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dependency-upgrade

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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.

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claude-skills

secondsky/claude-skills

Plugin

dependency-upgrade

tooling

Repository

secondsky/claude-skills
28stars

plugins/dependency-upgrade/skills/dependency-upgrade/SKILL.md

Last Verified

January 24, 2026

Install Skill

Select agents to install to:

Scope:
npx add-skill https://github.com/secondsky/claude-skills/blob/main/plugins/dependency-upgrade/skills/dependency-upgrade/SKILL.md -a claude-code --skill dependency-upgrade

Installation paths:

Claude
.claude/skills/dependency-upgrade/
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Instructions

# 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bun outdated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npm outdated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yarn outdated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

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