check-dependency-version-consistency

check-dependency-version-consistency

This CLI tool enforces the following aspects of consistency across a monorepo with npm / pnpm / Yarn workspaces:

• Dependencies are on consistent versions. For example, every package in a workspace that has a dependency on eslint should specify the same version for it.
• Dependencies on local packages use the local packages directly instead of older versions of them. For example, if one package package1 in a workspace depends on another package package2 in the workspace, package1 should request the current version of package2.

Motivation

• Supports a uniform developer experience. Like shared code formatting standards, consistent dependency versions reduce friction and make it easier for developers to jump around and work across packages in a monorepo.
• Discourages piecemeal upgrades. When possible, a dependency should be upgraded everywhere it exists in a monorepo at the same time. Upgrades are also simpler and easier to perform when fewer versions are present.
• Reduces unexpected behavior. Having old versions present can lead to confusion, e.g., a bug present in some parts of a monorepo but not others, or uncertainty about which version wins out when served to the browser.
• Cuts down on bundle size. Avoid serving excess dependency code to the browser.
• Saves disk space and installation time. Faster local development and CI.

Usage

To install:

yarn add --dev check-dependency-version-consistency

To run, use this command and optionally pass the path to the workspace root (where the package.json file containing workspaces or pnpm-workspace.yaml is located):

yarn check-dependency-version-consistency .

If there are no inconsistencies, the program will exit with success.

If there are any inconsistencies, the program will exit with failure and output the mismatching versions.

Example

package.json (workspace root):

{
  "workspaces": ["*"],
  "scripts": {
    "lint": "npm-run-all --continue-on-error --aggregate-output --parallel \"lint:*\"",
    "lint:dependency-versions": "check-dependency-version-consistency .",
    "lint:dependency-versions:fix": "npm-run-all \"lint:dependency-versions --fix\""
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "check-dependency-version-consistency": "*",
    "npm-run-all": "*"
  }
}

package1/package.json:

{
  "name": "package1",
  "devDependencies": {
    "eslint": "^8.0.0"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "package2": "^0.0.0"
  }
}

package2/package.json:

{
  "name": "package2",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "devDependencies": {
    "eslint": "^7.0.0"
  }
}

package3/package.json:

{
  "name": "package3",
  "devDependencies": {
    "eslint": "^7.0.0"
  }
}

Output:

Found 2 dependencies with mismatching versions across the workspace. Fix with `--fix`.
╔════════╤════════╤════════════════════╗
║ eslint │ Usages │ Packages           ║
╟────────┼────────┼────────────────────╢
║ ^8.0.0 │ 1      │ package1           ║
╟────────┼────────┼────────────────────╢
║ ^7.0.0 │ 2      │ package2, package3 ║
╚════════╧════════╧════════════════════╝
╔══════════╤════════╤══════════╗
║ package2 │ Usages │ Packages ║
╟──────────┼────────┼──────────╢
║ 1.0.0    │ 1      │ package2 ║
╟──────────┼────────┼──────────╢
║ ^0.0.0   │ 1      │ package1 ║
╚══════════╧════════╧══════════╝

Options

These options are available on the CLI and as parameters to the Node API.

Name	Description
--dep-type	Type of dependency to check (dependencies, devDependencies, optionalDependencies, peerDependencies (optional), resolutions) (default: dependencies, devDependencies, optionalDependencies, resolutions) (option can be repeated).
--fix	Whether to autofix inconsistencies (using latest version present).
--ignore-dep	Dependency to ignore mismatches for (option can be repeated).
--ignore-dep-pattern	RegExp of dependency names to ignore mismatches for (option can be repeated).
--ignore-package	Workspace package to ignore mismatches for (option can be repeated).
--ignore-package-pattern	RegExp of package names to ignore mismatches for (option can be repeated).
--ignore-path	Workspace-relative path of packages to ignore mismatches for (option can be repeated).
--ignore-path-pattern	RegExp of workspace-relative path of packages to ignore mismatches for (option can be repeated).

Node API

import { CDVC } from 'check-dependency-version-consistency';

const cdvc = new CDVC(path, options);

const result = cdvc.getDependency('eslint');

// Result could look like this:
const result = {
  isFixable: true,
  isMismatching: true,
  name: 'eslint',
  versions: [
    {
      packages: [{ pathRelative: 'packages/package1' }, { pathRelative: 'packages/package2' }],
      version: '^7.0.0',
    },
    {
      packages: [{ pathRelative: 'packages/package3' }],
      version: '^8.0.0',
    },
  ],
};

CDVC Class Constructor Parameter	Type	Description
path	string	Path to the workspace root (where the package.json file containing workspaces or pnpm-workspace.yaml is located).
options	object	See Options.

CDVC Class Member	Description
getDependencies()	Returns an array of all dependencies in the workspace.
getDependency(name: string)	Returns an object with information about an individual dependency.
hasMismatchingDependenciesFixable	true if there are any dependencies with mismatching versions that are autofixable.
hasMismatchingDependenciesNotFixable	true if there are any dependencies with mismatching versions that are not autofixable.
hasMismatchingDependencies	true if there are any dependencies with mismatching versions.
toFixedSummary()	Returns a string summary of the mismatching dependency versions that were fixed (if the fix option was specified).
toMismatchSummary()	Returns a string of human-readable tables describing the mismatching dependency versions.

Dependency Object Property	Description
isFixable	true if the mismatching versions of this dependency are autofixable.
isMismatching	true if there are multiple versions of this dependency.
name	The dependency's name.
versions	A list of the versions present of this dependency and the packages each is found in, in the form of: { version: string, packages: { pathRelative: string }[] }.

See lib/cli.ts for an example of how to use it.

Related

• npm-package-json-lint — use this complementary tool to enforce that your dependency versions use consistent range types (i.e. prefer-caret-version-dependencies, prefer-caret-version-devDependencies)
• Yarn Constraints - experimental built-in Yarn feature that can perform many workspace consistency checks

References

• npm workspaces
• pnpm workspaces
• Yarn workspaces

Changelog

5.0.1 (2025-06-22)

Bug Fixes

• no-op for testing release-please (#850) (bfdb500)