npm-outdated
Check for outdated packagesTable of contents
Synopsis
npm outdated [[<@scope>/]<pkg> ...]
Description
This command will check the registry to see if any (or, specific) installed packages are currently outdated.
In the output:
wantedis the maximum version of the package that satisfies the semver range specified inpackage.json. If there’s no available semver range (i.e. you’re runningnpm outdated --global, or the package isn’t included inpackage.json), thenwantedshows the currently-installed version.latestis the version of the package tagged as latest in the registry. Runningnpm publishwith no special configuration will publish the package with a dist-tag oflatest. This may or may not be the maximum version of the package, or the most-recently published version of the package, depending on how the package’s developer manages the latest dist-tag.locationis where in the dependency tree the package is located. Note thatnpm outdateddefaults to a depth of 0, so unless you override that, you’ll always be seeing only top-level dependencies that are outdated.package type(when using--long/-l) tells you whether this package is adependencyor adevDependency. Packages not included inpackage.jsonare always markeddependencies.homepage(when using--long/-l) is thehomepagevalue contained in the package’spackage.json- Red means there’s a newer version matching your semver requirements, so you should update now.
- Yellow indicates that there’s a newer version above your semver requirements (usually new major, or new 0.x minor) so proceed with caution.
An example
$ npm outdated
Package Current Wanted Latest Location
glob 5.0.15 5.0.15 6.0.1 test-outdated-output
nothingness 0.0.3 git git test-outdated-output
npm 3.5.1 3.5.2 3.5.1 test-outdated-output
local-dev 0.0.3 linked linked test-outdated-output
once 1.3.2 1.3.3 1.3.3 test-outdated-output
With these dependencies:
{
"glob": "^5.0.15",
"nothingness": "github:othiym23/nothingness#master",
"npm": "^3.5.1",
"once": "^1.3.1"
}
A few things to note:
globrequires^5, which prevents npm from installingglob@6, which is outside the semver range.- Git dependencies will always be reinstalled, because of how they’re specified.
The installed committish might satisfy the dependency specifier (if it’s
something immutable, like a commit SHA), or it might not, so
npm outdatedandnpm updatehave to fetch Git repos to check. This is why currently doing a reinstall of a Git dependency always forces a new clone and install. npm@3.5.2is marked as “wanted”, but “latest” isnpm@3.5.1because npm uses dist-tags to manage itslatestandnextrelease channels.npm updatewill install the newest version, butnpm install npm(with no semver range) will install whatever’s tagged aslatest.onceis just plain out of date. Reinstallingnode_modulesfrom scratch or runningnpm updatewill bring it up to spec.
Configuration
json
- Default: false
- Type: Boolean
Show information in JSON format.
long
- Default: false
- Type: Boolean
Show extended information.
parseable
- Default: false
- Type: Boolean
Show parseable output instead of tree view.
global
- Default: false
- Type: Boolean
Check packages in the global install prefix instead of in the current project.
depth
- Default: 0
- Type: Int
Max depth for checking dependency tree.