelerates your output.

Cursor vs VS Code for CleanAI

There is no difference in CleanAI's functionality between the two editors. Both support:

• Full analysis pipeline (ts-prune, ESLint, Periphery, Vulture)
• Webview panel with visual findings
• One-click removal
• Auto Clean (Safe) with build verification
• Explorer decorations (purple "U" badge)
• Editor line highlighting

The only difference is that Cursor users tend to accumulate dead code faster due to AI-assisted coding, making regular CleanAI scans even more valuable.

Getting Started

Install CleanAI in Cursor today. Your first scan is free and takes less than a minute for most projects.