Codependence is a CLI and Node API for checking, reporting, and updating dependency versions from a project-defined policy. Use it when versions need to be consistent across package manifests, monorepos, local development, or CI jobs.

Codependence checks package.json dependencies against a codependencies policy. It can either keep only listed packages current, or pin listed packages while updating everything else.

The difference from {npm,pnpm} update or yarn upgrade is that Codependence gives you an explicit policy surface: these versions matter, these packages may move, and CI should fail when the repo drifts.

The difference from hosted update bots is scope. Dependabot and Renovate are strong choices for scheduled dependency pull requests. Codependence is useful when dependency policy needs to run locally, in a script, in any CI provider, or across multiple manifests without depending on a hosted bot workflow.

Read more about Codependence and why you might want to use it below.

Codependence can be used as a standalone CLI, in npm scripts or, secondarily, as a Node utility.

npm install codependence --save-dev

Check and update only specific packages:

codependence --codependencies 'react' 'lodash' --update

Or use it with a config in the root package.json file

{
  "codependence": {
    "codependencies": ["react", "lodash"]
  },
  "scripts": {
    "update-codependencies": "codependence --update",
    "prepare": "npm run update-codependencies"
  }
}

By default, a codependencies list keeps the 0.x behavior: only those listed dependencies are checked and updated. To pin specific packages while updating everything else, opt into policy/permissive mode:

codependence --permissive --codependencies 'react' 'lodash' --update

Or run a policy check without writing files:

codependence --permissive --codependencies 'react' 'lodash' --dryRun

Quickly set up Codependence in your project with the interactive init command:

# Interactive setup with permissive mode by default - recommended!
codependence init

# Create .codependencerc with all dependencies pinned (legacy mode)
codependence init rc

# Add configuration to package.json with all dependencies pinned (legacy mode)
codependence init package

The init command will:

• Default to permissive mode (update all dependencies to latest, except those you want to pin)
• Scan your package.json for dependencies
• Let you choose your dependency policy strategy:
  • 🚀 Permissive mode (default/recommended): Update all to latest, pin specific ones
  • 🔒 Pin all mode: Keep all dependencies at current versions
• Create either a .codependencerc file or add config to package.json
• Provide clear next steps for running Codependence
• Handle edge cases like missing files or invalid JSON gracefully

Unit Tests:

bun test                    # Run all unit tests
bun test --coverage        # Run with coverage report

E2E Tests:

./tests/e2e/test-multilang.sh all    # Run all e2e tests (Node.js, Python, Go)

Codependence is built as a CLI-first policy tool.

It is recommended to install and set up Codependence as a devDependency within your root package.json and use a codependence.codependencies array to define dependencies you need to keep updated or pinned to a specific version.

Furthermore, you can add a codependence.codependencies array to child packages' package.json in your monorepo to ensure specific dependencies are pinned to specific versions within your monorepo packages.

Usage: codependence [command] [options]

Commands:
  init [type]                       Initialize codependence configuration
                                    Types: rc, package, default

Options:
  -f, --files [files...]           File glob pattern
  -u, --update                      Update dependencies based on check
  -r, --rootDir <rootDir>          Root directory to start search
  -i, --ignore [ignore...]         Ignore glob pattern
  --debug                           Enable debugging
  --silent                          Enable mainly silent logging
  -v, --verbose                     Enable verbose logging (shows debug info)
  -q, --quiet                       Suppress all output except errors
  -cds, --codependencies [deps...] Dependencies to check
  -c, --config <config>            Path to a config file
  -s, --searchPath <searchPath>    Path to do a config file search
  -y, --yarnConfig                  Enable yarn config support
  --level <level>                   Update level: patch, minor, or major (default: major)
  -m, --mode <mode>                verbose: only listed packages; precise: all except listed
  -l, --language <lang>            Target language (nodejs, go, python) (experimental)
  -h, --help                        Show this help message
  --dryRun                          Show what would change without modifying files
  --interactive                     Choose which packages to update interactively
  --watch                           Watch for changes and re-check continuously
  --noCache                         Disable version caching for fresh results
  --format <type>                   Output format: json, markdown, or table (default: table)
  --outputFile <path>               Write output to file instead of stdout

Although Codependence is built primarily as a CLI utility, it can be used as a Node utility.

import { checkFiles, codependence } from "codependence";

const checkForOutdated = async () => {
  try {
    await checkFiles({ codependencies: ["fs-extra", "lodash"] });
    console.log("All dependencies are up-to-date");
  } catch (err) {
    console.error("Dependencies are out of date:", (err as Error).message);
  }
};

const updateAllExceptSpecific = async () => {
  await codependence({
    codependencies: ["react", "lodash"],
    permissive: true,
    update: true,
  });
};

checkForOutdated();

Codependence options can be used via CLI options, a config file read from the CLI, or with node by passing them into exported Codependence functions. Read more below!

A required option or *config array! Codependencies are required via being passed in an array as a cli option **or as within a codependence.codependencies array.

• The default value is undefined
• An array is required!

The Codependence codependencies array supports latest out-of-the-box.

So having this ["fs-extra", "lodash"] will return the latest versions of the packages within the array. It will also match a specified version, like so [{ "foo": "1.0.0" }] and [{ "foo": "^1.0.0" }] or [{ "foo": "~1.0.0" }]. You can also include a * at the end of a name you would like to match. For example, @foo/* will match all packages with @foo/ in the name and return their latest versions. This will also work with foo-*, etc.

Codependence is built in to give you more capability to control your dependencies!

You can add a codependence.codependencies array to child packages in your monorepo to ensure specific dependencies are pinned to a specific different versions within your monorepo packages.

You can have a package.json file in a @foo/bar package with following:

{
  "name": "@foo/bar",
  "dependencies": {
    "fs-extra": "^9.0.0",
  },
  "codependence": {
    "codependencies": [{ "fs-extra": "^9.0.0" }]
  }
}

And another package.json file in a @foo/baz package with following:

{
  "name": "@foo/baz",
  "dependencies": {
    "fs-extra": "^11.1.0",
  },
  "codependence": {
    "codependencies": [{ "fs-extra": "^11.1.0" }]
  }
}

Codependencies will install the right dependency version for each package in your monorepo!

Note: Codependencies can and will still install the expected version defined at the monorepo's root for packages that don't specify differences in their package.json files!

An optional array of strings to check for package.json files to update.

• The default value is ['package.json']
• This array accepts glob patterns as well, example ["package.json", "**/package.json"

An optional boolean which defines whether Codependence should update dependencies in package.json's or not.

• The default value is false

An optional string which can used to specify the root directory to run checks from;

• The default value is "./"

An optional array of strings used to specify directories to ignore

• The default value is ["node_modules/**/*", "**/node_modules/**/*"]
• glob patterns are accepted

An optional boolean value used to enable debugging output

• The default value is false

An optional boolean value used to enable a more silent developer experience

• The default value is false

An optional string containing a package to file which contains codependence config.

• The default is undefined

An optional string containing a search path for location config files.

• The default value is undefined

An optional boolean value used to enable *yarn config checking

• The default value is false

Controls whether all dependencies are updated to latest except those listed in codependencies.

• The default value is false when codependencies are provided, for compatibility with 0.x jobs
• When true, all dependencies NOT listed in codependencies are updated to latest — your codependencies list is what you want to pin
• Use --mode precise (CLI) or mode: "precise" (config) for the same pin-and-update-everything-else behavior

An optional string constraining how far updates are allowed to reach.

• "patch" — only update within the same minor version (e.g. 1.2.x)
• "minor" — only update within the same major version (e.g. 1.x.x)
• "major" — allow any update (default)

An optional string controlling which packages are checked.

• "verbose" — only check/update the packages listed in codependencies (0.x compatible behavior)
• "precise" — update all dependencies except those listed in codependencies (same as permissive behavior)

An optional boolean that previews what would change without modifying any files.

• The default value is false

An optional boolean that prompts you to select which packages to update when combined with --update.

• The default value is false

An optional boolean that enables continuous checking, re-running every 30 seconds.

• The default value is false

An optional boolean that bypasses the version cache for fresh registry results.

• The default value is false

An optional string specifying the output format. When set, disables the spinner and outputs structured data instead.

• "json" — machine-readable JSON
• "markdown" — Markdown table (useful for PR comments)
• "table" — formatted table (default when flag is used)

An optional path to write formatted output to a file instead of stdout. Requires format to be set.

Codependence includes experimental support for Python and Go dependency manifests via the --language flag:

codependence --language python    # Check requirements.txt / pyproject.toml
codependence --language go        # Check go.mod dependencies

This feature is under active development. For stable usage, omit --language (defaults to Node.js).

Listed below are some common patterns (recipes) for using Codependence.

Starting out, you may not want a config object. Have no fear, Codependence can be used as a CLI utility ONLY!

codependence --codependencies 'lodash' '{ \"fs-extra\": \"10.0.1\" }'

codependence --codependencies '@foo/*' --update

Use permissive mode and list what you want to pin:

codependence --permissive --codependencies 'react' 'lodash' --update

Codependence is a JavaScript utility CLI and Node tool that compares a codependencies policy against package.json dependencies, devDependencies, peerDependencies, and optionalDependencies.

For each dependency included in the codependencies array, Codependence will either a) check that versions are at latest or b) check that a specified version is matched within manifest files. Codependence can either a) return a pass/fail result or b) update dependency versions in manifest file(s).

Codependence is useful for ensuring important dependency versions are intentional: up-to-date where they should move, pinned where they should not, and consistent across a repo or monorepo.

This utility is built to work alongside dependency automation tools like Dependabot and Renovate. Use those tools for hosted dependency PR automation. Use Codependence for local checks, CI gates, scripted updates, and repo-specific version policy.

Codependence currently focuses on package manifests and dependency sections. The same policy model can expand to other version surfaces over time.

For example, if your repository requires the latest version and latest can't be specified as the dependency version within your package.json, Codependence will ensure your package.json has the actual latest semver version set in your package.json. It can do the same if an exact version is specified.

Codependence is focused on one job: enforcing dependency version policy where your code actually runs.

• It gives teams a small, explicit policy for versions that must stay current or pinned.
• It can fail CI when dependency versions drift.
• It can update only listed packages, or update everything except listed packages.
• It handles monorepo child package dependencies with package-specific policy.
• It runs locally, from npm scripts, in GitHub Actions, or in other CI providers.
• It exposes a Node API for custom workflows and internal tooling.

Codependence isn't for everybody or every repository. Here are some reasons why it might not be for you!

• You only need hosted dependency PRs and are happy with Dependabot or Renovate.
• You do not need local or CI enforcement for version drift.
• You prefer manually pinning versions without automated checks.
• You do not need package-specific or workspace-specific dependency policy.

Check out Codependence in Action!

• Codependence Cron: Codependence running off a GitHub Action cron job.
• Codependence Monorepo: Codependence monorepo example.

If there is a .npmrc file, there is no issue with Codependence monitoring private packages. However, if a yarn config is used, Codependence must be instructed to run version checks differently.

• With the CLI, add the --yarnConfig option.
• With node, add yarnConfig: true to your options or your config.
• For other private package issues, submit an issue or pull request.

This project uses:

• Node.js 18.0.0+
• Bun 1.2.9+

We use mise to manage tool versions. If you have mise installed, it will automatically use the correct versions of Node.js and bun.

# Install mise if you don't have it
curl https://mise.run | sh

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yowainwright/codependence.git
cd codependence

# mise will automatically use the correct versions from .mise.toml
mise install

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Install Node.js 18.0.0+
nvm install 18

# Install bun
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

# Install dependencies
bun install

Git tags must match package.json versions. Stable tags like v1.0.0 publish to npm latest; prerelease tags publish by identifier: alpha, alfa, beta, or next for other prereleases.

Contributing is straightforward.

• Sprinkle some context
• Can you submit a pull request if needed?

• Add a test (or a description of the test) that should be added
• Update the readme (if needed)
• Sprinkle some context in the pull request.
• Hope it's fun!

Thank you!

• Policy Surface:
  • scan a directory of local repositories and report version drift
  • extend policy checks beyond package manifests to toolchain files such as .nvmrc, .node-version, .tool-versions, and .mise.toml
  • explore Docker image version checks for Dockerfile, Containerfile, and compose files
  • explore CI pipeline version checks for GitHub Actions and other workflow YAML
• Code:
  • add better spying/mocking (in progress)
  • add utils functions to be executed with the cli cmd (monorepo, cadence, all deps)
• Demo Repos
  • monorepo: present how codependence can work to support monorepo updates (in progress)
  • cadence: present how cadence can be implemented with codependence
• Documentation
  • write recipes section after the demo repos are complete (in progress)

Thanks to Dev Wells and Steve Cox for the aligned code leading to this project. Thanks Navid for some great insights to improve the api!

Made by @yowainwright, MIT 2022-present