Dependency Audit

Cross-repository dependency audit. Scans package manifests (package.json, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, go.mod) for outdated packages, security advisories, version conflicts between repos, and license compatibility issues. Produces a prioritized update plan.

Install

git clone https://github.com/thatrebeccarae/claude-marketing.git && cp -r claude-marketing/skills/dep-audit ~/.claude/skills/

When to Use

• Monthly hygiene: Run on a cadence to catch dependency drift before it compounds
• Before releases: Verify no known vulnerabilities ship to production
• Security incidents: When a CVE drops, quickly assess exposure across all repos
• Onboarding new repos: Baseline the dependency health of a repo you're inheriting or adopting

Usage

• /dep-audit [repo-path] — audit a single repository
• /dep-audit [repo-path1] [repo-path2] ... — cross-repo audit (enables version conflict detection)

Procedure

1. Detect Package Managers

Scan the target repo(s) for manifest files:

# Detect which manifests exist
ls package.json pyproject.toml Cargo.toml go.mod requirements.txt 2>/dev/null
# Detect lock files
ls package-lock.json yarn.lock pnpm-lock.yaml poetry.lock uv.lock Cargo.lock go.sum 2>/dev/null

If multiple ecosystems are present (e.g., a monorepo with Node.js frontend and Go backend), audit each independently and merge results.

2. Parse Manifests and Lock Files

Read the manifest to identify declared dependencies (direct) and the lock file for resolved versions (transitive). Distinguish between:

• Production dependencies (dependencies, [dependencies], main requires)
• Development dependencies (devDependencies, [dev-dependencies], extras)

3. Check for Outdated Packages

Query the registry for latest versions and categorize the delta:

# Node.js
npm outdated --json

# Python (pip)
pip list --outdated --format=json

# Python (poetry)
poetry show --outdated

# Rust
cargo outdated --format json  # requires cargo-outdated

# Go
go list -m -u all

Categorize each outdated package:

• Patch update (e.g., 2.3.1 -> 2.3.4): Safe, usually bug fixes
• Minor update (e.g., 2.3.1 -> 2.5.0): New features, should be backward-compatible
• Major update (e.g., 2.3.1 -> 3.0.0): Breaking changes likely, needs migration review

4. Check for Security Advisories

Run ecosystem-native audit tools:

# Node.js
npm audit --json

# Python
pip-audit --format=json  # or: safety check

# Rust
cargo audit --json  # requires cargo-audit

# Go
govulncheck ./...

Parse severity from results:

• Critical: Remote code execution, authentication bypass, data exfiltration
• High: Privilege escalation, significant data exposure
• Medium: DoS potential, limited data exposure
• Low: Information disclosure, minor issues

5. Cross-Repo Analysis (Multiple Repos)

When auditing two or more repos, compare dependency versions:

• Version conflicts: Same package at different versions across repos (e.g., axios@0.27.2 in repo A, axios@1.6.2 in repo B)
• Shared dependencies: Packages used by multiple repos that could be aligned to a single version
• Divergent major versions: Flag these as highest priority — they indicate repos drifting apart

Present a conflict table showing package, version per repo, and recommended target version.

6. License Scan

Check dependency licenses against compatibility rules:

# Node.js
npx license-checker --json

# Python
pip-licenses --format=json

# Rust
cargo license --json  # requires cargo-license

# Go
go-licenses report ./...  # requires go-licenses

Flag issues:

• Copyleft in permissive projects: GPL/AGPL dependencies in MIT/Apache-licensed projects
• Unknown or missing licenses: Dependencies with no license metadata
• Non-OSI-approved licenses: Custom or restrictive licenses
• License conflicts: Incompatible license combinations (e.g., GPLv2-only with Apache-2.0)

7. Generate Update Plan

Prioritize all findings into a single ordered list:

1. Critical security advisories — fix immediately
2. High security advisories — fix this sprint
3. License violations — assess and remediate
4. Major outdated (with known issues) — plan migration
5. Cross-repo version conflicts — align versions
6. Minor outdated — batch update
7. Patch outdated — batch update

Group related updates together:

• All @types/* packages in one PR
• All packages from the same org (e.g., @babel/*)
• Peer dependency chains that must move together

Note breaking change risks for any major update. Link to migration guides where available.

8. Report

Produce a severity-coded summary table:

Follow with:

• Total dependency count (direct / transitive) per repo
• Security summary: X critical, Y high, Z medium, W low
• Outdated summary: X major, Y minor, Z patch
• License summary: X flagged, Y clean
• Cross-repo conflicts: X packages with version divergence

Key Principles

1. Never auto-update. This skill audits and recommends. The human decides what to update and when. Automated updates can introduce breaking changes, especially for major versions.
2. Security first. Critical and high-severity vulnerabilities always top the priority list, regardless of how old other dependencies are.
3. Group related updates. Updating react without updating react-dom creates version mismatches. Always identify peer dependency chains.
4. Context matters. A major version bump on a dev-only dependency (e.g., eslint) is lower risk than a patch on a production runtime dependency with a CVE.
5. Lock files are truth. Always read the lock file for actual resolved versions, not just the range specifier in the manifest.
6. Don't chase latest for its own sake. If a dependency is working, stable, and has no advisories, "outdated" is not the same as "broken."

How to Use This Skill

Ask:

• "Audit the dependencies in ~/Repos/my-app"
• "Compare dependency versions across these three repos"
• "Are there any security vulnerabilities in this project?"
• "Check for license issues before we open-source this repo"
• "Build me an update plan for everything that's behind"

For command reference, license compatibility details, and false positive handling, see [REFERENCE.md](REFERENCE.md).

For worked examples, see [EXAMPLES.md](EXAMPLES.md).