eradicate: Remove Commented-Out Code

3.0.1 · active · verified Sun Apr 12

Eradicate is a Python library and command-line tool designed to remove commented-out code from Python files. It identifies block comments that contain valid Python syntax, which are likely to be old, commented-out code, helping to clean up repositories. It aims to avoid false positives by intelligently detecting code patterns within comments. The library is actively maintained, with version 3.0.1 released recently, focusing on Python version compatibility and continuous improvements.

Warnings

breaking Version 3.0.0 dropped support for Python 2.7, 3.6, 3.7, and 3.8. Users on these older Python versions must remain on `eradicate` < 3.0.0.
Fix: Upgrade to Python 3.9 or newer, or pin `eradicate` to a version prior to 3.0.0 (e.g., `pip install 'eradicate<3.0.0'`).
breaking Version 2.0.0 introduced a 'New class-based API'. While `eradicate` is primarily a CLI tool, direct programmatic users relying on older internal APIs might experience breaking changes.
Fix: Review your code for direct imports and usage of `eradicate`'s internal modules. Prefer using the command-line interface or integrations like `flake8-eradicate` if possible. If programmatic use is necessary, consult the `eradicate` source for the updated API.
gotcha Eradicate might occasionally produce false positives (removing legitimate comments) or false negatives (missing actual commented-out code).
Fix: Utilize the `--whitelist` or `--whitelist-extend` CLI options to specify regex patterns for comments that should always be ignored or preserved. Review changes carefully after running `eradicate`.

Install

pip install eradicate Install latest version

Imports

eradicate
```
import eradicate
```
While 'import eradicate' is correct, the primary usage of this library is via its command-line interface rather than direct programmatic API calls in typical scenarios.

Quickstart

Eradicate is predominantly used as a command-line tool. This example demonstrates how to create a sample Python file with commented-out code and then use `eradicate --in-place` to clean it up. The `--in-place` flag modifies the file directly.

echo "# import os\na = 4\n#print('hello')" > example.py
eradicate --in-place example.py
cat example.py
# Expected output of example.py: 
# a = 4
#

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