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ai-deps skill

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This skill analyzes your package.json to locate unused and outdated dependencies, helping you declutter and secure your project.

npx playbooks add skill openclaw/skills --skill ai-deps

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SKILL.md

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---
name: deps-analyzer
description: Find unused and outdated dependencies. Use when your package.json is a mess.
---

# Deps Analyzer

Your package.json has 87 dependencies and you use maybe 40 of them. This tool finds the dead weight and tells you what to do about it.

**One command. Zero config. Just works.**

## Quick Start

```bash
npx ai-deps
```

## What It Does

- Finds unused dependencies you can remove
- Flags outdated packages with security issues
- Explains what each problematic dependency does
- Can auto-fix by removing unused deps

## Usage Examples

```bash
# Audit current project
npx ai-deps

# Auto-remove unused deps
npx ai-deps --fix

# Check a specific directory
npx ai-deps --dir ./my-project
```

## Best Practices

- **Run before major updates** - clean slate before upgrading
- **Check devDependencies too** - test tools get stale
- **Review before fixing** - some deps are used dynamically
- **Update lockfile after** - run npm install after removals

## When to Use This

- Your install is taking forever
- Bundle size is way too big
- npm audit has 47 warnings
- You inherited a project with mystery deps

## Part of the LXGIC Dev Toolkit

This is one of 110+ free developer tools built by LXGIC Studios. No paywalls, no sign-ups, no API keys on free tiers. Just tools that work.

**Find more:**
- GitHub: https://github.com/LXGIC-Studios
- Twitter: https://x.com/lxgicstudios
- Substack: https://lxgicstudios.substack.com
- Website: https://lxgicstudios.com

## Requirements

No install needed. Just run with npx. Node.js 18+ recommended. Needs OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable.

```bash
npx ai-deps --help
```

## How It Works

Runs depcheck to find unused dependencies and npm outdated to find stale ones. Sends the results to GPT-4o-mini for analysis, which explains each issue and prioritizes what to fix first.

## License

MIT. Free forever. Use it however you want.

---

**Built by LXGIC Studios**

- GitHub: [github.com/lxgicstudios/ai-deps](https://github.com/lxgicstudios/ai-deps)
- Twitter: [@lxgicstudios](https://x.com/lxgicstudios)

Overview

This skill finds unused and outdated JavaScript dependencies and guides you on how to clean them up. It runs with one command and requires zero configuration, producing human-readable recommendations and optional auto-fixes. It’s ideal when package.json has grown noisy or your install times and bundle size have ballooned.

How this skill works

The tool combines depcheck to detect unused dependencies and npm outdated to spot stale packages, then sends findings to a large language model for prioritized, practical guidance. It explains what each problematic dependency does, highlights security concerns, and offers an optional --fix mode to remove clearly unused packages. Works locally with npx and recommends updating the lockfile after changes.

When to use it

Before a major dependency upgrade to minimize risk and noise
When install or CI times are slow due to many dependencies
If your bundle size or node_modules footprint is unexpectedly large
When npm audit reports many warnings or security issues
After inheriting a project with unclear or outdated deps

Best practices

Run the analyzer interactively before applying fixes to review dynamic or conditional usage
Include devDependencies in audits, especially for test and build tooling
Backup or commit current package.json and lockfile before auto-removal
Run npm install (or yarn) to regenerate the lockfile after removals
Use the tool as part of regular maintenance, not only during emergencies

Example use cases

Quickly removing unused packages from a large monorepo subproject
Flagging and prioritizing upgrades for dependencies with known vulnerabilities
Auditing CI cache and install time issues by trimming unnecessary installs
Cleaning up test and dev tooling before a release
Assessing a third-party project you forked to decide what to keep

FAQ

Do I need to install anything permanently?

No. The analyzer runs via npx and requires Node.js 18+; no global install is necessary.

Can it automatically remove dependencies?

Yes — use the --fix flag to auto-remove clearly unused deps, but review changes first because dynamic imports can appear as false positives.