When to reach for the quality tools

Updated May 29, 2026
  • deadcode — when the question is "is this name still used?". Run on changed files in CI; review --fix diffs by hand.
  • pyscn — when the question is "is this branch reachable?", "is this block a clone?", or "is this module getting too coupled?". Run weekly on main; treat findings as a worklist, not a build failure.
  • Pyinstrument — when a request or test is slow and the question is "where does the time go?". Use to find hot paths; use pytest-benchmark to regression-test them.