Review Dep Upgrade

Review Dependency Upgrades

Workflow

1. Identify the comparison range.

   • If the user gives refs, use them.
   • If not, inspect git status --short and git diff -- package.json '**/package.json'.
   • For clean worktrees, ask for the base/head refs unless the conversation already provides enough version pairs.

2. Collect direct dependency upgrades.

   • Run the helper script (see Helper Script below); it emits JSON sorted by largest release gap.
   • The script covers dependencies, devDependencies, peerDependencies, and optionalDependencies, skips workspace-internal packages, and dedupes by name/version pair.
   • Do not include transitive-only package-lock.json churn unless the user explicitly asks for it.
   • Mention added or removed direct dependencies separately only when they explain a repo-impact change.

3. Sanity-check the dates.

   • If any entry has "lookupError": true, the npm view call failed for that package (the script also exits non-zero and prints the failure to stderr). Treat this as a tooling problem: request escalation for npm registry access and re-run before presenting the report — do not ship a report with lookupError entries.
   • If a date is null without lookupError, that specific version is missing from npm's time data — it may have been unpublished or renamed. Call it out in the report.
   • Keep negative or same-day release gaps in the report, but call them out briefly.

4. Add analysis.

   • Notable changes: only upstream changes likely to matter for this repo or the upgrade risk. Prefer official changelogs, migration guides, release notes, or docs. Avoid irrelevant metadata trivia.
   • Repo impact: concrete local files, config changes, test fixes, build/lint failures, or None observed.
   • Mark uncertainty explicitly instead of overstating causes.

5. Verify claims.

   • Run relevant repo commands when practical, especially tests/build/lint/type-check if discussing required changes.
   • Use verification results to inform Repo impact.

Output

Produce a Markdown section for each dependency, sorted by largest positive release gap first:

### `dependency` — `previous` (YYYY-MM-DD) → `current` (YYYY-MM-DD)

- **Release gap:** 3y 5mo
- **Notable changes:** TODO
- **Repo impact:** TODO

Guidelines:

• Use backticks around package names and versions.
• Use YYYY-MM-DD for release dates (slice the script's ISO timestamps).
• Use the script's releaseGap string verbatim (compact forms like 3y 5mo, 54d 1h).
• If a date is null, omit the parens for that version.
• Fill in Notable changes and Repo impact for every entry before presenting the report.
• Notable changes and Repo impact may be multiple sentences when needed for important context.
• Use None observed. for repo impact when there is nothing concrete.
• End with a ### Sources section when upstream summaries depend on browsed pages.

Helper Script

Run from the repo root:

node .agents/skills/review-dep-upgrade/scripts/collect-dep-upgrades.mjs --base HEAD~1 --head HEAD

Defaults: --base HEAD~1, --head worktree. Options:

• --base <ref>: git ref for previous versions.
• --head <ref>: git ref for current versions. Use worktree for current files on disk.

Emits a JSON array of direct dependency upgrades, sorted by largest release gap, with workspace-internal packages filtered out. Example entry:

{
  "dependency": "ts-loader",
  "previousVersion": "9.5.4",
  "previousDate": "2025-08-24T08:06:29.241Z",
  "currentVersion": "9.5.7",
  "currentDate": "2026-04-02T07:49:53.845Z",
  "releaseGap": "7mo 10d",
  "releaseGapMs": 19093404604
}

If npm view fails for a package, its entries gain "lookupError": true, the failure is logged to stderr, and the script exits non-zero. Render the Markdown report (see Output) from this data and fill in Notable changes and Repo impact.

Source: react-cosmos/react-cosmos — distributed by TomeVault.