diff --git a/backend/app/routes/downloads.py b/backend/app/routes/downloads.py
index 28a8bb6..71153d5 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/downloads.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/downloads.py
@@ -752,7 +752,7 @@ def list_links(
         .scalars()
         .all()
     )
-    return [linksmod.owner_view(l) for l in rows]
+    return [linksmod.owner_view(row) for row in rows]
 
 
 @router.post("/{job_id}/links")
diff --git a/backend/app/routes/plex.py b/backend/app/routes/plex.py
index 9c14e95..61cdd5a 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/plex.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/plex.py
@@ -1346,11 +1346,15 @@ def _vtt_ts_to_s(ts: str) -> float:
 
 def _vtt_s_to_ts(x: float) -> str:
     x = max(0.0, x)
-    h = int(x // 3600); x -= h * 3600
-    m = int(x // 60); x -= m * 60
-    s = int(x); ms = int(round((x - s) * 1000))
+    h = int(x // 3600)
+    x -= h * 3600
+    m = int(x // 60)
+    x -= m * 60
+    s = int(x)
+    ms = int(round((x - s) * 1000))
     if ms >= 1000:
-        s += 1; ms -= 1000
+        s += 1
+        ms -= 1000
     return f"{h:02d}:{m:02d}:{s:02d}.{ms:03d}"
 
 
diff --git a/backend/app/sync/subscriptions.py b/backend/app/sync/subscriptions.py
index c0f643a..a007296 100644
--- a/backend/app/sync/subscriptions.py
+++ b/backend/app/sync/subscriptions.py
@@ -34,9 +34,9 @@ def _external_links(branding: dict) -> list | None:
     channel = branding.get("channel", {})
     links = channel.get("links") or []
     out = [
-        {"title": l.get("title"), "url": l.get("url")}
-        for l in links
-        if isinstance(l, dict) and l.get("url")
+        {"title": item.get("title"), "url": item.get("url")}
+        for item in links
+        if isinstance(item, dict) and item.get("url")
     ]
     return out or None
 
diff --git a/backend/ruff.toml b/backend/ruff.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4706ea0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/ruff.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# Ruff config for the Siftlode backend. Keeps ruff's default rule set (E4/E7/E9 + F = the
+# high-signal pyflakes/pycodestyle checks that catch real dead code + bugs), but ignores E402:
+# a handful of modules (e.g. main.py) deliberately run setup — logging config, sys.path — before
+# importing route modules, so "module import not at top of file" is intentional there, not cruft.
+[lint]
+ignore = ["E402"]
diff --git a/frontend/src/App.tsx b/frontend/src/App.tsx
index 325008b..6d64895 100644
--- a/frontend/src/App.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/App.tsx
@@ -831,7 +831,6 @@ export default function App() {
           ) : page === "plex" && meQuery.data!.plex_enabled ? (
             <PlexBrowse
               q={plexQ}
-              onClearSearch={() => setPlexQ("")}
               scope={plexScope}
               setScope={setPlexScope}
               show={plexShowFilter}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/PlexBrowse.tsx b/frontend/src/components/PlexBrowse.tsx
index 9696148..4409b5a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/PlexBrowse.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/PlexBrowse.tsx
@@ -54,7 +54,6 @@ type Sub =
 
 type Props = {
   q: string;
-  onClearSearch: () => void;
   scope: string; // movie | show | both (unified cross-library scope)
   setScope: (v: string) => void;
   show: string;
@@ -70,7 +69,6 @@ const PAGE = 40;
 
 export default function PlexBrowse({
   q,
-  onClearSearch,
   scope,
   setScope,
   show,
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/SavedViewsWidget.tsx b/frontend/src/components/SavedViewsWidget.tsx
index 200d777..f5a1ff8 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/SavedViewsWidget.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/SavedViewsWidget.tsx
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ import { CSS } from "@dnd-kit/utilities";
 import { api, getActiveAccount, type FeedFilters, type SavedView } from "../lib/api";
 import { filtersToParams, shareUrl } from "../lib/urlState";
 import { notify } from "../lib/notifications";
-import { accountKey, LS, readJSON, writeJSON } from "../lib/storage";
+import { accountKey, LS, writeJSON } from "../lib/storage";
 import { useConfirm } from "./ConfirmProvider";
 
 // Compact, order-independent signature of a filter set (reuses the share serializer, which
@@ -28,14 +28,6 @@ import { useConfirm } from "./ConfirmProvider";
 // saved view that matches the feed's current filters.
 const keyOf = (f: FeedFilters) => filtersToParams(f).toString();
 
-/** The default view's filters, or null. Read synchronously on load (App.loadAccountFilters) from a
- * per-account localStorage mirror the widget keeps in sync — avoids a flash before the query loads.
- * Per-account so one account's default view never seeds another account's feed. */
-export function loadDefaultViewFilters(): FeedFilters | null {
-  const key = accountKey(LS.defaultViewFilters, getActiveAccount());
-  return key ? readJSON<FeedFilters | null>(key, null) : null;
-}
-
 function syncDefaultMirror(views: SavedView[]): void {
   const key = accountKey(LS.defaultViewFilters, getActiveAccount());
   if (!key) return;
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx
index 6368c22..b6dc281 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Sidebar.tsx
@@ -39,29 +39,11 @@ import {
 import { shareUrl } from "../lib/urlState";
 import { notify } from "../lib/notifications";
 import { useDebounced } from "../lib/useDebounced";
-import { Switch } from "./ui/form";
 import TagManager from "./TagManager";
 import SavedViewsWidget from "./SavedViewsWidget";
 import CollapsedFilterRail from "./CollapsedFilterRail";
 
 // Filter ids; display labels resolved at render time via t("sidebar.sort.<id>") etc.
-const SORT_IDS = [
-  "newest",
-  "oldest",
-  "views",
-  "duration_desc",
-  "duration_asc",
-  "title",
-  "subscribers",
-  "priority",
-  "shuffle",
-];
-
-const SHOW_IDS = ["unwatched", "in_progress", "all", "watched", "hidden"];
-
-// Fresh shuffle token for the "surprise me" sort.
-const rollSeed = () => Math.floor(Math.random() * 1_000_000_000);
-
 const DATE_PRESETS: { days: number; key: string }[] = [
   { days: 1, key: "24h" },
   { days: 7, key: "1week" },
@@ -697,19 +679,3 @@ function WidgetCard({
   );
 }
 
-function Toggle({
-  label,
-  checked,
-  onChange,
-}: {
-  label: string;
-  checked: boolean;
-  onChange: (v: boolean) => void;
-}) {
-  return (
-    <label className="flex items-center justify-between py-1 cursor-pointer text-sm">
-      <span>{label}</span>
-      <Switch label={label} checked={checked} onChange={onChange} />
-    </label>
-  );
-}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.tsx b/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.tsx
index 3f52c70..4a103b5 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/VideoEditor.tsx
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ export default function VideoEditor({ job, onClose }: { job: DownloadJob; onClos
               </div>
             )}
             {/* segment tint: dropped = dimmed + hatched */}
-            {segments.map((s, i) => (
+            {segments.map((s) => (
               <div
                 key={s.id}
                 className={clsx(
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/notifications.ts b/frontend/src/lib/notifications.ts
index 316f85c..3c991df 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/notifications.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/notifications.ts
@@ -223,11 +223,6 @@ export function notify(input: NotifyInput): number {
   return id;
 }
 
-/** Back-compat: a simple info toast with an optional inline action (e.g. Undo). */
-function toast(message: string, action?: NotifAction): number {
-  return notify({ message, action });
-}
-
 /** Close the transient toast surface; the entry stays in the center's history. */
 export function dismiss(id: number): void {
   items = items.map((n) => (n.id === id ? { ...n, dismissed: true } : n));
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/storage.ts b/frontend/src/lib/storage.ts
index 1102d3b..52d4cca 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/storage.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/storage.ts
@@ -129,29 +129,11 @@ export function writeJSON(key: string, value: unknown): void {
 
 // --- reactive persisted string state ----------------------------------------------------
 
-/** A `useState` whose string value is mirrored to localStorage, so it survives a reload (F5).
- * Validation is deferred to the caller (clamp at render) so it can be used before an
- * async-loaded option list is known, keeping hook order stable. Generalizes the per-component
- * "persisted active tab" pattern (Settings, Stats, admin pages, the channel filter…). */
-function usePersistedState(
-  key: string,
-  fallback = "",
-): [string, (value: string) => void] {
-  const [value, setValue] = useState<string>(() => localStorage.getItem(key) ?? fallback);
-  const set = (next: string) => {
-    setValue(next);
-    try {
-      localStorage.setItem(key, next);
-    } catch {
-      /* ignore */
-    }
-  };
-  return [value, set];
-}
-
-/** Like usePersistedState but scoped to the current account (see accountKey), so one account's
- * persisted tab/view position doesn't carry over to another in the same browser. These hooks run
- * in components that only mount once signed in, so the account is known. */
+/** A `useState` whose string value is mirrored to localStorage, scoped to the current account (see
+ * accountKey), so one account's persisted tab/view position doesn't carry over to another in the
+ * same browser. Survives reload (F5); validation is deferred to the caller (clamp at render) so it
+ * can be used before an async-loaded option list is known, keeping hook order stable. These hooks
+ * run in components that only mount once signed in, so the account is known. */
 export function useAccountPersistedState(
   base: string,
   fallback = "",
diff --git a/frontend/tsconfig.json b/frontend/tsconfig.json
index 79a2287..83b5c91 100644
--- a/frontend/tsconfig.json
+++ b/frontend/tsconfig.json
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@
     "noEmit": true,
     "jsx": "react-jsx",
     "strict": true,
-    "noUnusedLocals": false,
-    "noUnusedParameters": false
+    "noUnusedLocals": true,
+    "noUnusedParameters": true
   },
   "include": ["src"]
 }