# Retire the tests for a feature that was removed

Tests still running for a feature that no longer exists, slowing every build for nothing.

Category: Test suite consolidation
Source: https://letsship.ai/use-cases/retire-tests-for-a-removed-feature
Published: 2026-08-25

## Goal

Delete the tests covering a feature that has already been removed from the product.

## Acceptance criteria

- The feature is confirmed absent from the codebase before anything is deleted
- Its tests, fixtures, and helpers are removed together
- No remaining test depends on the deleted helpers
- Suite runtime before and after is recorded

## What lands as proof

Evidence the feature is gone, then the deletion, then a green suite that runs measurably faster.

## Prompt

Copy this to an agent to open the ticket:

```text
Create a Linear issue in my team and assign it to the SHIP agent.

Title: Delete the tests for the removed {feature}

Description: Delete the tests covering a feature that has already been removed from the product.

Acceptance criteria:
- The feature is confirmed absent from the codebase before anything is deleted
- Its tests, fixtures, and helpers are removed together
- No remaining test depends on the deleted helpers
- Suite runtime before and after is recorded

Before you create the issue, find tests in this repository referencing code that no longer exists and replace {feature} with what they cover.
```

## Questions

### What does the agent actually change?

The ticket is scoped to one outcome: delete the tests covering a feature that has already been removed from the product. Work that serves that outcome is in scope, and anything outside it is left for a separate ticket, so the pull request stays reviewable.

### How do I know the work is done?

The pull request carries the evidence, not only the diff. Here that means the feature is gone and its tests go with it, so a reviewer can confirm the result without reproducing the work locally.

### How much oversight does this need?

The run stops once the plan is written. Somebody reads the approach and approves it before any code exists, which is the cheapest moment to redirect the work.