# Vc Prune > Repository curation, not clear-cutting. Map what truly participates in runtime truth versus what is silently parked — then decide revive, archive, or delete. Includes the silencer strip: rip every `#[allow(...)]`, `// nosemgrep`, `eslint-disable`, `@ts-ignore`, `# noqa`, `# type: ignore`, panic-vs-skip pattern, and any other annotation that mutes a quality gate. Run the gates. Listen. Triage with care — `#[allow(dead_code)]` (and equivalents) is often the most valuable smell in a repo: parked work the team forgot about. Surface those as forgotten gems for the operator to decide. This skill is a gem hunter, not a clear-cutter. Trigger phrases: "prune", "strip dead code", "wyczyść mądrze", "strip the silencers", "zdejmij wszystkie ignore", "zobacz co realne", "forgotten gems", "co tam zapomnieliśmy". - Skill: `vetcoders/vc-prune` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add vetcoders/vc-prune` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/vetcoders/vc-prune/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: vetcoders (https://skillmd.com/u/vetcoders) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/vetcoders/vc-prune --- > **Invocation for `vc-prune` (launcher `prune`)** > > Same three-path _shape_ as the fleet, with **this** skill's literals — see the > canonical [Delegation Matrix](../DELEGATION_MATRIX.md): > > - [Shared three paths](../DELEGATION_MATRIX.md#shared-three-paths) > - [Launcher catalogue](../DELEGATION_MATRIX.md#launcher-catalogue-core-runtime) > - [Per-launcher rule](../DELEGATION_MATRIX.md#per-launcher-rule-the-semantic-delta) > - [Native vs external](../DELEGATION_MATRIX.md#native-subagents-vs-external-workers) > > | Path | Literal for this skill | > | ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | > | 1. User-launched worker | `vibecrafted prune ` | > | 2. Interactive | `/vc-prune` — execute **in this session**; use native subagents when required; do **not** externalize merely because a launcher exists | > | 3. Agent-operator | may dispatch the worker form above via `vc-dispatch` / operator lines while preserving this skill's identity | > Freer native on some runs ≠ abandon external fleet. `vc-dispatch` and `vc-ship` keep their own identities. # vc-prune — Curation, Not Clear-Cutting > Don't burn the house down. Strip it to the load-bearing walls and report what you found behind the wallpaper. ## Operator Entry ### Living Tree / Worktree Rule This workflow runs in the operator's current checkout and current branch. Do not create, switch to, or move execution into a git worktree unless the operator explicitly asks for a worktree in this prompt. Generic words like "isolate", " parallel", or "clean branch" are not enough. Re-read files before editing, adapt to concurrent changes, and report a substrate failure if the current tree is too poisoned to continue safely. The one sanctioned second mode is a Fleet Worktree dispatch (written plan, pre-committed verifiers, disjoint domains, single-thread integrator — see Living Tree Rule, Mode B); outside that formation, stay in the shared tree. See [Living Tree Rule](../LIVING_TREE_RULE.md). ## Canonical Orientation Gate Before this workflow performs repo-specific analysis, planning, implementation, review, release, or delegation, it MUST run or consume the `vc-init` procedure for the assigned repo. If fresh `vc-init` evidence is absent, perform the init pass first and treat workflow-specific work as blocked until repo truth exists. `Loctree:loctree` is the default structural perception skill for that pass. Use Loctree before grep or docs-driven claims to produce or refresh the Code-Derived Application Map: repo-view, focus, slice, impact, find, and follow as relevant. Search for existing symbols and contracts before creating new ones; run impact before delete or major refactor; run slice before editing. The point is to find the hooks: load-bearing hubs, twins, dead code, drift, runtime entrypoints, and blast-radius traps. If the task is explicitly non-repo or no-code, state the no-repo exception in the report. Otherwise, missing `vc-init` /Loctree evidence is a process failure. Launch through the command deck (see `vc-init` for the full operator-entry contract): ```bash vibecrafted prune --file /path/to/prune-plan.md vc-prune codex --prompt 'Strip silencers and listen' ``` A vibe-coded repo usually accumulates two layers of debris: **dead surface** (abandoned auth experiments, duplicate Stripe handlers, dead serverless functions) and **silenced surface** (warnings muted in a hurry, tests that always skip, panics that always fire). `vc-prune` separates both layers from runtime truth — and from each other. ## Repository Work Doctrine For repository work, start with Loctree as the map: use `loct context`, `loct occurrences`, `loct body`, and `loct find --literal` before broad manual search. Use AICX for intent and session context. Use rg/grep as fallback or local magnifier, not as a replacement for structural mapping. If Loctree fails or misses a surface, append feedback to `~/.vibecrafted/loctree/loctree-fail.md`. ## Axioms 1. **Aggressive pruning, with belief in the VCS archive.** Dead code is not bad code — it's a graveyard of valuable ideas. Its place is in Git history, not the runtime. Cut without sentiment — but only after axiom 4. 2. **Move on over backward compatibility.** Rotten abstractions blocking stabilization get cut cleanly. The dependency graph is part of runtime truth. 3. **The code knows. Strip the silence and listen.** Every silencer is a deferred conversation. Most were added in a hurry. The only honest test of which still earn their keep is to rip them all out and let the toolchain speak. 4. **`#[allow(dead_code)]` (and cousins) is often the most valuable signal in a repo.** It usually marks parked work — a 90%-complete login flow, an export pipeline for a churned customer, a debug visualizer no one mentioned to new hires. These are **forgotten gems**, not garbage. Surface them; never auto-delete. ## Core Contract - For non-trivial prune, `vc-agents` external dispatch is the default first move. - Assume 30% of a vibe-coded repo is dead scaffolding. - Classify every candidate: `KEEP-RUNTIME`, `KEEP-BUILD`, `MOVE-ARCHIVE`, `DELETE-NOW`, `VERIFY-FIRST`, or `FORGOTTEN-GEM`. - Prefer cutting whole dead vertical slices over trimming symbolic leaves. - Tighten contracts after every wave: manifests, docs, CI, package bounds. - Run gates after every wave. Require one real smoke or build proof. ## Delegation Doctrine | Need | Best model | | ------------------------------------------------ | ---------- | | Archaeology, hidden reachability, gem-hunting | Claude | | Exact deletions, manifest tightening, mech. work | Codex | | Radical simplification, cutting whole subsystems | Gemini | ## Workflow ### Phase 1 — Define the runtime cone Capture: real entrypoints, mandatory user flows, build/release path. Do not start from "unused exports" — start from " does this serve live traffic?" ### Phase 2 — Map with `loct` ```bash loct auto && loct manifests && loct hotspots && loct dead loct routes # web/API loct commands # desktop/Tauri loct events ``` ### Phase 3 — Prune in waves (safest → riskiest) - **Wave 1 — AI exhaust & prototype scaffolding.** `v1_backup.ts`, `old_auth_handler.js`, `stripe_test_claude.ts`, dead `.claude/` `.codex/` session folders, stale screenshots. - **Wave 2 — Whole dead vertical slices.** Frontends with no consumers, alternate login pages never mounted, webhook handlers replaced by SaaS. Cut the strand, let Git archive it. - **Wave 3 — Unreachable product surface.** Unmounted routes, duplicate engines (Prisma + raw SQL doing the same thing), dead feature flags retained after launch. - **Wave 4 — Contract tightening.** `package.json` deps, `Cargo.toml` features, `pyproject.toml` extras, `.env.example` stale secrets, CI workflows. - **Wave 5 — The Silencer Strip.** Separate wave because it's not about removing dead code — it's about un-muting the toolchain so live code can speak. See below. ### Phase 4 — Verify reality Green static gates are necessary, not sufficient. Add one real proof path: boot the app, run the CLI, hit the main route. --- ## Wave 5 — The Silencer Strip (Strip and Listen) ### Inventory ```bash # Rust rg -n '#\[allow\(' src-tauri/src rg -n 'nosemgrep' . # TypeScript / JavaScript rg -n 'eslint-disable' src rg -n '@ts-(ignore|nocheck|expect-error)' src rg -n 'biome-ignore' src # Python rg -n '# noqa' . rg -n '# type: ignore' . rg -n '# pylint: disable' . rg -n '@pytest\.mark\.skip' . # Go rg -n '//nolint' . rg -n 'testing\.Short\(\) \|\| t\.Skip' . # Test theater across languages rg -n 'panic!\("Test requires|throw new Error\("requires' . rg -n 'it\.skip|test\.skip|describe\.skip' . ``` Capture **counts per category**. That's your before-baseline. ### Strip ALL of them in one pass Bulk-delete the lines. Do not pre-curate "obvious keepers" — the bias that put them there is the same bias that would protect them. Let the toolchain decide. ### Run gates Whatever the repo already has — do not invent new ones: ```bash cargo clippy --all -- -D warnings && cargo test --all pnpm lint:tsc && pnpm code:all && pnpm vitest run ruff check . && mypy . && pytest # Python golangci-lint run && go test ./... # Go semgrep --config=auto . # if available pre-commit run --all-files # if installed ``` ### Triage with care | Finding | Resolution | | ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Authentic code smell | **Fix root cause.** Refactor, write proper types, add adapter, drop lock before await. | | False positive | **Refactor stylistically** so the warning never fires. No re-add. | | Genuine technical constraint | **Re-add silencer with incident-grade comment**: WHY (technical reason), WHEN (under what conditions), WHERE (specific code path). Not "intentional", not "by design". | | **Forgotten gem (gentle path)** | **Do not delete. Report.** A `dead_code` warning on a 200-line module with thoughtful structure is parked work. Add to **Forgotten Gems Report**. Operator decides. | | Test theater unmasked | **Stop. Bigger than the silencer.** A panic-or-skip pattern that always evaluates one way means the test was never real. Open a separate plan for real wiring. | | Truly dead code revealed | The silencer was hiding `dead_code` on a one-liner stub or scratch file. Delete — but only after a fast forgotten-gem check. | The rule: **a silencer earns its keep only with a written technical reason that another engineer six months from now would accept as serious.** Vague "intentional" comments are not serious. Equally: **delete code only when it is unambiguously trash** — anything in between goes to the Forgotten Gems Report. ### Forgotten Gems Report Output of Wave 5 is **not** a smaller repo — it's a written report. Save to `$VIBECRAFTED_HOME/artifacts////reports/_forgotten-gems.md`. > See [references/case-studies.md](references/case-studies.md) for the full Forgotten Gems Report template, the > test-theater report template, and concrete real/hypothetical case studies (example-app 0.67.3 silencer-strip, sample-portal > billing-service equivalent, surprise-findings catalog). Test theater is debt, not gem. It always gets a follow-up plan saved to `_test-theater.md`. Never a silencer reinstatement. ### Acceptance for the wave - Remaining silencer count is a **small fraction** of the inventory (target ≤25%, often ≤10%). - Every remaining silencer carries an incident-grade comment. - Every gate runs green without `--no-verify`, `cargo clippy --allow-dirty`, `pnpm lint --fix --quiet`, or any other " make it green by hiding it" trick. ### Surprise findings are the prize Watch for: tests that always skip / always panic, `dead_code` allow on functions whose only caller was deleted three releases ago, `@ts-ignore` on types correct for a year, `eslint-disable jsx-a11y/...` on real a11y violations, `nosemgrep: react-dangerouslysetinnerhtml` on HTML that is **not** sanitized, `# type: ignore[arg-type]` on a function whose signature was fixed two refactors ago. Each is a real bug or a real lie the silencer was hiding. ## Anti-Patterns - Deleting ten dead symbols while a whole abandoned subsystem still stands. - Trusting "unused" reports without checking dynamic loading via framework router. - Preserving a chaotic 2000-line file because "we might need it" — that's what Git history is for. - Cleaning code but leaving stale dependencies in the lockfile. - Stripping silencers selectively. The whole point of Wave 5 is to bypass that bias. - Mass-restoring silencers because there were "too many warnings". That's burying the message again. - Adding new silencers to silence newly-uncovered warnings. Fix the warning or refactor it away. - Treating `panic!("Test requires X")` as a real gate, or `it.skip` / `@pytest.mark.skipif` as harmless. Tests that always skip do not exist; they cost reviewer attention. - Auto-deleting code that a `dead_code` allow was hiding without a forgotten-gem check first. - Treating Wave 5 as adversarial. Past engineers added silencers for plausible reasons. Wave 5 is the reread, not a verdict. ## The Pruning Principle Do not ask the repo to explain every scar. Ask it to justify every surviving surface. If a surface does not run in production, build the release, or test integrity — the move is **not** automatically delete. The move is **decide with intent**: revive, archive, or delete. The skill exists to surface decisions, not make them on autopilot. **The toolchain is not an enemy to be muted. It is a witness to be interrogated.** Strip the silence. Run the gates. Listen. Then decide — case by case, with a written reason — what genuinely deserves to stay quiet, what needs a real fix, and what was a forgotten gem hiding behind the silencer all along. A repo that has been through `vc-prune` is not necessarily smaller. It is **legible**. Every surviving surface, every surviving silencer, every surviving test has a written reason to be there. That is the win. --- _𝚅𝚒𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚍. with AI Agents by Vetcoders (c)2024-2026 LibraxisAI_