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dependency-upgrade skill

/skills/dependency-upgrade

This skill guides major dependency upgrades with compatibility analysis, staged rollout, and thorough testing, reducing risk and ensuring smooth modernization.

This is most likely a fork of the dependency-upgrade skill from xfstudio
npx playbooks add skill sickn33/antigravity-awesome-skills --skill dependency-upgrade

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

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SKILL.md
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---
name: dependency-upgrade
description: Manage major dependency version upgrades with compatibility analysis, staged rollout, and comprehensive testing. Use when upgrading framework versions, updating major dependencies, or managing breaking changes in libraries.
---

# Dependency Upgrade

Master major dependency version upgrades, compatibility analysis, staged upgrade strategies, and comprehensive testing approaches.

## Do not use this skill when

- The task is unrelated to dependency upgrade
- You need a different domain or tool outside this scope

## Instructions

- Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.
- Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.
- Provide actionable steps and verification.
- If detailed examples are required, open `resources/implementation-playbook.md`.

## Use this skill when

- Upgrading major framework versions
- Updating security-vulnerable dependencies
- Modernizing legacy dependencies
- Resolving dependency conflicts
- Planning incremental upgrade paths
- Testing compatibility matrices
- Automating dependency updates

## Semantic Versioning Review

```
MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH (e.g., 2.3.1)

MAJOR: Breaking changes
MINOR: New features, backward compatible
PATCH: Bug fixes, backward compatible

^2.3.1 = >=2.3.1 <3.0.0 (minor updates)
~2.3.1 = >=2.3.1 <2.4.0 (patch updates)
2.3.1 = exact version
```

## Dependency Analysis

### Audit Dependencies
```bash
# npm
npm outdated
npm audit
npm audit fix

# yarn
yarn outdated
yarn audit

# Check for major updates
npx npm-check-updates
npx npm-check-updates -u  # Update package.json
```

### Analyze Dependency Tree
```bash
# See why a package is installed
npm ls package-name
yarn why package-name

# Find duplicate packages
npm dedupe
yarn dedupe

# Visualize dependencies
npx madge --image graph.png src/
```

## Compatibility Matrix

```javascript
// compatibility-matrix.js
const compatibilityMatrix = {
  'react': {
    '16.x': {
      'react-dom': '^16.0.0',
      'react-router-dom': '^5.0.0',
      '@testing-library/react': '^11.0.0'
    },
    '17.x': {
      'react-dom': '^17.0.0',
      'react-router-dom': '^5.0.0 || ^6.0.0',
      '@testing-library/react': '^12.0.0'
    },
    '18.x': {
      'react-dom': '^18.0.0',
      'react-router-dom': '^6.0.0',
      '@testing-library/react': '^13.0.0'
    }
  }
};

function checkCompatibility(packages) {
  // Validate package versions against matrix
}
```

## Staged Upgrade Strategy

### Phase 1: Planning
```bash
# 1. Identify current versions
npm list --depth=0

# 2. Check for breaking changes
# Read CHANGELOG.md and MIGRATION.md

# 3. Create upgrade plan
echo "Upgrade order:
1. TypeScript
2. React
3. React Router
4. Testing libraries
5. Build tools" > UPGRADE_PLAN.md
```

### Phase 2: Incremental Updates
```bash
# Don't upgrade everything at once!

# Step 1: Update TypeScript
npm install typescript@latest

# Test
npm run test
npm run build

# Step 2: Update React (one major version at a time)
npm install react@17 react-dom@17

# Test again
npm run test

# Step 3: Continue with other packages
npm install react-router-dom@6

# And so on...
```

### Phase 3: Validation
```javascript
// tests/compatibility.test.js
describe('Dependency Compatibility', () => {
  it('should have compatible React versions', () => {
    const reactVersion = require('react/package.json').version;
    const reactDomVersion = require('react-dom/package.json').version;

    expect(reactVersion).toBe(reactDomVersion);
  });

  it('should not have peer dependency warnings', () => {
    // Run npm ls and check for warnings
  });
});
```

## Breaking Change Handling

### Identifying Breaking Changes
```bash
# Use changelog parsers
npx changelog-parser react 16.0.0 17.0.0

# Or manually check
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/facebook/react/main/CHANGELOG.md
```

### Codemod for Automated Fixes
```bash
# React upgrade codemods
npx react-codeshift <transform> <path>

# Example: Update lifecycle methods
npx react-codeshift \
  --parser tsx \
  --transform react-codeshift/transforms/rename-unsafe-lifecycles.js \
  src/
```

### Custom Migration Script
```javascript
// migration-script.js
const fs = require('fs');
const glob = require('glob');

glob('src/**/*.tsx', (err, files) => {
  files.forEach(file => {
    let content = fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf8');

    // Replace old API with new API
    content = content.replace(
      /componentWillMount/g,
      'UNSAFE_componentWillMount'
    );

    // Update imports
    content = content.replace(
      /import { Component } from 'react'/g,
      "import React, { Component } from 'react'"
    );

    fs.writeFileSync(file, content);
  });
});
```

## Testing Strategy

### Unit Tests
```javascript
// Ensure tests pass before and after upgrade
npm run test

// Update test utilities if needed
npm install @testing-library/react@latest
```

### Integration Tests
```javascript
// tests/integration/app.test.js
describe('App Integration', () => {
  it('should render without crashing', () => {
    render(<App />);
  });

  it('should handle navigation', () => {
    const { getByText } = render(<App />);
    fireEvent.click(getByText('Navigate'));
    expect(screen.getByText('New Page')).toBeInTheDocument();
  });
});
```

### Visual Regression Tests
```javascript
// visual-regression.test.js
describe('Visual Regression', () => {
  it('should match snapshot', () => {
    const { container } = render(<App />);
    expect(container.firstChild).toMatchSnapshot();
  });
});
```

### E2E Tests
```javascript
// cypress/e2e/app.cy.js
describe('E2E Tests', () => {
  it('should complete user flow', () => {
    cy.visit('/');
    cy.get('[data-testid="login"]').click();
    cy.get('input[name="email"]').type('[email protected]');
    cy.get('button[type="submit"]').click();
    cy.url().should('include', '/dashboard');
  });
});
```

## Automated Dependency Updates

### Renovate Configuration
```json
// renovate.json
{
  "extends": ["config:base"],
  "packageRules": [
    {
      "matchUpdateTypes": ["minor", "patch"],
      "automerge": true
    },
    {
      "matchUpdateTypes": ["major"],
      "automerge": false,
      "labels": ["major-update"]
    }
  ],
  "schedule": ["before 3am on Monday"],
  "timezone": "America/New_York"
}
```

### Dependabot Configuration
```yaml
# .github/dependabot.yml
version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    open-pull-requests-limit: 5
    reviewers:
      - "team-leads"
    commit-message:
      prefix: "chore"
      include: "scope"
```

## Rollback Plan

```javascript
// rollback.sh
#!/bin/bash

# Save current state
git stash
git checkout -b upgrade-branch

# Attempt upgrade
npm install package@latest

# Run tests
if npm run test; then
  echo "Upgrade successful"
  git add package.json package-lock.json
  git commit -m "chore: upgrade package"
else
  echo "Upgrade failed, rolling back"
  git checkout main
  git branch -D upgrade-branch
  npm install  # Restore from package-lock.json
fi
```

## Common Upgrade Patterns

### Lock File Management
```bash
# npm
npm install --package-lock-only  # Update lock file only
npm ci  # Clean install from lock file

# yarn
yarn install --frozen-lockfile  # CI mode
yarn upgrade-interactive  # Interactive upgrades
```

### Peer Dependency Resolution
```bash
# npm 7+: strict peer dependencies
npm install --legacy-peer-deps  # Ignore peer deps

# npm 8+: override peer dependencies
npm install --force
```

### Workspace Upgrades
```bash
# Update all workspace packages
npm install --workspaces

# Update specific workspace
npm install package@latest --workspace=packages/app
```

## Resources

- **references/semver.md**: Semantic versioning guide
- **references/compatibility-matrix.md**: Common compatibility issues
- **references/staged-upgrades.md**: Incremental upgrade strategies
- **references/testing-strategy.md**: Comprehensive testing approaches
- **assets/upgrade-checklist.md**: Step-by-step checklist
- **assets/compatibility-matrix.csv**: Version compatibility table
- **scripts/audit-dependencies.sh**: Dependency audit script

## Best Practices

1. **Read Changelogs**: Understand what changed
2. **Upgrade Incrementally**: One major version at a time
3. **Test Thoroughly**: Unit, integration, E2E tests
4. **Check Peer Dependencies**: Resolve conflicts early
5. **Use Lock Files**: Ensure reproducible installs
6. **Automate Updates**: Use Renovate or Dependabot
7. **Monitor**: Watch for runtime errors post-upgrade
8. **Document**: Keep upgrade notes

## Upgrade Checklist

```markdown
Pre-Upgrade:
- [ ] Review current dependency versions
- [ ] Read changelogs for breaking changes
- [ ] Create feature branch
- [ ] Backup current state (git tag)
- [ ] Run full test suite (baseline)

During Upgrade:
- [ ] Upgrade one dependency at a time
- [ ] Update peer dependencies
- [ ] Fix TypeScript errors
- [ ] Update tests if needed
- [ ] Run test suite after each upgrade
- [ ] Check bundle size impact

Post-Upgrade:
- [ ] Full regression testing
- [ ] Performance testing
- [ ] Update documentation
- [ ] Deploy to staging
- [ ] Monitor for errors
- [ ] Deploy to production
```

## Common Pitfalls

- Upgrading all dependencies at once
- Not testing after each upgrade
- Ignoring peer dependency warnings
- Forgetting to update lock file
- Not reading breaking change notes
- Skipping major versions
- Not having rollback plan

Overview

This skill manages major dependency version upgrades with compatibility analysis, staged rollouts, and comprehensive testing guidance. It helps plan incremental upgrades, identify breaking changes, automate safe updates, and validate results before production rollout. Use it to reduce upgrade risk and maintain stability during large dependency changes.

How this skill works

It inspects your dependency tree, semantic versioning constraints, and peer dependency relationships to build a compatibility matrix and an ordered upgrade plan. It recommends incremental upgrade phases, automations (Renovate/Dependabot), codemods or migration scripts for breaking changes, and a testing strategy that includes unit, integration, visual, and E2E tests. It also provides rollback and lock-file handling procedures to restore a known-good state if issues occur.

When to use it

  • Upgrading a framework major version (e.g., React, TypeScript)
  • Addressing security-vulnerable or deprecated dependencies
  • Resolving complex dependency conflicts or duplicate packages
  • Planning incremental upgrades across workspaces or monorepos
  • Automating dependency maintenance while preventing risky automerge

Best practices

  • Read changelogs and migration guides before changing versions
  • Upgrade incrementally: one major version or package at a time
  • Run a full test suite after each upgrade step and keep CI green
  • Resolve peer dependency warnings early and update lock files reliably
  • Automate safe updates (automerge minors/patches, review majors) and monitor runtime after deployment
  • Prepare a rollback plan and tag/backup current state before upgrades

Example use cases

  • Upgrade an app from React 16 → 18 while preserving router and test libs compatibility
  • Migrate a monorepo TypeScript baseline and validate across all packages with workspace-aware installs
  • Automate weekly minor/patch updates while routing major update PRs to team leads
  • Apply codemods to fix breaking API changes across thousands of source files
  • Introduce staged rollout: test in CI, deploy to staging, run E2E and visual regression, then canary to production

FAQ

How do I decide upgrade order for multiple major changes?

Prioritize low-level platform tools first (TypeScript, build tools), then frameworks (React), followed by routers and testing libraries. Verify each step with tests before proceeding.

What if peer dependency conflicts block installation?

Investigate the consumer/peer tree (npm ls / yarn why), align versions in the compatibility matrix, use overrides or temporary --legacy-peer-deps only as a last resort, and schedule coordinated upgrades for dependent packages.