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Dev tools · January 21, 2021

A dead code killer for Erlang

From the creators of rebar3_format, here comes… rebar3_hank, a powerful but simple tool to detect dead code around your Erlang codebase (and kill it with fire!)

A dead code killer for Erlang launched on January 21, 2021 with 103 votes, #353 of 3,157 launches that month and more than 90% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 5 years on.

Visit tech.nextroll.com ↗Alternativestop 11% of January 2021

In plain words

A dead code killer for Erlang is a development tool that identifies and removes unused code from Erlang projects. It targets developers and teams working with Erlang who want to clean up their codebases and reduce complexity. The tool automates the detection of dead code, helping developers maintain leaner, more maintainable applications without manually searching for unused functions and modules.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

From the creators of rebar3_format , here comes… rebar3_hank , a powerful but simple tool to detect dead code around your Erlang codebase (and kill it with fire!). Developers can use this rebar plugin in addition to a linter ( Elvis ), Xref , and Dialyzer ; they complement each other perfectly. In NextRoll’s RTB Team, we have two passions while we maintain our codebases: killing dead code and automating things! That’s why we thought that a tool for automating this process would be handy for the community and us. So, we started thinking more seriously about Hank , and we decided to spend our Winter HackWeek time to make it possible! Nobody wants to maintain dead code. In fact, most of us are…from tech.nextroll.com

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