dependency-tree

What is dependency-tree?

The dependency-tree npm package is used to generate a dependency tree for a given file or module. It helps in understanding the structure and dependencies of a project by analyzing the import/require statements.

What are dependency-tree's main functionalities?

Generate Dependency Tree

This feature allows you to generate a dependency tree for a specific file within a project. The `filename` parameter specifies the file for which the dependency tree is to be generated, and the `directory` parameter specifies the root directory of the project.

const dependencyTree = require('dependency-tree');
const tree = dependencyTree({
  filename: 'path/to/your/file.js',
  directory: 'path/to/your/project'
});
console.log(tree);

Circular Dependency Detection

This feature helps in detecting circular dependencies within a project. By converting the dependency tree to a list and checking for duplicates, you can identify if there are any circular dependencies.

const dependencyTree = require('dependency-tree');
const hasCircularDeps = dependencyTree.toList({
  filename: 'path/to/your/file.js',
  directory: 'path/to/your/project',
  filter: (path) => path.indexOf('node_modules') === -1
}).some((file, index, allFiles) => allFiles.indexOf(file) !== index);
console.log(hasCircularDeps ? 'Circular dependencies detected' : 'No circular dependencies');

Custom Dependency Filters

This feature allows you to apply custom filters to the dependency tree generation process. For example, you can exclude dependencies from `node_modules` by providing a filter function.

const dependencyTree = require('dependency-tree');
const tree = dependencyTree({
  filename: 'path/to/your/file.js',
  directory: 'path/to/your/project',
  filter: (path) => path.indexOf('node_modules') === -1
});
console.log(tree);

Other packages similar to dependency-tree

madge

Madge is a JavaScript library that provides similar functionality to dependency-tree, including generating dependency graphs and detecting circular dependencies. It also offers additional features like visualizing the dependency graph and supporting multiple module formats.

depcheck

Depcheck is a tool that helps you find unused dependencies in your project. While it does not generate a dependency tree, it provides insights into which dependencies are actually being used, which can complement the functionality of dependency-tree.

webpack

Webpack is a module bundler that also provides dependency analysis as part of its bundling process. It can generate dependency graphs and detect circular dependencies, but it is more focused on bundling and optimizing assets for web applications.

README

dependency-tree

Utilities for interacting with the dependency tree of a module

npm install dependency-tree

Usage

var treeUtils = require('dependency-tree');

Supported Utilities

getTreeAsList

Returns the entire dependency tree as a flat list of files for a given module. Basically, all files visited during traversal of the dependency-tree are returned.

• Works for AMD, CommonJS, ES6 modules and SASS files.

var getTreeAslist = require('dependency-tree').getTreeAsList;

getTreeAsList(filename, root, function(treeList) {
  console.log(treeList);
});

• filename: The file whose dependency tree to traverse
• root: The path to all of your JS files

Prints:

[
  '/a.js',
  '/b.js'
]

Shell version (assuming npm install -g dependency-tree):

tree-as-list filename root

Prints

/a.js
/b.js