<tool_restrictions>

MANDATORY Tool Restrictions

BANNED TOOLS — calling these is a skill violation:

EnterPlanMode — BANNED. Do NOT call this tool. This skill has its own structured process. Execute the steps below directly.
ExitPlanMode — BANNED. You are never in plan mode. </tool_restrictions>

<arc_runtime> Arc-owned files live under the Arc install root for full-runtime installs.

Set ${ARC_ROOT} to that root and use ${ARC_ROOT}/... for Arc bundle files such as references/, disciplines/, agents/, templates/, scripts/, and rules/.

Project-local files stay relative to the user's repository. </arc_runtime>

<required_reading> Read during Phase 2 (Alternative Discovery):

${ARC_ROOT}/references/dependency-alternatives.md — Curated table of known package replacements with migration effort ratings </required_reading>

Announce at start: "I'm using the deps skill to audit your dependencies for vulnerabilities, outdated packages, and modern alternatives."

Phase 1: Audit & Outdated Detection

Parse arguments:

$ARGUMENTS may contain:
- --apply — Skip straight to batch apply after report (no interactive menu)
- --cve-only — Only report and fix CVE vulnerabilities, skip alternatives and outdated

Detect package manager:

Use Glob tool in parallel:

Pattern	Package Manager
`pnpm-lock.yaml`	pnpm
`yarn.lock`	yarn
`package-lock.json`	npm
`bun.lockb`	bun

If multiple found, prefer pnpm > yarn > npm > bun.

Run vulnerability audit:

# pnpm
pnpm audit --json 2>/dev/null

# npm
npm audit --json 2>/dev/null

# yarn
yarn audit --json 2>/dev/null

Filter to critical and high severity only. Ignore moderate and low — they create noise without actionable urgency.

Run outdated check:

# pnpm
pnpm outdated --json 2>/dev/null

# npm
npm outdated --json 2>/dev/null

# yarn
yarn outdated --json 2>/dev/null

Read package.json for full dependency list (both dependencies and devDependencies).

Detect environment:

node --version

Detect test runner (needed for batch apply phase):

Use Glob tool:

Pattern	Test Runner
`vitest.config.*`	vitest
`jest.config.*`	jest
`playwright.config.*`	playwright
`cypress.config.*`	cypress

Also check package.json scripts for test command.

Classify findings into severity buckets:

Category	Criteria	Priority
Critical CVE	Known vulnerability, critical/high severity	Must fix
Deprecated	Package marked deprecated on npm registry	Should consider
Has modern alternative	Match found in curated list or web search	Should consider
Major outdated	2+ major versions behind current	Should consider
Minor/patch outdated	Behind on minor or patch version	Worth noting

Summarize detection:

Package manager: [pnpm/npm/yarn/bun]
Node version: [version]
Test runner: [vitest/jest/playwright/none detected]
Total dependencies: N (N prod, N dev)
Critical/high CVEs: N
Outdated packages: N (N major, N minor, N patch)

Phase 2: Alternative Discovery

If --cve-only flag is set, skip this phase entirely.

Load curated alternatives (from <required_reading> above).

For each dependency in the project:

Check if the package name appears in the curated alternatives table
If found → record the alternative, reason, and migration effort
If NOT found → check whether this package is flagged (any of: 2+ major versions outdated, critical/high CVE, deprecated)

For flagged packages NOT in the curated table:

Use WebSearch to discover alternatives:

WebSearch: "alternative to [package-name] npm 2026"

For each search result:

If a clear, well-maintained alternative exists → record it with reason and estimated migration effort
If no clear alternative → record "no clear alternative found" and move on

Skip web search for packages that are:

Current and healthy (not outdated, no CVEs, not deprecated)
In the "do not flag" list from the reference file (react, next, typescript, etc.)
devDependencies that are only minor/patch behind

Compile alternatives list:

For each alternative found (curated or discovered):

Package	Current Version	Alternative	Reason	Migration Effort	Source
lodash	4.17.21	es-toolkit	97% smaller, modern ESM	Medium	Curated
legacy-pkg	1.2.0	modern-pkg	Actively maintained replacement	Medium	Web search

Phase 3: Report Generation

Create report directory:

mkdir -p docs/audits

Generate report file: docs/audits/YYYY-MM-DD-deps-audit.md

Use today's date. The report follows this structure:

# Dependency Audit Report

**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Package Manager:** [detected]
**Total dependencies:** N (N prod, N dev)
**Node version:** [detected]

## Summary

- Critical CVEs: N
- Deprecated packages: N
- Modern alternatives available: N
- Major version outdated: N
- Minor/patch outdated: N

## Must Fix — CVEs

> Known vulnerabilities with critical or high severity

### [package-name] ([current] → [fixed version])
**CVE:** [CVE ID]
**Severity:** [Critical/High]
**Description:** [Brief description of the vulnerability]
**Fix:** `[package-manager] update [package-name]`
**Alternative:** [If a modern alternative exists, mention it here]

[Repeat for each CVE]

## Should Consider — Alternatives

> Modern replacements for heavy, deprecated, or outdated packages

### [package-name] ([current version])
**Status:** [Deprecated / Outdated / Heavy]
**Alternative:** [replacement package or built-in]
**Reason:** [Why the alternative is better]
**Migration effort:** [Low / Medium / High]
**Bundle impact:** [Estimated size reduction if known]
**Source:** [Curated / Web search]

[Repeat for each alternative]

## Should Consider — Major Outdated

> Packages 2+ major versions behind

### [package-name] ([current] → [latest])
**Behind:** [N major versions]
**Risk:** [Low / Medium / High — based on changelog breaking changes]
**Key changes:** [1-2 most important breaking changes from changelog]

[Repeat for each]

## Worth Noting — Minor Outdated

| Package | Current | Latest | Behind | Type |
|---------|---------|--------|--------|------|
| [name] | [ver] | [ver] | [minor/patch] | [prod/dev] |

[Table of all minor/patch outdated packages]

## Upgrade Batches

Pre-computed batches for the interactive apply phase.

### Batch 1: Safe Patches (low risk)
Apply together, test once.

| Package | Current | Target | Type |
|---------|---------|--------|------|
| [name] | [ver] | [ver] | [minor/patch] |

**Command:** `[package-manager] update [list of packages]`

### Batch 2: CVE Fixes (high priority)
Apply together, test once.

| Package | Current | Target | CVE |
|---------|---------|--------|-----|
| [name] | [ver] | [ver] | [CVE ID] |

**Command:** `[package-manager] update [list of packages]`

### Batch 3: Major Upgrades (test carefully)
Apply individually, test after each.

| Package | Current | Target | Breaking Changes |
|---------|---------|--------|-----------------|
| [name] | [ver] | [ver] | [key changes] |

### Batch 4: Replacements (separate work)
These require code changes — flagged for manual migration.

| Current Package | Alternative | Migration Effort |
|----------------|-------------|-----------------|
| [name] | [replacement] | [Low/Medium/High] |

**Note:** Replacements are not auto-applied. Install the alternative, migrate imports, then remove the old package.

Commit the report:

git add docs/audits/
git commit -m "docs: add dependency audit report"

Phase 4: Present Summary & Interactive Walkthrough

Present summary to user:

Dependency audit complete.
Report: docs/audits/YYYY-MM-DD-deps-audit.md

Summary:
- Critical CVEs: N
- Deprecated: N
- Modern alternatives: N
- Major outdated: N
- Minor/patch outdated: N

Suggested batches:
1. Safe patches (N packages) — low risk
2. CVE fixes (N packages) — high priority
3. Major upgrades (N packages) — test carefully
4. Replacements (N packages) — needs code changes

If --apply flag was set: Skip the menu and go straight to walking through all batches.

If --cve-only flag was set: Skip the menu and apply only Batch 2 (CVE fixes).

Otherwise, offer next steps via AskUserQuestion:

Question: "How would you like to proceed?"
Header: "Next step"
Options:
  1. "Apply safe patches" (Recommended) — Batch 1: minor/patch updates, low risk
  2. "Walk through all batches" — Review each batch, approve or skip
  3. "Apply CVE fixes only" — Just the security-critical updates
  4. "Done for now" — Report is committed, come back later

Batch Apply Cycle

For each approved batch, execute this cycle:

Step 1: Git checkpoint

git add -A && git commit -m "checkpoint: before [batch description] upgrade" --allow-empty

Step 2: Run upgrade commands

Use the detected package manager from Phase 1:

# For Batch 1 (safe patches) and Batch 2 (CVE fixes):
[package-manager] update [list of packages]

# For Batch 3 (major upgrades) — one at a time:
[package-manager] install [package]@latest

# For Batch 4 (replacements):
[package-manager] install [alternative-package]
# Do NOT remove old package — user must migrate imports first

Step 3: Type check (if TypeScript project)

# Check if tsconfig.json exists first
tsc --noEmit

If type check fails → this may be expected for major upgrades. Note the errors but don't auto-rollback on type errors alone. Report them to the user.

Step 4: Run tests

Use the detected test runner from Phase 1:

# vitest
pnpm vitest run

# jest
pnpm jest

# playwright
pnpm exec playwright test

# npm script fallback
pnpm test

Step 5: Evaluate result

If tests pass:

git add -A && git commit -m "deps: [batch description]"

Report: "[batch description] applied successfully. Tests passing."

If tests fail:

# Rollback to checkpoint
git reset --hard HEAD~1

Report which package(s) likely caused the failure:

Batch [N] failed — tests broke after upgrading [packages].
Rolled back to checkpoint. You may want to upgrade these individually
to isolate the breaking package.

Continue to next batch — one failure shouldn't block the rest.

Replacement Handling (Batch 4)

Replacements are NOT auto-migrated. For each approved replacement:

Install the new package:

[package-manager] install [alternative-package]

Report to user:

Installed [alternative]. [old-package] is still in package.json.

To complete the migration:
1. Replace [old-package] imports with [alternative] equivalents
2. Run tests to verify
3. Remove [old-package]: [package-manager] remove [old-package]

Consider running /arc:implement to handle the import migration.

Do NOT remove the old package or modify imports automatically.

Final Summary

After all batches are processed:

## Dependency Update Summary

Packages upgraded: N
Batches applied: N/N
Batches skipped: N
Failures rolled back: N
Replacements flagged: N (need manual migration)

Report: docs/audits/YYYY-MM-DD-deps-audit.md

<arc_log> After completing this skill, append to the activity log. See: ${ARC_ROOT}/references/arc-log.md

Entry: /arc:deps — Dependency audit ([N] CVEs, [N] outdated) </arc_log>

<success_criteria> Dependency audit is complete when:

deps

MANDATORY Tool Restrictions

BANNED TOOLS — calling these is a skill violation:

Phase 1: Audit & Outdated Detection

Phase 2: Alternative Discovery

Phase 3: Report Generation

Phase 4: Present Summary & Interactive Walkthrough

Batch Apply Cycle

Replacement Handling (Batch 4)

Final Summary

More from howells/arc

responsive

design

audit

document

review

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