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Major Version Upgrade Analysis

Identify packages with major version upgrades available and assess whether upgrading is advisable.

Scope: Major versions only. Minor/patch updates are handled automatically by the daily audit script.

Instructions

1. Run pnpm outdated to identify packages with major version changes
2. Read existing tmp/UPGRADES.md if it exists (preserve previous decisions/notes)
3. For each major version upgrade, assess:
   • Stability of new version (see Maturity Assessment below)
   • Support status of current version (still maintained? security patches?)
   • Breaking changes and migration effort
4. Write findings to tmp/UPGRADES.md

Maturity Assessment

Before recommending any upgrade, check the new version's maturity:

pnpm view <package> dist-tags --json    # Is "latest" stable or beta?
pnpm view <package> versions --json     # Version history
pnpm view <package> time --json         # Release dates

The minor version is the key signal - it indicates how many release cycles the major has been through:

• x.0.x = Just released, avoid. Ecosystem still finding bugs.
• x.1.x = Early adopter phase. Only if you need a specific feature.
• x.2.x = Stabilizing. Reasonable to start planning.
• x.3.x+ = Battle-tested. Safe to upgrade.

Red flags:

• Only beta/rc/canary releases for new major
• New major released < 1 month ago
• Major version with only .0.x patches (no minor releases yet)
• Changelog full of breaking change fixes post-release

Check npm release date: pnpm view <package> time --json | grep "5.0.0" to see when major was released.

Output Format

Write to tmp/UPGRADES.md:

# Major Version Upgrades

Last checked: YYYY-MM-DD

## Direct Dependencies

| Action | Package | Current | Latest Stable | Maturity | Urgency | Difficulty | Notes |
|--------|---------|---------|---------------|----------|---------|------------|-------|
| plan | zod | 3.23 | 4.3.5 | mature | low | moderate | x.3 = safe; [Migration](link) |
| wait | next-auth | 4.24 | 5.0-beta | beta | low | major | No stable release yet |
| wait | some-lib | 2.8 | 3.0.4 | fresh | low | easy | x.0 = wait for 3.2+ |
| wait | other-lib | 1.5 | 2.1.3 | early | low | moderate | x.1 = early adopter territory |
| plan | date-fns | 3.6 | 4.4.0 | mature | low | easy | x.4 = battle-tested |
| blocked | react | 18.3 | 19.2.1 | stable | low | hard | x.2 but blocked by next-auth |

## Dev Dependencies

| Action | Package | Current | Latest Stable | Maturity | Urgency | Difficulty | Notes |
|--------|---------|---------|---------------|----------|---------|------------|-------|
| plan | vite | 6.4 | 7.3 | mature | low | easy | Dev tooling only |

## Transitive

Major version updates needed in parent packages (not directly actionable).

| Package | Current | Latest | Via | Notes |
|---------|---------|--------|-----|-------|
| preact | 10.x | 11.x | next-auth | Will resolve when next-auth updated |

Scoring

Action:

• plan: Ready to upgrade - version is mature and migration path is clear
• wait: Not ready - version too fresh, still in beta, or ecosystem not ready
• blocked: Dependency conflict prevents upgrade
• skip: Intentionally staying on current version (document reason)

Maturity (based on minor version):

• beta: Only pre-release versions available (no stable x.0.0 yet)
• fresh: x.0.x - just released, avoid
• early: x.1.x - early adopter territory
• stable: x.2.x - stabilizing, okay to plan
• mature: x.3.x+ - battle-tested, safe to upgrade

Urgency (based on current version status, NOT new version existence):

• critical: Known security vulnerability in current version
• high: Current version deprecated/EOL/no longer receiving patches
• medium: Current version in maintenance mode (security only)
• low: Current version still actively supported

Difficulty:

• trivial: Drop-in replacement, no code changes
• easy: Config/import changes only
• moderate: Some code changes required
• hard: Significant refactor needed
• major: Full migration/rewrite

Important

• Skip minor/patch updates - the audit script handles those
• Always check maturity before recommending an upgrade
• "Latest exists" ≠ "should upgrade" - new majors need time to stabilize
• Preserve existing entries - update status, don't remove previous decisions
• Check release dates - a 5.0.1 from last week is very different from 5.0.1 from 6 months ago