dead-code-intolerance

If It Is Not Executing, It Is Not Code -- It Is Noise

Dead code is not harmless. It is actively harmful. It confuses new developers who do not know whether it is intentional. It gets updated during refactors by people who do not realize it is unused. It triggers false positives in grep and IDE searches. It creates the illusion of complexity where none exists. And it tells every reader: "The author of this codebase does not clean up after themselves."

Version control exists. Git remembers everything. You do not need to.

Delete it.

Commented-Out Code: Never

Commented-out code is not "kept for reference." It is not "just in case." It is not "might need later." It is dead weight that tells the reader nothing useful and everything bad. If you need the old implementation, git log has it. If you need to compare approaches, create a branch. If you think you might need it tomorrow, you will not. And if you do, git log still has it.

Zero exceptions. Not even one line. Not even "temporarily." The moment code is commented out, it starts rotting -- the surrounding code evolves, the commented code does not, and within a week it no longer works anyway.

# BAD -- every one of these must be deleted
# user = get_user(user_id)
# if user.is_admin:
#     return admin_dashboard()

# Old implementation (keeping for reference)
# def calculate_tax(amount):
#     return amount * 0.08

# Commented out until we fix the race condition
# await sync_inventory()

# GOOD -- the code that exists is the code that runs. Nothing else.
user = get_user(user_id)
if user.is_admin:
    return admin_dashboard()

Unused Imports: Delete Immediately

An unused import is a lie. It tells the reader "this module is used here" when it is not. It increases startup time. It creates false dependency graphs. And "but I might need it later" is what autocomplete is for.

// BAD -- three of these imports are unused
import { useState, useEffect, useCallback, useMemo, useRef } from "react";
import { format } from "date-fns";
import { clsx } from "clsx";

function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);  // only useState is used
  return <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>{count}</button>;
}