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npm-check-updates

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Find newer versions of package dependencies than what your package.json allows

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# npm-check-updates

[![npm version](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/npm-check-updates)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/npm-check-updates)
[![Build Status](https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/raineorshine/npm-check-updates/test.yml?branch=main&label=tests&logo=github)](https://github.com/raineorshine/npm-check-updates/actions?query=workflow%3ATests+branch%3Amain)

**npm-check-updates upgrades your package.json dependencies to the _latest_ versions, ignoring specified versions.**

- maintains existing semantic versioning _policies_, i.e. `"react": "^18.3.1"` to `"react": "^19.2.7"`.
- _only_ modifies package.json file. Run `npm install` to update your installed packages and package-lock.json.
- sensible defaults, but highly customizable
- compatible with npm, yarn, pnpm, deno, and bun
- CLI and module usage
- Pure ESM, also usable from CommonJS via `require()`

$${\color{red}Red}$$ major upgrade (and all [major version zero](https://semver.org/#spec-item-4))<br/>
$${\color{cyan}Cyan}$$ minor upgrade<br/>
$${\color{green}Green}$$ patch upgrade<br/>

## Requirements

- **Node.js:** `^22.22.2 || ^24.15.0 || >=26.0.0`
- **npm:** `>=10.0.0`

## Installation

Install globally to use `npm-check-updates` or the shorter `ncu`:

```sh
npm install -g npm-check-updates
```

Or run with [npx](https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v7/commands/npx) (only the long form is supported):

```sh
npx npm-check-updates
```

## Usage

Check the latest versions of all project dependencies:

```console
$ ncu
Checking package.json
[====================] 5/5 100%

eslint             7.32.0  →    8.0.0
 prettier           ^2.7.1  →   ^3.0.0
 svelte            ^3.48.0  →  ^3.51.0
 typescript         >3.0.0  →   >4.0.0
 untildify          <4.0.0  →   ^4.0.0
 webpack               4.x  →      5.x

Run ncu -u to upgrade package.json
```

Upgrade a project's package file:

> **Make sure your package file is in version control and all changes have been committed. This _will_ overwrite your package file.**

```console
$ ncu -u
Upgrading package.json
[====================] 1/1 100%

express           4.12.x  →   4.13.x

Run npm install to install new versions.

$ npm install      # update installed packages and package-lock.json
```

Check global packages:

```sh
ncu -g
```

## Interactive Mode

Choose which packages to update in interactive mode:

```sh
ncu --interactive
ncu -i
```

![ncu --interactive](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/750276/175337598-cdbb2c46-64f8-44f5-b54e-4ad74d7b52b4.png)

Combine with `--format group` for a truly _luxe_ experience:

![ncu --interactive --format group](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/750276/175336533-539261e4-5cf1-458f-9fbb-a7be2b477ebb.png)

### Keys

- <kbd>↑</kbd><kbd>↓</kbd> Select a package
- <kbd>Space</kbd> Toggle selection
- <kbd>a</kbd> Toggle all
- <kbd>Enter</kbd> Upgrade

## Filter packages

Filter packages using the `--filter` option or adding additional cli arguments:

```sh
# upgrade only mocha
ncu mocha
ncu -f mocha
ncu --filter mocha

# upgrade only chalk, mocha, and react
ncu chalk mocha react
ncu chalk, mocha, react
ncu -f "chalk mocha react"
```

Filter with wildcards or regex:

```sh
# upgrade packages that start with "react-"
ncu react-*
ncu "/^react-.*$/"
```

Exclude specific packages with the `--reject` option or prefixing a filter with `!`. Supports strings, wildcards, globs, comma-or-space-delimited lists, and regex:

```sh
# upgrade everything except nodemon
ncu \!nodemon
ncu -x nodemon
ncu --reject nodemon

# upgrade packages that do not start with "react-".
ncu \!react-*
ncu '/^(?!react-).*$/' # mac/linux
ncu "/^(?!react-).*$/" # windows
```

Advanced filters: [filter](#filter), [filterResults](#filterresults), [filterVersion](#filterversion)

## How dependency updates are determined

- Direct dependencies are updated to the latest stable version:
  - `2.0.1` → `2.2.0`
  - `1.2` → `1.3`
  - `0.1.0` → `1.0.1`
- Range operators are preserved and the version is updated:
  - `^1.2.0` → `^2.0.0`
  - `1.x` → `2.x`
  - `>0.2.0` → `>0.3.0`
- "Less than" is replaced with a wildcard:
  - `<2.0.0` → `^3.0.0`
  - `1.0.0 < 2.0.0` → `^3.0.0`
- "Any version" is preserved:
  - `*` → `*`
- Prerelease versions are ignored by default.
  - Use `--pre` to include prerelease versions (e.g. `alpha`, `beta`, `build1235`)
- Choose what level to upgrade to:
  - With `--target semver`, update according to your specified [semver](https://semver.org/) version ranges:
    - `^1.1.0` → `^1.9.99`
    - An explicit upper bound is respected and preserved, so the upgrade never exceeds it:
      - `^9.5.0 <10` → `^9.7.0 <10`
  - With `--target minor`, strictly update the patch and minor versions (including major version zero):
    - `0.1.0` → `0.2.1`
  - With `--target patch`, strictly update the patch version (including major version zero):
    - `0.1.0` → `0.1.2`
  - With `--target @next`, update to the version published on the `next` tag:
    - `0.1.0` -> `0.1.1-next.1`

## Options

Options are merged with the following precedence:

1. Command line options
2. Local [Config File](#config-file) (current working directory)
3. Project Config File (next to package.json)
4. User Config File (`$HOME`)

Options that take no arguments can be negated by prefixing them with `--no-`, e.g. `--no-peer`.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td>--cache</td>
    <td>Cache versions to a local cache file. Default <code>--cacheFile</code> is <code>~/.ncu-cache.json</code> and default <code>--cacheExpiration</code> is 10 minutes.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--cacheClear</td>
    <td>Clear the default cache, or the cache file specified by <code>--cacheFile</code>.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--cacheExpiration &lt;min&gt;</td>
    <td>Cache expiration in minutes. Only works with <code>--cache</code>. (default: <code>10</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--cacheFile &lt;path&gt;</td>
    <td>Filepath for the cache file. Only works with <code>--cache</code>. (default: <code>"~/.ncu-cache.json"</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--color</td>
    <td>Force color in terminal.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--concurrency &lt;n&gt;</td>
    <td>Max number of concurrent HTTP requests to registry. (default: <code>8</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--configFileName &lt;s&gt;</td>
    <td>Config file name. (default: .ncurc or .ncurc.{json,yaml,yml,js,mjs,cjs})</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--configFilePath &lt;path&gt;</td>
    <td>Directory of .ncurc config file. (default: directory of <code>packageFile</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#cooldown">-c, --cooldown &lt;period&gt;</a></td>
    <td>Sets a minimum age for package versions to be considered for upgrade. Accepts a number (days) or a string with a unit: "7d" (days), "12h" (hours), "30m" (minutes). Reduces the risk of installing newly published, potentially compromised packages.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--cwd &lt;path&gt;</td>
    <td>Working directory in which npm will be executed.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--deep</td>
    <td>Run recursively in current working directory. Alias of (<code>--packageFile '**/package.json'</code>).</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--dep &lt;value&gt;</td>
    <td>Check one or more sections of dependencies only: dev, optional, peer, prod, or packageManager (comma-delimited). (default: <code>["prod","dev","optional","packageManager"]</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--deprecated</td>
    <td>Include deprecated packages. Use <code>--no-deprecated</code> to exclude deprecated packages (20–25% slower). (default: <code>true</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#doctor">-d, --doctor</a></td>
    <td>Iteratively installs upgrades and runs tests to identify breaking upgrades. Requires <code>-u</code> to execute.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--doctorInstall &lt;command&gt;</td>
    <td>Specifies the install script to use in doctor mode. (default: <code>npm install</code> or the equivalent for your package manager)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--doctorTest &lt;command&gt;</td>
    <td>Specifies the test script to use in doctor mode. (default: <code>npm test</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--enginesNode</td>
    <td>Include only packages that satisfy engines.node as specified in the package file.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>-e, --errorLevel &lt;n&gt;</td>
    <td>Set the error level. 1: exits with error code 0 if no errors occur. 2: exits with error code 0 if no packages need updating (useful for continuous integration). (default: <code>1</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#filter">-f, --filter &lt;p&gt;</a></td>
    <td>Include only package names matching the given string, wildcard, glob, comma-or-space-delimited list, /regex/, or predicate function.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#filterresults">filterResults &lt;fn&gt;</a></td>
    <td>Filters results based on a user provided predicate function after fetching new versions.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#filterversion">--filterVersion &lt;p&gt;</a></td>
    <td>Filter on package version using comma-or-space-delimited list or /regex/.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#format">--format &lt;value&gt;</a></td>
    <td>Modify the output formatting or show additional information. Specify one or more comma-delimited values: dep, group, ownerChanged, repo, time, lines, installedVersion, cooldown. <code>group</code> is the only value included by default; use <code>--format no-group</code> to disable it. (default: <code>["group"]</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>-g, --global</td>
    <td>Check global packages instead of in the current project.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#groupfunction">groupFunction &lt;fn&gt;</a></td>
    <td>Customize how packages are divided into groups when using <code>--format group</code>.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#install">--install &lt;value&gt;</a></td>
    <td>Control the auto-install behavior: always, never, prompt. (default: <code>"prompt"</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>-i, --interactive</td>
    <td>Enable interactive prompts for each dependency; implies <code>-u</code> unless one of the json options are set.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>-j, --jsonAll</td>
    <td>Output new package file instead of human-readable message.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--jsonDeps</td>
    <td>Like <code>jsonAll</code> but only lists <code>dependencies</code>, <code>devDependencies</code>, <code>optionalDependencies</code>, etc of the new package data.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--jsonUpgraded</td>
    <td>Output upgraded dependencies in json.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>-l, --loglevel &lt;n&gt;</td>
    <td>Amount to log: silent, error, minimal, warn, info, verbose, silly. (default: <code>"warn"</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--mergeConfig</td>
    <td>Merges nested configs with the root config file for <code>--deep</code> or <code>--packageFile</code> options. (default: false)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>-m, --minimal</td>
    <td>Do not upgrade newer versions that are already satisfied by the version range according to semver.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--packageData &lt;value&gt;</td>
    <td>Package file data (you can also use stdin).</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--packageFile &lt;path|glob&gt;</td>
    <td>Package file(s) location. (default: ./package.json)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#packagemanager">-p, --packageManager &lt;s&gt;</a></td>
    <td>npm, yarn, pnpm, deno, bun, staticRegistry (default: npm).</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#peer">--peer</a></td>
    <td>Check peer dependencies of installed packages and filter updates to compatible versions.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--pre &lt;n&gt;</td>
    <td>Include prerelease versions, e.g. -alpha.0, -beta.5, -rc.2. Automatically set to 1 when <code>--target</code> is newest or greatest, or when the current version is a prerelease. (default: 0)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--prefix &lt;path&gt;</td>
    <td>Current working directory of npm.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>-r, --registry &lt;uri&gt;</td>
    <td>Specify the registry to use when looking up package versions.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#registrytype">--registryType &lt;type&gt;</a></td>
    <td>Specify whether --registry refers to a full npm registry or a simple JSON file or url: npm, json. (default: npm)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#reject">-x, --reject &lt;p&gt;</a></td>
    <td>Exclude packages matching the given string, wildcard, glob, comma-or-space-delimited list, /regex/, or predicate function.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#rejectversion">--rejectVersion &lt;p&gt;</a></td>
    <td>Exclude package.json versions using comma-or-space-delimited list or /regex/.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--removeRange</td>
    <td>Remove version ranges from the final package version.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--retry &lt;n&gt;</td>
    <td>Number of times to retry failed requests for package info. (default: <code>3</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--root</td>
    <td>Runs updates on the root project in addition to specified workspaces. Only allowed with <code>--workspace</code> or <code>--workspaces</code>. (default: <code>true</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>-s, --silent</td>
    <td>Don't output anything. Alias for <code>--loglevel</code> silent.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--stdin</td>
    <td>Read package.json from stdin.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><a href="#target">-t, --target &lt;value&gt;</a></td>
    <td>Determines the version to upgrade to: latest, newest, greatest, minor, patch, semver, <code>@[tag]</code>, or [function]. (default: latest)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--timeout &lt;ms&gt;</td>
    <td>Global timeout in milliseconds. (default: no global timeout and 30 seconds per npm-registry-fetch)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>-u, --upgrade</td>
    <td>Overwrite package file with upgraded versions instead of just outputting to console.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--verbose</td>
    <td>Log additional information for debugging. Alias for <code>--loglevel</code> verbose.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>--workspace &lt;s&gt;</td>
    <td>Run on one or more specified workspaces. Add <code>--no-root</code> to exclude the root project. (default: <code>[]</code>)</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>-w, --workspaces</td>
    <td>Run on all workspaces. Add <code>--no-root</code> to exclude the root project.</td>
  </tr>
</table>

## Advanced Options

Some options have advanced usage, or allow per-package values by specifying a function in your .ncurc.js file.

Run `ncu --help [OPTION]` to view advanced help for a specific option, or see below:

## cooldown

Usage:

```sh
ncu --cooldown [period]
ncu -c [period]
```

The cooldown option helps protect against supply chain attacks by requiring package versions to be published at least the given amount of time before considering them for upgrade.

The value can be a plain number (days) or a string with a unit suffix:

```text
--cooldown 7       7 days
--cooldown 7d      7 days (same as above)
--cooldown 12h     12 hours
--cooldown 30m     30 minutes
```

With the default `--target latest`, if the latest dist-tag version is within the cooldown window, ncu falls back to the greatest version that passes the cooldown threshold. To instead skip the package entirely (strict behaviour), use `--target "@latest"`.

Example:

Let's examine how cooldown works with a package that has these versions available:

```text
1.0.0          Released 7 days ago    (initial version)
1.1.0          Released 6 days ago    (minor update)
1.1.1          Released 5 days ago    (patch update)
1.2.0          Released 5 days ago    (minor update)
2.0.0-beta.1   Released 5 days ago    (beta release)
1.2.1          Released 4 days ago    (patch update)
1.3.0          Released 4 days ago    (minor update) [latest]
2.0.0-beta.2   Released 3 days ago    (beta release)
2.0.0-beta.3   Released 2 days ago    (beta release) [beta]
```

With default target (latest):

```sh
ncu --cooldown 5
```

Falls back to 1.2.0 because:

- Latest version (1.3.0) is only 4 days old (within 5-day cooldown)
- 1.2.0 is the greatest version that is at least 5 days old

With `@latest` strict target:

```sh
ncu --cooldown 5 --target @latest
```

No update will be suggested because:

- Latest version (1.3.0) is only 4 days old
- Cooldown requires versions to be at least 5 days old
- `@latest` is strict: no fallback to older versions

With `@beta`/`@tag` target:

```sh
ncu --cooldown 3 --target @beta
```

No update will be suggested because:

- Current beta (2.0.0-beta.3) is only 2 days old
- Cooldown requires versions to be at least 3 days old
- Use `--cooldown 2` or lower to allow this update

With other targets:

```sh
ncu --cooldown 5 --target greatest|newest|minor|patch|semver
```

Each target will select the best version that is at least 5 days old:

```text
greatest → 1.2.0        (highest version number outside cooldown)
newest   → 2.0.0-beta.1 (most recently published version outside cooldown)
minor    → 1.2.0        (highest minor version outside cooldown)
patch    → 1.1.1        (highest patch version outside cooldown)
```

You can also provide a custom function in your .ncurc.js file or when importing npm-check-updates as a module.

> ⚠️ The predicate function is only available in .ncurc.js or when importing npm-check-updates as a module, not on the command line. To convert a JSON config to a JS config, follow the instructions at [Config Functions](#config-functions).

```js
/** Set cooldown to 3 days but skip it for `@my-company` packages.
  @param packageName     The name of the dependency.
  @returns               Cooldown days restriction for given package.
*/
cooldown: packageName => (packageName.startsWith('@my-company') ? 0 : 3)
```

### Package Manager Configurations

If `--cooldown` is not set explicitly, `ncu` automatically reads the cooldown configuration from your package manager's own native config — each package manager only consults its own config and these are not cross-applied between package managers:

<table>
  <tr><td>npm</td><td>Reads <code>min-release-age</code> from <code>.npmrc</code>, excluding packages matched by <code>min-release-age-exclude</code>.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>yarn</td><td>Reads <code>npmMinimalAgeGate</code> from <code>.yarnrc.yml</code>, excluding packages matched by <code>npmPreapprovedPackages</code>.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>pnpm</td><td>Reads <code>minimumReleaseAge</code> from <code>pnpm-workspace.yaml</code>, excluding packages matched by <code>minimumReleaseAgeExclude</code>.</td></tr>
</table>

### Cooldown Formatting

When using `--format cooldown` alongside the `--cooldown` option, `ncu` will show a list of packages that were skipped due to the `--cooldown` threshold.

Example:

```console
$ ncu --format cooldown --cooldown 7
Skipped due to 7-day cooldown
 @typescript-eslint/parser  ^8.50.0  →  ^8.59.1      5 days ago
 eslint                     ^10.0.1  →  ^10.3.0      1 day ago
```

## doctor

Usage:

```sh
ncu --doctor -u
ncu --no-doctor
ncu -du
```

Iteratively installs upgrades and runs your project's tests to identify breaking upgrades. Reverts broken upgrades and updates package.json with working upgrades.

Requires `-u` to execute (modifies your package file, lock file, and node_modules)

To be more precise:

1. Runs `npm install` and `npm test` to ensure tests are currently passing.
2. Runs `ncu -u` to optimistically upgrade all dependencies.
3. If tests pass, hurray!
4. If tests fail, restores package file and lock file.
5. For each dependency, install upgrade and run tests.
6. Prints broken upgrades with test error.
7. Saves working upgrades to package.json.

Additional options:

<table>
  <tr><td>--doctorInstall</td><td>specify a custom install script (default: <code>npm install</code> or <code>yarn</code>)</td></tr>
  <tr><td>--doctorTest</td><td>specify a custom test script (default: <code>npm test</code>)</td></tr>
</table>

Example:

```console
$ ncu --doctor -u
Running tests before upgrading
npm install
npm run test
Upgrading all dependencies and re-running tests
ncu -u
npm install
npm run test
Tests failed
Identifying broken dependencies
npm install
npm install --no-save react@16.0.0
npm run test
  ✓ react 15.0.0 → 16.0.0
npm install --no-save react-redux@7.0.0
npm run test
  ✗ react-redux 6.0.0 → 7.0.0

/projects/myproject/test.js:13
  throw new Error('Test failed!')
  ^

npm install --no-save react-dnd@11.1.3
npm run test
  ✓ react-dnd 10.0.0 → 11.1.3
Saving partially upgraded package.json
```

## filter

Usage:

```sh
ncu --filter [p]
ncu -f [p]
```

Include only package names matching the given string, wildcard, glob, comma-or-space-delimited list, /regex/, or predicate function. Only included packages will be checked with `--peer`.

`--filter` runs _before_ new versions are fetched, in contrast to `--filterResults` which runs _after_.

You can also specify a custom function in your .ncurc.js file, or when importing npm-check-updates as a module.

```js
/**
  @param name     The name of the dependency.
  @param semver   A parsed Semver array of the current version.
    (See: https://git.coolaj86.com/coolaj86/semver-utils.js#semverutils-parse-semverstring)
  @returns        True if the package should be included, false if it should be excluded.
*/
filter: (name, semver) => {
  if (name.startsWith('@myorg/')) {
    return false
  }
  return true
}
```

## filterResults

Filters results based on a user provided predicate function after fetching new versions.

`filterResults` runs _after_ new versions are fetched, in contrast to `filter`, `reject`, `filterVersion`, and `rejectVersion`, which run _before_. This allows you to exclude upgrades with `filterResults` based on how the version has changed (e.g. a major version change).

```js
/** Exclude major version updates. Note this could also be achieved with --target semver.
  @param {string} packageName               The name of the dependency.
  @param {string} current                   Current version declaration (may be a range).
  @param {SemVer[]} currentVersionSemver    Current version declaration in semantic versioning format (may be a range).
  @param {string} upgraded                  Upgraded version.
  @param {SemVer} upgradedVersionSemver     Upgraded version in semantic versioning format.
  @returns {boolean}                        Return true if the upgrade should be kept; otherwise, it will be ignored.
*/
filterResults: (packageName, { current, currentVersionSemver, upgraded, upgradedVersionSemver }) => {
  const currentMajor = parseInt(currentVersionSemver[0]?.major, 10)
  const upgradedMajor = parseInt(upgradedVersionSemver?.major, 10)
  if (currentMajor && upgradedMajor) {
    return currentMajor >= upgradedMajor
  }
  return true
}
```

For the SemVer type definition, see: https://git.coolaj86.com/coolaj86/semver-utils.js#semverutils-parse-semverstring

## filterVersion

Usage:

```sh
ncu --filterVersion [p]
```

Include only versions matching the given string, wildcard, glob, comma-or-space-delimited list, or /regex/.

`--filterVersion` runs _before_ new versions are fetched, in contrast to `--filterResults` which runs _after_.

To filter with a predicate function, use `filter` instead. It receives the package name and the parsed current version, so it can match on both name and version.

## format

Usage:

```sh
ncu --format [value]
```

Default: group

Modify the output formatting or show additional information. Specify one or more comma-delimited values.

<table>
  <tr><td>dep</td><td>Prints the dependency type (dev, peer, optional) of each package.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>group</td><td>Groups packages by major, minor, patch, and major version zero updates.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>homepage</td><td>Displays links to the package's homepage if specified in its package.json.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>installedVersion</td><td>Prints the exact current version number instead of a range.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>lines</td><td>Prints name@version on separate lines. Useful for piping to npm install.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>ownerChanged</td><td>Shows if the package owner has changed.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>repo</td><td>Infers and displays links to the package's source code repository. Requires packages to be installed.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>diff</td><td>Display link to compare the changes between package versions.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>time</td><td>Shows the publish time of each upgrade.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>cooldown</td><td>Shows a list of packages that were skipped due to the --cooldown threshold.</td></tr>
</table>

`group` is the only value included by default. Prefix it with "no-" to remove it instead of replacing the entire list, e.g. `--format no-group` to disable the default grouping.

## groupFunction

Customize how packages are divided into groups when using `--format group`.

Only available in .ncurc.js or when importing npm-check-updates as a module, not on the command line. To convert a JSON config to a JS config, follow the instructions at [Config Functions](#config-functions).

```js
/**
  @param name             The name of the dependency.
  @param defaultGroup     The predefined group name which will be used by default.
  @param currentSpec      The current version range in your package.json.
  @param upgradedSpec     The upgraded version range that will be written to your package.json.
  @param upgradedVersion  The upgraded version number returned by the registry.
  @returns                A predefined group name ('major' | 'minor' | 'patch' | 'majorVersionZero' | 'none') or a custom string to create your own group.
*/
groupFunction: (name, defaultGroup, currentSpec, upgradedSpec, upgradedVersion) => {
  if (name === 'typescript' && defaultGroup === 'minor') {
    return 'major'
  }
  if (name.startsWith('@myorg/')) {
    return 'My Org'
  }
  return defaultGroup
}
```

## install

Usage:

```sh
ncu --install [value]
```

Default: prompt

Control the auto-install behavior.

<table>
  <tr><td>always</td><td>Runs your package manager's install command automatically after upgrading.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>never</td><td>Does not install and does not prompt.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>prompt</td><td>Shows a message after upgrading that recommends an install, but does not install. In interactive mode, prompts for install. (default)</td></tr>
</table>

## packageManager

Usage:

```sh
ncu --packageManager [s]
ncu -p [s]
```

Specifies the package manager to use when looking up versions.

<table>
  <tr><td>npm</td><td>System-installed npm. Default.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>yarn</td><td>System-installed yarn. Automatically used if yarn.lock is present.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>pnpm</td><td>System-installed pnpm. Automatically used if pnpm-lock.yaml is present.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>bun</td><td>System-installed bun. Automatically used if bun.lock or bun.lockb is present.</td></tr>
</table>

## peer

Usage:

```sh
ncu --peer
ncu --no-peer
```

Check peer dependencies of installed packages and filter updates to compatible versions.

Example:

The following example demonstrates how `--peer` works, and how it uses peer dependencies from upgraded modules.

The package ncu-test-peer-update has two versions published:

- 1.0.0 has peer dependency `"ncu-test-return-version": "1.0.x"`
- 1.1.0 has peer dependency `"ncu-test-return-version": "1.1.x"`

Our test app has the following dependencies:

```json
"ncu-test-peer-update": "1.0.0",
"ncu-test-return-version": "1.0.0"
```

The latest versions of these packages are:

```json
"ncu-test-peer-update": "1.1.0",
"ncu-test-return-version": "2.0.0"
```

With `--peer`:

ncu upgrades packages to the highest version that still adheres to the peer dependency constraints:

```text
ncu-test-peer-update     1.0.0  →  1.1.0
ncu-test-return-version  1.0.0  →  1.1.0
```

Without `--peer`:

As a comparison: without using the `--peer` option, ncu will suggest the latest versions, ignoring peer dependencies:

```text
ncu-test-peer-update     1.0.0  →  1.1.0
ncu-test-return-version  1.0.0  →  2.0.0
```

## registryType

Usage:

```sh
ncu --registryType [type]
```

Specify whether `--registry` refers to a full npm registry or a simple JSON file.

<table>
  <tr><td>npm</td><td>Default npm registry</td></tr>
  <tr><td>json</td><td>Checks versions from a file or url to a simple JSON registry. Must include the <code>--registry</code> option.</td></tr>
</table>

Example:

```sh
# local file
ncu --registryType json --registry ./registry.json

# url
ncu --registryType json --registry https://api.mydomain/registry.json

# you can omit --registryType when the registry ends in .json
ncu --registry ./registry.json
ncu --registry https://api.mydomain/registry.json
```

registry.json:

```json
{
  "prettier": "2.7.1",
  "typescript": "4.7.4"
}
```

## reject

Usage:

```sh
ncu --reject [p]
ncu -x [p]
```

The inverse of `--filter`. Exclude package names matching the given string, wildcard, glob, comma-or-space-delimited list, /regex/, or predicate function. This will also exclude them from the `--peer` check.

`--reject` runs _before_ new versions are fetched, in contrast to `--filterResults` which runs _after_.

You can also specify a custom function in your .ncurc.js file, or when importing npm-check-updates as a module.

```js
/**
  @param name     The name of the dependency.
  @param semver   A parsed Semver array of the current version.
    (See: https://git.coolaj86.com/coolaj86/semver-utils.js#semverutils-parse-semverstring)
  @returns        True if the package should be excluded, false if it should be included.
*/
reject: (name, semver) => {
  if (name.startsWith('@myorg/')) {
    return true
  }
  return false
}
```

## rejectVersion

Usage:

```sh
ncu --rejectVersion [p]
```

The inverse of `--filterVersion`. Exclude versions matching the given string, wildcard, glob, comma-or-space-delimited list, or /regex/.

`--rejectVersion` runs _before_ new versions are fetched, in contrast to `--filterResults` which runs _after_.

To reject with a predicate function, use `reject` instead. It receives the package name and the parsed current version, so it can match on both name and version.

## target

Usage:

```sh
ncu --target [value]
ncu -t [value]
```

Determines the version to upgrade to. (default: "latest")

<table>
  <tr><td>greatest</td><td>Upgrade to the highest version number published, regardless of release date or tag. Includes prereleases.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>latest</td><td>Upgrade to whatever the package's "latest" dist-tag points to. When used with --cooldown, falls back to the greatest version that passes the cooldown threshold if the latest is too recent. Use --target "@latest" for strict behaviour that skips the package instead. Excludes prereleases unless --pre is specified.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>minor</td><td>Upgrade to the highest minor version without bumping the major version.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>newest</td><td>Upgrade to the version with the most recent publish date, even if there are other version numbers that are higher. Includes prereleases.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>patch</td><td>Upgrade to the highest patch version without bumping the minor or major versions.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>semver</td><td>Upgrade to the highest version within the semver range specified in your package.json.</td></tr>
  <tr><td>@[tag]</td><td>Upgrade to the version published to a specific tag, e.g. 'next' or 'beta'.</td></tr>
</table>

e.g.

```sh
ncu --target semver
```

You can also specify a custom function in your .ncurc.js file, or when importing npm-check-updates as a module.

```js
/** Upgrade major version zero to the next minor version, and everything else to latest.
  @param name     The name of the dependency.
  @param semver   A parsed Semver object of the upgraded version.
    (See: https://git.coolaj86.com/coolaj86/semver-utils.js#semverutils-parse-semverstring)
  @returns        One of the valid target values (specified in the table above).
*/
target: (name, semver) => {
  if (parseInt(semver[0]?.major) === '0') return 'minor'
  return 'latest'
}
```

## Config File

Add a `.ncurc` or `.ncurc.{json,yaml,yml,js,mjs,cjs}` file to your project directory to specify configuration information.

`.ncurc` without an extension can be in **JSON or YAML** format. For example:

**.ncurc:**

```yaml
upgrade: true
filter: svelte
reject:
  - '@types/estree'
  - ts-node
```

**.ncurc.json:**

```json
{
  "upgrade": true,
  "filter": "svelte",
  "reject": ["@types/estree", "ts-node"]
}
```

Options are merged with the following precedence:

1. Command line options
2. Local Config File (current working directory)
3. Project Config File (next to package.json)
4. User Config File (`$HOME`)

You can also specify a custom config file name or path using the `--configFileName` or `--configFilePath` command line options.

### Config Functions

Some options offer more advanced configuration using a function definition. These include [filter](#filter), [filterVersion](#filterversion), [filterResults](#filterresults), [reject](#reject), [rejectVersion](#rejectversion), and [groupFunction](#groupfunction). To define these, use a JavaScript-based configuration file.

#### ESM (Recommended)

Rename your config to `.ncurc.js` (if using `"type": "module"`) or `.ncurc.mjs`.

```js
import { defineConfig } from 'npm-check-updates'

export default defineConfig({
  upgrade: true,
  filter: name => name.startsWith('@myorg/'),
})
```

#### CommonJS

Use the `.ncurc.cjs` extension or a standard `.ncurc.js` file (if useing `"type": "commonjs"`).

```js
const { defineConfig } = require('npm-check-updates')

module.exports = defineConfig({
  upgrade: true,
  filter: name => name.startsWith('@myorg/'),
})
```

Alternatively, if you prefer not to use the helper, you can use JSDoc for IntelliSense:

#### ESM (JSDoc)

```js
/** @type {import('npm-check-updates').RcOptions} */
export default {
  upgrade: true,
  filter: name => name.startsWith('@myorg/'),
}
```

#### CommonJS (JSDoc)

```js
/** @type {import('npm-check-updates').RcOptions} */
module.exports = {
  upgrade: true,
  filter: name => name.startsWith('@myorg/'),
}
```

### JSON Schema

If you write `.ncurc` config files using json or yaml, you can add the JSON Schema to your IDE settings for completions.

e.g. for VS Code:

```jsonc
{
  "json.schemas": [
    {
      "fileMatch": [".ncurc", ".ncurc.json"],
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/raineorshine/npm-check-updates/main/src/types/RunOptions.json",
    },
  ],
  "yaml.schemas": {
    "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/raineorshine/npm-check-updates/main/src/types/RunOptions.json": [".ncurc.yml"],
  },
}
```

## Module/Programmatic Usage

`npm-check-updates` can be imported as a module in both ESM and CommonJS environments.

### ESM (Recommended)

Use this for modern projects using `"type": "module"` in `package.json` or `.mjs` files.

```js
import ncu from 'npm-check-updates'

const upgraded = await ncu({
  // Pass any cli option
  packageFile: '../package.json',
  upgrade: true,
  // Defaults:
  // jsonUpgraded: true,
  // silent: true,
})

console.log(upgraded) // { "mypackage": "^2.0.0", ... }
```

### CommonJS

Use this for legacy projects using `"type": "commonjs"` or scripts using the `.cjs` extension.

```js
const { default: ncu } = require('npm-check-updates')

// ncu() is an async function
ncu({
  packageFile: './package.json',
  upgrade: true,
}).then(upgraded => {
  console.log(upgraded)
})
```

## Contributing

Contributions are happily accepted. I respond to all PR's and can offer guidance on where to make changes. For contributing tips see [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/raineorshine/npm-check-updates/blob/main/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md).

## Problems?

[File an issue](https://github.com/raineorshine/npm-check-updates/issues). Please [search existing issues](https://github.com/raineorshine/npm-check-updates/issues?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Aissue) first.

## License

[Apache-2.0](LICENSE)

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