check-dependencies

Checks if currently installed npm dependencies are installed in the exact same versions that are specified in package.json

Installation

To install the package and add it to your package.json, invoke:

npm install check-dependencies --save-dev

Rationale

When dependencies are changed in package.json, whether it's a version bump or a new package, one can forget to invoke npm install and continue using the application, possibly encountering errors caused by obsolete package versions. To avoid it, use the check-dependencies module at the top of the entry point of your application; it will inform about not up-to-date setup and optionally install the dependencies.

Another option would be to always invoke npm install at the top of the main file, but it can be slow and check-dependencies is fast.

Usage

Once the package has been installed, it may be used via:

CLI

$ check-dependencies

All options from the API except log and error can be passed to the CLI in their kebab-case versions, not camelCase ones. Example:

$ check-dependencies --verbose --package-manager pnpm --scope-list dependencies

Options accepting array values in the API (like scopeList) should have each value passed individually, example:

$ check-dependencies --scope-list dependencies --scope-list devDependencies

API

The exported function returns a promise which should eventually be fulfilled (never rejected).

const output = await require('check-dependencies')(config);

where config is a configuration object.

output is an object containing fields:

{
    status: number,      // 0 if successful, 1 otherwise
    depsWereOk: boolean, // true if dependencies were already satisfied
    log: array,          // array of logged messages
    error: array,        // array of logged errors
}

There is a synchronous alternative -- the following code:

const output = require('check-dependencies').sync(config);

will assign to output the same object to which the returned promise would otherwise resolve to.

The config object may have the following fields:

packageManager

Package manager to check against. Example values: 'npm', yarn, pnpm.

NOTE: The value passed to this parameter will be invoked if the install option is set to true. Do not pass untrusted input here. In the worst case, it may lead to arbitrary code execution! Also, versions below 1.1.1 did no validation of this parameter; versions 1.1.1 and newer ensure it matches the regex /^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$/i. It is still not safe to provide untrusted input in versions 1.1.1 or newer, though.

Type: string

Default: 'npm'

packageDir

Path to the directory containing package.json.

Type: string

Default: the closest directory containing package.json when going up the tree, starting from the current one

onlySpecified

Ensures all installed dependencies are specified in package.json.

NOTE: Don't use this option with npm 3.0.0 or newer as it deduplicates the file dependency tree by default so check-dependencies will think many modules are excessive whereas in fact they will not.

Type: boolean

Default: false

install

Installs packages if they don't match. With the onlySpecified option enabled it installs if excessive packages are present as well.

Type: boolean

Default: false

scopeList

The list of keys in package.json where to look for package names & versions.

Type: array

Default: ['dependencies', 'devDependencies']

optionalScopeList

The list of keys in package.json where to look for optional package names & versions. An optional package is not required to be installed but if it's installed, it's supposed to match the specified version range.

This list is also consulted when using onlySpecified: true.

Type: array

Default: ['optionalDependencies']

checkGitUrls

By default, check-dependencies will skip version check for packages whose version contains the full repository path. For example:

    "dependencies": {
      "semver": "https://github.com/npm/node-semver.git#0.5.9"
    }

If checkGitUrls is enabled, check-dependencies will parse the version number (after the path to the git repository and the hash) and check it against the version of the installed package.

Type: boolean

Default: false

verbose

Prints messages to the console.

Type: boolean

Default: false

log

A function logging debug messages (applies only if verbose: true).

Type: function

Default: console.log.bind(console)

error

A function logging error messages (applies only if verbose: true).

Type: function

Default: console.error.bind(console)

Usage Examples

The most basic usage:

const output = await require('check-dependencies')();

This will check packages' versions and report an error to output if packages' versions are mismatched.

The following:

await require('check-dependencies')({
    install: true,
    verbose: true,
});

will install mismatched ones.

Supported Node.js versions

This project aims to support all Node.js versions supported upstream (see Release README for more details).

Contributing

In lieu of a formal styleguide, take care to maintain the existing coding style. Add unit tests for any new or changed functionality. Lint and test your code using npm test.

License

Copyright (c) Michał Gołębiowski-Owczarek. Licensed under the MIT license.