update-dependencies

name	update-dependencies
description	Upgrade project dependencies with breaking change research for major version updates. Use when the user asks to "update dependencies", "upgrade packages", "upgrade dependencies", "update deps", "upgrade deps", "update npm deps", "update Swift packages", "cargo update", "go get updates", "bundle update", or "pip upgrade".

Update Dependencies

Upgrade project dependencies, researching breaking changes for major version updates.

Optional filter: $ARGUMENTS (e.g., react, Alamofire, serde tokio)

Phase 1: Review Dependencies

Run the $review-dependencies skill to detect package managers and discover available updates. If no updates are available, stop.

Phase 2: User Strategy Selection

Present a summary showing:

• Count and list of major updates (with current → target versions)
• Count of minor updates
• Count of patch updates

Use request_user_input for upgrade strategy (Codex request_user_input allows up to 3 options per question, so the strategies are split across two questions):

Question 1 — Header: "Approach" Options:

• Cautious — Upgrade minor/patch first, then major one-by-one with research
• All at once — Research all major changes, then upgrade everything together
• Major handling — Defer the major decision (Skip-major or Interactive)

When a major upgrade would force a migration that is costly to reverse, present a Get a second opinion option in place of All at once, keeping Question 1 at three options and leaving Major handling in place so Question 2 stays reachable. It runs the $consult-claude skill for which strategy the breaking changes warrant. Then resolve the strategy with that answer in hand, re-asking when the choice stays the user's. A freeform answer asking to upgrade everything together selects the All-at-once strategy.

If the user picks Major handling, ask a follow-up:

Question 2 — Header: "Major handling" Options:

• Skip major — Only upgrade minor and patch versions
• Interactive — Ask for each major update individually
• Cancel — Cancel and return to the previous step

Phase 3: Research Breaking Changes

For each package with a major version update:

Step 1: Calculate Version Gap

Identify all major versions between current and target. For example:

• react: 17.0.2 → 19.0.0 → research v18 AND v19 breaking changes
• Alamofire: 4.9.1 → 6.0.0 → research v5 AND v6 breaking changes

Step 2: Research Each Major Version

Search for migration documentation:

Web search: "[package-name] v[X] migration guide"
Web search: "[package-name] v[X] breaking changes"

Common sources: GitHub releases page, official docs, changelog files.

Step 3: Extract Key Breaking Changes

Identify: API changes (renamed/removed functions), configuration changes, peer/transitive dependency requirements, behavioral changes, deprecated features now removed.

Step 4: Search Codebase for Affected Code

Use rg to find usage of deprecated or changed APIs. Document which files are affected and what changes are needed.

Phase 4: User Confirmation

For each major update, present:

• Package name and version transition
• Breaking changes found (summarized)
• Files potentially affected (count and list)

Use request_user_input to confirm (Codex request_user_input allows up to 3 options per question, so the four actions are split across two questions):

Question 1 — Header: "Decision" Options:

• Proceed — Continue with upgrades and migrations
• Show details — Display detailed breaking changes for review
• Other action — Defer the choice (Skip-package or Abort)

If the user picks Other action, ask a follow-up:

Question 2 — Header: "Other action" Options:

• Skip package — Exclude a specific package from upgrade
• Abort — Cancel the upgrade process
• Cancel — Cancel and return to the previous step

If "Show details" selected, display full migration research, then ask again.

Phase 5: Execute Upgrades

Cautious Strategy

First upgrade minor and patch only using the package manager's semver-respecting update command, then run tests. If tests fail, stop before proceeding with major upgrades.

Major Version Upgrades

Update the manifest file (version constraint) and run the install/resolve command. For package managers with a dedicated upgrade command, use it. For others (Swift PM, Maven, Gradle), edit the manifest directly.

Phase 6: Apply Migrations

Step 1: Run Codemods (if Available)

Some ecosystems provide automated migration tools:

Ecosystem	Migration tools
React	npx react-codemod [transform]
Next.js	npx @next/codemod [transform]
Jest	npx jest-codemods
Angular	npx ng update
Rust	cargo fix for edition migrations
Python	pyupgrade, python-modernize

Step 2: Manual Code Changes

For changes requiring manual intervention:

1. Read the affected file
2. Apply the necessary transformation with apply_patch
3. Show the user what changed

Step 3: Update Configuration Files

If configuration format changed, read current config, transform to new format, write updated config.

Step 4: Sync Version-Pinned CI/Container References

Some packages pin their version outside the manifest, beyond the package manager's reach, so a green local run hides the drift. For every upgraded package (major, minor, or patch), search CI and container configs for the old version string with rg "<old-version>" .github Dockerfile* docker-compose* .devcontainer and bump it in lockstep:

• CI container images whose tag must track the package — e.g. a Playwright image tag kept in lockstep with the installed @playwright/test version.
• Base images and tool versions in Dockerfile, .devcontainer/, and docker-compose.yml.
• Pinned tool versions in CI setup steps (actions/setup-node node-version, setup-python, toolchain files).

Phase 7: Verification

Run the project's test, build, and lint commands. Detect which commands are available from the project's config files and scripts. Use project-level task runners when present (Makefile, Taskfile, justfile, npm scripts, etc.).

Report Results

Summarize: packages upgraded (count), breaking changes addressed (count), files modified (count), test results, remaining manual tasks.

Recommend Next Steps

If any migrations could not be automated:

• List specific changes the user needs to review
• Highlight deprecated patterns that need attention
• Note any runtime behavior changes to watch for

Error Handling

Discovery Tool Not Available

If the discovery tool is not installed, $review-dependencies will note it. Fall back to manual version checking via web search.

Network Errors During Research

If web search/fetch fails: retry with alternative search terms, provide manual research links, proceed with caution warning that migration research may be incomplete.

Test Failures After Upgrade

• Stop the upgrade process
• Suggest rollback: restore manifest and lockfile from git, then reinstall
• Identify which package likely caused the failure

Migration Research Incomplete

If official migration docs are not found: check the package's repository for issues and discussions, note as "migration research incomplete — proceed with caution."