npm-check-updates 
npm-check-updates upgrades your package.json dependencies to the latest versions, ignoring specified versions.
- maintains existing semantic versioning policies, i.e.
"express": "^4.0.0"to"express": "^5.0.0". - only modifies package.json file. Run
npm installto update your installed packages and package-lock.json.
- Red = major upgrade (and all major version zero)
- Cyan = minor upgrade
- Green = patch upgrade
You may also want to consider npm-check. Similar purpose, different features.
Installation
npm install -g npm-check-updatesUsage
Show any new dependencies for the project in the current directory:
$ ncu
Checking package.json
[====================] 5/5 100%
express 4.12.x → 4.13.x
multer ^0.1.8 → ^1.0.1
react-bootstrap ^0.22.6 → ^0.24.0
react-a11y ^0.1.1 → ^0.2.6
webpack ~1.9.10 → ~1.10.5
Run ncu -u to upgrade package.jsonUpgrade a project's package file:
Make sure your package file is in version control and all changes have been committed. This will overwrite your package file.
$ ncu -u
Upgrading package.json
[====================] 1/1 100%
express 4.12.x → 4.13.x
Run npm install to install new versions.
$ npm install # update installed packages and package-lock.jsonCheck global packages:
ncu -g # add -u to get a one-line command for upgradingYou can include or exclude specific packages using the --filter and --reject options. They accept strings, comma-or-space-delimited lists, or regular expressions:
# match mocha and should packages exactly
$ ncu mocha # shorthand for ncu -f mocha (or --filter)
$ ncu one, two, three
# exclude packages
$ ncu -x nodemon # shorthand for ncu --reject nodemon
# match packages that start with "gulp-" using regex
$ ncu "/^gulp-.*$/"
# match packages that do not start with "gulp-".
$ ncu '/^(?!gulp-).*$/' # mac/linux
$ ncu "/^(?!gulp-).*$/" # windowsOptions
--concurrency max number of concurrent HTTP requests to npm registry
(default: 8)
--configFilePath rc config file path (default: directory of
`packageFile` or ./ otherwise)
--configFileName rc config file name (default: .ncurc.{json,yml,js}) --cwd
Used as current working directory for `spawn` in npm listing
--dep check only a specific section(s) of dependencies:
prod|dev|peer|optional|bundle (comma-delimited)
--engines-node include only packages that satisfy engines.node as
specified in the package file
-e, --error-level set the error-level. 1: exits with error code 0 if no
errors occur. 2: exits with error code 0 if no
packages need updating (useful for continuous
integration)
-f, --filter include only package names matching the given string,
comma-or-space-delimited list, or /regex/
-g, --global check global packages instead of in the current project
-i, --interactive Enable interactive prompts for each dependency;
Implies -u unless one of the json options are set
-j, --jsonAll output new package file instead of human-readable
message
--jsonDeps returns output like `jsonAll` but only lists
`dependencies`, `devDependencies`, and
`optionalDependencies` of the new package data.
--jsonUpgraded output upgraded dependencies in json
-l, --loglevel what level of logs to report: silent, error, warn,
info, verbose, silly (default: warn)
-m, --minimal do not upgrade to newer versions that are already
satisfied by the existing version range (v2 behavior).
-n, --newest find the newest published versions available instead
of the latest stable versions
-p, --packageManager npm (default: npm)
--packageData include stringified package file (use stdin instead)
--packageFile package file location (default: ./package.json)
--pre include -alpha, -beta, -rc. (default: 0; default
with --newest and --greatest: 1)
--prefix Used as current working directory in npm
-r, --registry specify third-party NPM registry
--removeRange remove version ranges from the final package version
-s, --silent don't output anything (--loglevel silent)
--semverLevel find the highest version within "major" or "minor"
-t, --greatest find the highest versions available instead of the
latest stable versions
--timeout a global timeout in milliseconds. (default: no global
timeout and 30 seconds per npm-registery-fetch)
-u, --upgrade overwrite package file
-v, --version get version
-V get version
-x, --reject exclude packages matching the given string, comma-
delimited list, or regex
How dependency updates are determined
- Direct dependencies are updated to the latest stable version:
2.0.1→2.2.01.2→1.30.1.0→1.0.1
- Range operators are preserved and the version is updated:
^1.2.0→^2.0.01.x→2.x>0.2.0→>0.3.0
- "Less than" is replaced with a wildcard:
<2.0.0→^3.0.01.0.0 < 2.0.0→^3.0.0
- "Any version" is preserved:
*→*
- with
--semverLevel major, the major version is preserved:0.1.0→0.2.1
- with
--semverLevel minor, the major and minor versions are preserved:0.1.0→0.1.2
Configuration Files
Use a .ncurc.{json,yml,js} file to specify configuration information.
You can specify file name and path using --configFileName and --configFilePath
command line options.
For example, .ncurc.json:
{
"upgrade": true,
"filter": "express",
"reject": [
"@types/estree",
"ts-node"
]
}Module Use
npm-check-updates can be required:
const ncu = require('npm-check-updates');
ncu.run({
// Any command-line option can be specified here.
// These are set by default:
jsonUpgraded: true,
packageManager: 'npm',
silent: true
}).then((upgraded) => {
console.log('dependencies to upgrade:', upgraded);
});Known Issues
- Windows: If npm-check-updates hangs, run
ncu --loglevel verboseto see if it is waiting for stdin. If so, try setting the package file explicitly:ncu -g --packageFile package.json. See #136.
Also search the issues page.
Problems?
Please file an issue! But always search existing issues first!