pkGUI

package.json online update tool

This tool analyzes the versions of the dependencies in the package.json file and it provides updates to the major version.

We do not store any data from your package.json. We only access the module names in order to retrieve the version history via the npm API.

your updated package.json

copy it to your enverinment and run npm i

Other ways to update npm dependencies via the console

There are several ways to update npm dependencies (please note that these methods can only perform updates up to the minor version):

  • npm update: Updates all dependencies in a project.
  • npm update <package-name>: Updates a specific dependency.
  • npm outdated: Displays which dependencies are outdated.
  • npm install <package-name>@<version>: Installs a specific version of a dependency.
  • npm install: Installs the latest version of all dependencies as specified in the package.json file.
  • npm-check-updates: A useful tool for automatically updating outdated dependencies.

It is important to regularly update dependencies to avoid security issues and improve project performance. However, before updating, always check if the new versions of dependencies are compatible with your project.

npm update

When you run npm update, npm automatically updates all dependencies in your project to the latest available version within the version constraints specified in the package.json file. This means that npm looks for new versions of the dependencies you are using in your project and attempts to update them automatically, if possible.

If there is a new version of a dependency that falls within the specified version constraints, npm automatically updates it in both the package.json file and your node_modules folder. If there are no new versions available, or if the latest versions are outside the specified version constraints, the dependency remains unchanged.

It is important to note that npm update updates dependencies in a minor version, which means it only updates the last digit in the version number (e.g. 1.2.3 -> 1.2.4), and not the major or minor version (e.g. 1.2.3 -> 2.0.0). If you want to update the major or minor version, you will need to do this manually in the package.json file and then run npm install to update the dependencies.

npm outdated

npm outdated shows which dependencies are outdated. When you run this command, npm looks for all dependencies in your project and compares them with the latest available versions in the npm repositories. If an outdated dependency is found, npm outputs information about the current version, installed version, and latest available version.

The output of npm outdated is typically structured as follows:


Package                Current   Wanted    Latest    Location

<package-name-1>       <version> <version> <version> <path>
<package-name-2>       <version> <version> <version> <path>
...
<package-name-n>       <version> <version> <version> <path>

Package is the name of the dependency, Current is the currently installed version, Wanted is the version specified in the package.json file, and Latest is the latest available version of the dependency.

If Wanted and Latest are different, it means that a newer version is available. In this case, you can run npm update <package-name> to update this dependency.

npm-check-updates

npm-check-updates needs to be installed separately in order to use it. However, you can install it globally using the command npm install -g npm-check-updates to use it system-wide.

Once installed, you can run the tool by simply typing ncu or npm-check-updates in the command line. The tool will then analyze your package.json file and create a list of outdated dependencies.

It is also possible to install npm-check-updates locally in a project by running the command npm install --save-dev npm-check-updates. This way, you can run the tool in the context of the project without needing to install it globally on your system.

npm-check-updates is a tool that allows you to automatically find the latest versions of your dependencies and update your package.json file. When you run this tool, it will analyze your package.json file and create a list of outdated dependencies with the latest available versions.

The tool also gives you the option to automatically generate an updated package.json file that includes the latest versions of your dependencies. If you select this option, your existing package.json file will be overwritten and the latest versions of your dependencies will be installed.

However, it is important to note that updating dependencies also carries risks. New versions of dependencies can bring incompatibilities or other issues that can lead to errors in your project. Therefore, you should always check whether the latest versions of your dependencies are compatible with your project and whether they do not cause any security issues.

By default, npm-check-updates only updates the minor versions of dependencies in your package.json file. This means it only updates the versions that are in the third place of the version number. For example, npm-check-updates would update version 1.2.3 to 1.2.4, but not to 2.0.0.

However, if you want to update the major version of your dependencies, you can use the --upgradeAll or -u flag. This command updates all dependencies to the latest version, including the major versions. For example, the command ncu -u would update version 1.2.3 to 2.0.0.