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.
View on GitHubFebruary 1, 2026
Select agents to install to:
npx add-skill https://github.com/secondsky/claude-skills/blob/main/plugins/dependency-upgrade/skills/dependency-upgrade/SKILL.md -a claude-code --skill dependency-upgradeInstallation paths:
.claude/skills/dependency-upgrade/# Dependency Upgrade
Master major dependency version upgrades, compatibility analysis, staged upgrade strategies, and comprehensive testing approaches.
## When to Use This Skill
- 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 (Prefer Bun)
```bash
# Preferred: Bun
bun outdated
bun audit
# npm
npm outdated
npm audit
npm audit fix
# yarn
yarn outdated
yarn audit
# Check for major updates
bunx npm-check-updates
bunx 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
bunx 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 MIG