Deps Skill

Quick Ref: /deps audit | /deps update [--major|--minor|--patch] | /deps vuln | /deps license

YOU MUST EXECUTE THIS WORKFLOW. Do not just describe it.

Modes

Mode	Command	Purpose
Audit	/deps audit	Full dependency health check: vulnerabilities, outdated, licenses
Update	/deps update [--major|--minor|--patch]	Update dependencies with test verification
Vuln	/deps vuln	Focused vulnerability scan and remediation
License	/deps license	License compliance audit

Default (bare /deps): runs audit mode.

---

Step 0: Detect Ecosystem

Scan the working directory for manifest files. Multiple ecosystems may coexist.

Manifest	Ecosystem	Lock File
go.mod	Go	go.sum
package.json	Node	package-lock.json / yarn.lock / pnpm-lock.yaml
pyproject.toml / requirements.txt	Python	requirements.txt / poetry.lock
Cargo.toml	Rust	Cargo.lock
Gemfile	Ruby	Gemfile.lock

# Detect all ecosystems present
for f in go.mod package.json pyproject.toml requirements.txt Cargo.toml Gemfile; do
  [[ -f "$f" ]] && echo "FOUND: $f"
done

If no manifest is found, stop and report: "No supported dependency manifest detected."

---

Step 1: Audit Current State

Run the ecosystem-appropriate commands. Capture all output for classification.

Go

go list -m -u all          # List all modules, flag available updates
govulncheck ./...           # Vulnerability scan against Go vuln DB
go mod tidy                 # Clean up unused deps (dry-run first)

Node

npm audit                   # Known vulnerabilities
npm outdated                # Available updates (current vs wanted vs latest)
npx license-checker-webpack-plugin --out /dev/stdout 2>/dev/null || npx license-checker --json

Python

pip-audit                   # Vulnerability scan (install: pip install pip-audit)
pip list --outdated         # Available updates
pip-licenses 2>/dev/null || echo "pip-licenses not installed"

Rust

cargo audit                 # Vulnerability scan (install: cargo install cargo-audit)
cargo outdated              # Available updates (install: cargo install cargo-outdated)
cargo license 2>/dev/null || echo "cargo-license not installed"

Ruby

bundle audit check          # Vulnerability scan (install: gem install bundler-audit)
bundle outdated             # Available updates

---

Step 2: Classify Findings

Sort every finding into exactly one severity tier.

Severity	Criteria	Action
Critical	Known CVE with active exploitation, CVSS >= 9.0	Update immediately, block release
High	Security advisory without known exploit, CVSS 7.0-8.9, major version behind with security implications	Update within current session
Medium	Minor versions behind, deprecated packages, stale transitive deps	Schedule update, batch if possible
Low	Patch-level updates, cosmetic version bumps, informational advisories	Update opportunistically

Output a summary table:

SEVERITY   PACKAGE            CURRENT   AVAILABLE   REASON
Critical   example-lib        1.2.3     1.2.8       CVE-2025-XXXXX (RCE)
High       some-framework     3.1.0     4.2.0       Security advisory SA-2025-YYY
Medium     helper-pkg         2.0.1     2.3.0       3 minor versions behind
Low        util-lib           1.0.0     1.0.1       Patch release

---

Step 3: Update Strategy

Choose strategy based on the update scope requested (or default to the classification).

Patch updates (--patch or Low severity)

• Batch all patch updates together.
• Run full test suite once after the batch.
• Single commit: chore(deps): batch patch updates.

Minor updates (--minor or Medium severity)

• Update one dependency at a time.
• Run tests after each update.
• Individual commits: chore(deps): update <pkg> to <version>.

Major updates (--major or High/Critical severity)

• Research breaking changes first (check CHANGELOG, migration guide, release notes).
• Update one dependency at a time.
• Run full test suite after each.
• Individual commits with body noting breaking changes:

  chore(deps): update <pkg> to <version>
  
  Breaking: <brief description of what changed>
  

Decision matrix

Flag	Patch	Minor	Major
--patch	Yes	No	No
--minor	Yes	Yes	No
--major	Yes	Yes	Yes
(default)	Yes	Yes	No

---

Step 4: Execute Updates (Update Mode Only)

For each dependency to update, follow this loop strictly:

1. Record current state (version, lock file hash)
2. Update the dependency
3. Run tests: `go test ./...` / `npm test` / `pytest` / `cargo test`
4. If PASS:
   - Stage changed manifest + lock file
   - Commit: chore(deps): update <pkg> from <old> to <new>
5. If FAIL:
   - Revert: restore manifest + lock file to pre-update state
   - Document the incompatibility in the report
   - Continue to next dependency

Ecosystem-specific update commands

Ecosystem	Patch/Minor	Major
Go	go get <pkg>@latest	go get <pkg>@v<major>
Node	npm update <pkg>	npm install <pkg>@latest
Python	pip install --upgrade <pkg>	pip install <pkg>~=<version>
Rust	cargo update -p <pkg>	Edit Cargo.toml, then cargo update
Ruby	bundle update <pkg>	Edit Gemfile, then bundle install

---

Step 5: Output Report

Write the report to .agents/deps/. Create the directory if needed.

mkdir -p .agents/deps

File name format: YYYY-MM-DD-deps-<mode>.md

Report template

# Dependency Report - <mode> - <date>

## Ecosystem: <detected>

## Summary
- Total dependencies: <N>
- Outdated: <N>
- Vulnerable: <N>
- License issues: <N>

## Findings

### Critical
<table or "None">

### High
<table or "None">

### Medium
<table or "None">

### Low
<table or "None">

## Updates Applied
<list of commits or "Audit only - no updates applied">

## Failed Updates
<list with reasons or "None">

## License Compliance
<summary or "Not checked - use /deps license">

---

License Compliance (License Mode)

Compatibility Matrix

License	Proprietary OK	Copyleft	Distribution Obligations
MIT	Yes	No	Include license text
Apache-2.0	Yes	No	Include license + NOTICE file
BSD-2-Clause	Yes	No	Include license text
BSD-3-Clause	Yes	No	Include license text, no endorsement
ISC	Yes	No	Include license text
MPL-2.0	Yes (file-level)	Weak	Modified MPL files must stay MPL
LGPL-2.1	Conditional	Weak	Dynamic linking OK, static requires disclosure
GPL-2.0	No	Strong	Entire derivative work must be GPL
GPL-3.0	No	Strong	Entire derivative work must be GPL
AGPL-3.0	No	Strong	Network use triggers disclosure
SSPL	No	Strong	Service provider must open-source entire stack
Unlicense	Yes	No	No obligations

Rules

1. Flag all copyleft licenses (GPL, AGPL, SSPL) as Critical in proprietary projects.
2. Flag weak copyleft (MPL, LGPL) as Medium -- review usage pattern.
3. Flag missing licenses as High -- unknown license is treated as all-rights-reserved.
4. Flag license changes between versions -- an update may change the license.

Detecting project type

• If LICENSE contains GPL/AGPL: project is copyleft, all licenses are compatible.
• If LICENSE contains MIT/Apache/BSD or is proprietary: flag copyleft dependencies.
• If no LICENSE file exists: warn that project license is undefined.

---

Error Handling

Situation	Action
Tool not installed (govulncheck, pip-audit, etc.)	Report which tool is missing, provide install command, continue with available tools
Network unavailable	Use cached vulnerability DB if available, note staleness
Test suite does not exist	Warn loudly, skip test verification, note in report
Manifest parse error	Report the error, skip that ecosystem

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See Also

• skills/standards/SKILL.md -- Language-specific conventions
• skills/security/SKILL.md -- Broader security scanning
• skills/vibe/SKILL.md -- Code quality validation