---
id: uncalled
version: "0.1.8"
license: Copyright 2023 Elazar Gershuni elazarg@gmail.com Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to… (full text in the JSON record)
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: dormant
---

# uncalled — Find unused functions in Python projects

License: permissive · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 587.4K/mo

## What it is and what it does

uncalled is a command-line tool that scans Python projects to identify functions that are never called. It offers two detection strategies: a fast regex-based approach (the default) and an AST-based traversal method. A combined 'both' mode runs both strategies together to minimize false positives. The tool is designed as a lightweight, low-friction alternative for developers who want to clean up unused code without heavy configuration.

You run it as a simple CLI command pointing to your project directory. With no runtime dependencies and low install friction, it integrates easily into development workflows or CI pipelines. The regex approach prioritizes speed while the AST approach offers deeper semantic understanding; combining them helps catch real unused functions while filtering out spurious matches.

Use it for:

- Identify dead code in legacy Python projects before refactoring or cleanup.
- Run as a pre-commit or CI check to prevent unused functions from accumulating in codebases.
- Audit a codebase for code quality and maintainability improvements.
- Compare detection strategies (regex vs. AST) on your own project to understand trade-offs.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Detects unused functions in Python projects using regular expressions or AST traversal, with a combined mode to reduce false positives.

Yes, if you need a lightweight, zero-dependency tool to find unused functions. The permissive MIT license and low install friction make it a low-risk addition to a development workflow. Maintenance is dormant but the last release is recent enough (2024-07-11) and no vulnerabilities are known. Best suited for developers who want a simple, fast alternative to heavier static analysis frameworks.

## Install

pip install uncalled
uv add uncalled
poetry add uncalled

## Installing uncalled

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance is dormant—last release was 2024-07-11 and last commit 2024-09-03, so the package is not actively developed but remains available and functional.

License in practice: MIT license (permissive) allows free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.

Quickstart:

pip install uncalled
uncalled path/to/project

Requires Python 3.10 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Whether regex mode is the default and how it compares to AST mode in speed and accuracy for typical projects.
- Whether the 'both' combined mode is recommended as a general-purpose setting or only for specific scenarios.
- How false-positive rates compare to vulture or other similar dead-code detection tools.

## Package facts

- License: Copyright 2023 Elazar Gershuni elazarg@gmail.com Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to… (full text in the JSON record) (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 587.4K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

find unused functions python, dead code detection, python code cleanup, unused function finder, static analysis python, code quality analysis, python linter unused code, dead-code-detection, static-analysis, cli-tool

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