Check-outdated NPM

check-outdated

Light-weight CLI tool to ensure that your dependencies are up-to-date, otherwise the process is terminated with status code 1.

This is an improved version of npm outdated, which can be used in build-pipelines, pre-publish scripts (npm) or pre-commit hook (Git) to make sure all the used dependencies are up-to-date.

Zero dependencies
Optionally ignore pre-releases (e.g. "2.1.0-alpha", "2.1.0-beta", "2.1.0-rc.1")
Optionally ignore dev dependencies
Optionally ignore specific packages
Optionally ignore a specific version or version range of a package (e.g. to skip a broken version)
Optionally restrict the update type (e.g. only show minor updates, or reverted versions)
Optionally check globally installed packages
Optionally set depth for checking dependency tree
Show link to changelogs
Configure visible columns

Example Screenshot

Usage without installation

The benefit of using npx is, that it ensures that always the latest version of check-outdated is used. In addition, a download is only necessary in environments where it is needed - e.g. if check-outdated is not needed on the build server, it does not have to be downloaded there, which may speeds up the dependency installation slightly.

On command-line you can run the command like this:

npx check-outdated --ignore-pre-releases --ignore-dev-dependencies --ignore-packages package1,package2 --columns name,type,current,latest,changes

Or put it into your package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "check-outdated": "npx --yes -- check-outdated --ignore-pre-releases --ignore-dev-dependencies --ignore-packages package1,package2 --columns name,type,current,latest,changes --types major,minor,patch,reverted",
    "preversion": "npm run lint && npm run test && npm run check-outdated"
  }
}

Usage with installation

Install

npm install check-outdated --save-dev
# or
yarn add check-outdated -D

Usage

After you've installed check-outdated you can run the command like this:

node_modules/.bin/check-outdated --ignore-pre-releases --ignore-dev-dependencies --ignore-packages package1,package2 --columns name,type,current,latest,changes --types major,minor,patch,reverted

Or put it into your package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "check-outdated": "check-outdated --ignore-pre-releases --ignore-dev-dependencies --ignore-packages package1,package2 --columns name,type,current,latest,changes --types major,minor,patch,reverted",
    "preversion": "npm run lint && npm run test && npm run check-outdated"
  }
}

Command-line arguments

Argument	Description	Example
--help, -h	Show the help	`--help`
--ignore-pre-releases	Don't recommend to update to versions which contain a hyphen (e.g. "2.1.0-alpha", "2.1.0-beta", "2.1.0-rc.1")	`--ignore-pre-releases`
--ignore-dev-dependencies	Do not warn if devDependencies are outdated.	`--ignore-dev-dependencies`
--ignore-packages \<comma-separated-list-of-package-names>	Ignore the listed packages, even if they are outdated.Using the `@` syntax (`<package>@<version>`) you can also, only ignore a specific version, or a semver range (like `^2`, `~2.3.4`, `2.*`, `2.3.x`) of a package (e.g. if it's broken).	`--ignore-packages typescript,terser-webpack-plugin@3.0.0,got@^12`
--prefer-wanted	Compare the `Current` version to the `Wanted` version, instead of the `Latest` version.	`--prefer-wanted`
--columns \<comma-separated-list-of-columns>	Defines which columns should be shown in which order. (See Available Columns below)	`--columns name,current,latest,changes`
--types \<comma-separated-list-of-update-types>	Restrict the update type (e.g. only show minor updates, or reverted versions) (See Available Types below)	`--types minor,reverted`
--global	Check packages in the global install prefix instead of in the current project (equal to the npm outdated-option)	`--global`
--depth \<number>	Max depth for checking dependency tree (equal to the npm outdated-option)	`--depth 3`

Available Columns

By default, the following columns are shown:
package, current, wanted, latest, reference, changes, location

You are able to overwrite the default by using the --columns argument.

Caption	--columns value	Description	Example
Package	`package`	The name of the package.Red means there's a newer version matching your semver requirements, so you should update now.Yellow indicates that there's a newer version above your semver requirements (usually new major, or new 0.x minor) so proceed with caution.	typescript
Current	`current`	The currently installed version of the package.	3.7.2
Wanted	`wanted`	The maximum version of the package that satisfies the semver range specified in package.json. If there's no available semver range (i.e. you're using the `--global` argument, or the package isn't included in package.json), then wanted shows the currently-installed version.This column is always colored in green.	3.7.2
Latest	`latest`	The version of the package tagged as latest in the npm registry.This column is always colored in magenta.	3.8.3
Reference	`reference`	Contains a link to the line and column of the dependency in the package.json.By using a terminal which supports clicking on such links, you can navigate directly the the item.	P:\my-project\package.json:47:3
Changes	`changes`	check-outdated tries to find a direct link to changelog of the package. The following places are considered in the given order:{package}/package.json > "repository" {package}/package.json > "homepage"`https://www.npmjs.com/package/{name}` GitHub-repository URLs are adjusted, so that they directly link to the CHANGELOG.md or the Releases section.	https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/releases
Changes	`changesPreferLocal`	Same as `changes`, but first check for a CHANGELOG.md in the package folder.Keep in mind, you'll only see the changelog of the currently installed version, not of the version which is recommended.	node_modules/fs-extra/CHANGELOG.md
Type	`type`	Shows if the difference between Current and Latest is a `major`, `minor`, `patch`, `prerelease`, `build` or `reverted` update, in Semantic Versioning. For more details see Available Types below.	minor
Location	`location`	Shows where in the dependency tree the package is located. Note that check-outdated defaults to a depth of 0, so unless you override that, you'll always be seeing only top-level dependencies that are outdated.	node_modules/typescript
Package Type	`packageType`	Tells you whether this package is a `dependency` or a `devDependency`. Packages not included in package.json are always marked dependencies. If this column is not activated, the packages are grouped by their type, otherwise they are ordered by their name.	devDependencies
Homepage	`homepage`	An URL with additional information to the package. The following places are considered in the given order:{package}/package.json > "homepage"{package}/package.json > "repository"{package}/package.json > "author"`https://www.npmjs.com/package/{name}`	https://www.typescriptlang.org/
npmjs.com	`npmjs`	A link to the package on the npmjs.com website.	https://www.npmjs.com/package/typescript

Available Types

The type describes the difference between the Current version and Latest version, in Semantic Versioning. By default, all types are shown.

You are able to overwrite the default by using the --types argument.

--types value	Description	Example
`major`	Backward-incompatible updates	`1.2.3` -> `2.0.0`
`minor`	Backward-compatible features	`1.2.3` -> `1.3.0`
`patch`	Backward-compatible bug fixes	`1.2.3` -> `1.2.4`
`reverted`	Latest available version is lower than the installed version	`1.2.3` -> `1.1.5`
`prerelease`	Only the pre-release version has been amended or added	`1.2.3` -> `1.2.3-beta.1`
`build`	Only build metadata has been amended or added	`1.2.3` -> `1.2.3+build.2`