wf-structural-sweep

Run a whole-program reachability analysis with tests treated as roots, such as the deadcode tool for Go. This catches code reachable only from other dead code, which package-scoped unused checks miss. Triage each hit against tracked ownership before proposing removal.

Exact-clone detectors only match text, so score the codebase against a code-health rubric looking for the same job implemented in textually different code. Also check for shared helpers that exist but are bypassed by call sites re-implementing them inline.

For Go it uses the deadcode tool for whole-program reachability with tests as roots and the dupl linter for clone detection, with the convergence rubric pass done by hand. Other stacks substitute their equivalent dead-code analyzer and clone detector.

No, the sweep is discovery only and never edits code. It emits a scorecard with location evidence and scoped tracked-issue candidates, leaving all changes to a separate change-and-review flow.

Reachability tools flag deliberately retained code identically to genuine orphans. Check for open issues, accepted decisions, or coupled specifications that keep the code on purpose, since deleting retained code preempts and half-does tracked work.

Run it when auditing an inherited codebase, after a stretch of fast machine-authored change, before a large refactor, or when a module feels heavy. It is triggered by situations and judgment, not a fixed schedule.