Before deleting a file that Markdown chapters may still reference, turn “probably unused” into a measurable rule: the exact old path must return zero files and zero occurrences. Treat the warning as a stop point before deletion. Rune Studio documentation describes a deletion warning for referenced targets, but the recorded run stopped before deletion and did not visually exercise that interface.
Identify one deletion candidate precisely
The example target is images/figure.png. Four chapter files each reference it once. Three document links to refs/source-note.md exist elsewhere, but they are a separate link class and should not be swept into the image decision.
Use a decision table before editing:
| Source | Old target | Decision | Example replacement | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
chapters/C1.md |
../images/figure.png |
keep color figure | ../images/figure-v2.png |
old path 0 |
chapters/C2.md |
../images/figure.png |
keep color figure | ../images/figure-v2.png |
old path 0 |
chapters/C3.md |
../images/figure.png |
use monochrome | ../images/figure-bw.png |
old path 0 |
chapters/C4.md |
../images/figure.png |
replace with prose | remove image reference | old path 0 |
The two replacement filenames are a concrete planning example. The observed operation records only one replacement in each chapter and the final zero usage of the old image. It does not record those two new filenames or the three document-link outcomes.
Stop between zero usage and deletion
Search the exact old relative path and record both file count and occurrence count. Make each replacement, search the old path again, and stop when both values are zero. At that point the file is a deletion candidate; it has not been deleted yet.
That pause is useful. You can read all four edited chapters, check that the figure meaning survived, and reverse a poor replacement without recovering a deleted asset.
Keep document links out of the image change
Markdown image references use ![](), while document links use [](). Keep separate inventories. If refs/source-note.md did not move, its three links should retain their paths and counts. A project-wide replacement that changes both classes can turn a safe image cleanup into unrelated broken research links.
The Rune Studio capability and observed boundary
Rune Studio’s current Mac feature description says it can count files and occurrences that use a Markdown image or link target and warn before a referenced target is deleted. It also documents relative-path rewriting after moves and renames.
In the recorded run, images/figure.png initially had four occurrences in four files. One occurrence in each of C1, C2, C3, and C4 was replaced, after which the old target returned zero files and zero occurrences. The actual file was not deleted. No warning dialog, warning text, or deletion-trigger condition was visually checked.
If that user-interface warning is important to your purchase decision, create a disposable project, attempt to delete a referenced image, cancel, and confirm the file and references remain. Cloud synchronization, collaboration, and tracking outside the workspace are outside this result.
Make zero usage the deletion condition
The essential decision is not whether a warning looks reassuring; it is whether every source reference has an explicit outcome. Reach zero use, read the replacements, confirm unrelated document links remain, and only then decide whether to delete the target.
The current Mac app’s link-usage features are described on the Rune Studio website.