What Gets Detected

A class is considered used when Prune finds at least one reference to it. Understanding exactly which constructs count as a reference helps you interpret the report — and explains why a class you think is used might still be flagged.

Class references Prune recognizes

Category	Examples
Inheritance	class A extends B, class A implements I, interface I extends J, enum E implements I
Trait usage	use SomeTrait; inside a class
Instantiation	new ClassName()
Static access	ClassName::method(), ClassName::$prop, ClassName::CONST, ClassName::class
instanceof	$x instanceof ClassName
Exception handling	catch (ExceptionType $e)
Type declarations	Parameter, return, and property types — including nullable, union, and intersection types
Attributes	#[SomeAttribute]
Docblock types	@param, @return, @var, @throws, @extends, @implements, @mixin, @see, @template … of/extends, and bare FQCNs inside generics like Collection<App\Models\User>
Route controller strings	Route::get('/x', 'App\Http\Controllers\FooController@index') — the FQCN before @
Class-name functions	class_exists(), interface_exists(), class_implements(), class_parents(), is_a(), is_subclass_of(), app()

Notes on string-based detection

• Docblocks: short type names are resolved through the file's use imports; fully qualified names are taken as-is.
• Function calls like class_exists('App\\Models\\User') and route controller strings are only matched when the string is a fully qualified name (contains a backslash). Ambiguous short names are deliberately ignored to avoid false "uses".

What is not counted as a reference

• Built-in and pseudo types — self, static, parent, int, string, float, bool, array, object, mixed, void, never, null, true, false, iterable, callable are never treated as class references.
• Dynamic class names — new $class(), $class::method(), container make() calls, etc.
• Short string class names — class names passed as non-FQCN strings.
• See Limitations & Risks for the complete picture.

Blade view references

For Blade analysis, the constructs that count as a view reference are listed in Blade Analysis.

Why this matters

If a class is only reachable through one of the constructs in the "not counted" list, Prune will report it as an orphan even though your application uses it at runtime. This is expected behavior for a static analyzer — always confirm before deleting.