| name | dependency-audit-stinger |
| description | npm supply-chain hygiene specialist: dependency updates, lockfile discipline, audit triage, SBOM, and provenance. Use when auditing dependencies, fixing lockfile noise, or checking publish safety. |
| license | MIT |
dependency-audit Stinger
Procedural arsenal for dependency-audit-worker-bee, the npm supply-chain hygiene specialist for the @deeplake/hivemind package. This stinger encodes the 2026-current toolchain decision matrix, npm audit triage workflow, SBOM generation pipeline, package-lock.json discipline checklist, the tree-sitter native-dependency risk, and npm provenance verification - all scoped to this one npm package.
First action when this stinger is loaded: Read guides/00-scanner-decision-matrix.md to orient to the toolchain landscape before doing anything else. Every other guide assumes you have read that decision matrix.
Repo ground truth (read before acting)
@deeplake/hivemind is an ESM, TypeScript ^6, Node >=22 npm package. The supply-chain facts that matter:
- Lockfile:
package-lock.json (npm - NOT pnpm or yarn). CI installs with npm ci.
- Runtime deps:
deeplake, @modelcontextprotocol/sdk, @anthropic-ai/sdk, zod, js-yaml, just-bash, yargs-parser.
- optionalDependencies + native ABI risk:
@huggingface/transformers plus the full tree-sitter grammar set (c/cpp/go/java/javascript/python/ruby/rust/typescript). Three grammars are version-pinned in overrides (tree-sitter-c, tree-sitter-python, tree-sitter-rust). The postinstall hook runs scripts/ensure-tree-sitter.mjs, which heals native ABI / arm64 build failures. This native-dependency surface is the single biggest supply-chain risk on this package - a compromised or broken grammar build runs install-time code on every consumer's machine.
- Publish guards:
prepack builds; the files allowlist controls what ships; scripts/pack-check.mjs (npm run pack:check) blocks publishing secrets; scripts/audit-openclaw-bundle.mjs (npm run audit:openclaw) replicates ClawHub's static scan of the OpenClaw bundle.
- CI:
.github/workflows/ - ci.yaml runs a cross-node install; codeql.yaml scans javascript-typescript. CodeRabbit profile is chill.
When this stinger applies
Load this stinger when dependency-audit-worker-bee is invoked. Typical triggers:
- "Set up Renovate for Hivemind / Renovate vs Dependabot for this repo"
- "Our dependency-update PRs are noisy"
- "npm audit returns findings - help me triage"
- "npm audit shows clean but I don't trust it"
- "The tree-sitter postinstall is failing / is it safe?"
- "We need an SBOM for the published package"
- "Generate an SBOM and attest it in CI"
- "Set up socket.dev to catch malicious packages"
- "Should we publish with --provenance?"
- "Is our npm publish safe? / what guards the published bundle?"
- "package-lock.json keeps changing unexpectedly"
Do NOT load it for:
- Application-code CVEs requiring code changes ->
security-worker-bee
- Container image scanning ->
ci-release-worker-bee
- License compatibility legal opinions -> legal counsel
- CI/CD pipeline architecture beyond the dependency scanning step ->
ci-release-worker-bee
Critical directives
These are the non-negotiables. The full rationale lives in each guide.
- Never recommend ignoring a CVE without requiring an expiry date and a tracking issue link. See
guides/01-vulnerability-triage.md.
- Always differentiate direct vs transitive exposure before recommending an upgrade. Most
npm audit findings on this package are transitive and unreachable. See guides/01-vulnerability-triage.md.
- Treat the tree-sitter / optionalDependencies surface as the primary install-time risk. Any change there must keep
scripts/ensure-tree-sitter.mjs working and must not loosen the overrides pins without justification. See guides/01-vulnerability-triage.md and guides/03-lockfile-discipline.md.
- Prefer Renovate over Dependabot for this repo because of grouping and
minimumReleaseAge. See guides/00-scanner-decision-matrix.md.
- Always validate
package-lock.json integrity after any dependency change. npm ci is the enforcement control. See guides/03-lockfile-discipline.md.
- Do not gate CI on
low/moderate npm audit findings. Gate only on high and critical. See guides/01-vulnerability-triage.md.
- Never weaken the publish guards. The
files allowlist, pack-check.mjs, and audit:openclaw are the publish-time defense. See guides/04-provenance-verification.md.
- Defer to
security-worker-bee for any CVE that requires patching application code, not just upgrading a package.
Toolchain overview (2026 state)
| Tool | Role for this package | Limit |
|---|
| npm audit | CVE compliance baseline, zero-config, built into the npm ci toolchain | Does not catch supply-chain attacks without a CVE (axios-style account hijack, tree-sitter build tampering) |
| Renovate | Grouped update PRs + minimumReleaseAge delay; right fit for this single-package npm repo | More config than Dependabot; needs a renovate.json |
| Dependabot | Free GitHub-native auto-PRs; the zero-ops fallback | No grouping, no minimumReleaseAge, one PR per update |
| socket.dev | Behavioral threat intel for npm: typosquatting, malicious install scripts, account takeover - the control for the tree-sitter postinstall risk | Not a CVE scanner; complements npm audit, does not replace it |
| Snyk (optional) | Richer CVE DB + reachability + IDE integration for npm | Paid tiers for some features; npm audit + socket.dev cover the baseline |
| Syft + CycloneDX | SBOM for the published npm package in CycloneDX 1.6 JSON; CI-ready with Sigstore attestation | Does not scan vulnerabilities; pairs with Grype for that |
npm --provenance | Sigstore-backed provenance on publish; verifiable with npm audit signatures | Transport guarantee only - does not vouch for source-code trust |
Key 2026 insight: npm audit is a CVE compliance tool, not a supply-chain security tool. The March 2026 axios maintainer account hijack published a backdoor in 40 minutes with no CVE at time of attack - npm audit showed clean throughout. For this package the equivalent nightmare is a tampered tree-sitter grammar running install-time code via postinstall. socket.dev behavioral analysis and Renovate minimumReleaseAge are the controls that address this class. See research/external/04-npm-provenance-sigstore-2026.md.
Guide map
Read the guide matching your task:
| Task | Guide |
|---|
| Pick the right tooling for this npm package | guides/00-scanner-decision-matrix.md |
Triage an npm audit finding (noise vs real, native-dep risk) | guides/01-vulnerability-triage.md |
| Generate and attest an SBOM for the published package | guides/02-sbom-workflow.md |
Harden package-lock.json + tree-sitter discipline | guides/03-lockfile-discipline.md |
| Verify npm provenance + the publish-time guards | guides/04-provenance-verification.md |
Template map
| Template | Use case |
|---|
templates/renovate-base-config.json | Drop-in Renovate config for this npm repo: grouping, minimumReleaseAge, automerge for devDependencies, and a guarded rule for the pinned tree-sitter grammars |
templates/github-actions-sbom-workflow.yml | SBOM generation + Sigstore attestation for the published @deeplake/hivemind tarball on tag push |
templates/dependency-triage-report.md | Markdown template for recording an npm audit triage pass on this package |
Folder layout
dependency-audit-stinger/
+- SKILL.md (this file)
+- README.md (one-page human overview)
+- guides/
| +- 00-scanner-decision-matrix.md (Renovate vs Dependabot + npm audit + socket.dev for this package)
| +- 01-vulnerability-triage.md (npm audit noise vs real, direct vs transitive, tree-sitter native-dep risk)
| +- 02-sbom-workflow.md (Syft + CycloneDX 1.6 + Sigstore for the published tarball)
| +- 03-lockfile-discipline.md (npm ci + package-lock.json + minimumReleaseAge + optionalDependencies pins)
| +- 04-provenance-verification.md (npm --provenance + audit signatures + files allowlist / pack-check / audit-openclaw / CodeQL)
+- examples/
| +- happy-path-node-scanner-setup.md (Renovate + npm audit + socket.dev for @deeplake/hivemind)
| +- edge-case-critical-cve-triage.md (triaging a transitive CVE pulled through a Hivemind dependency)
+- templates/
| +- renovate-base-config.json (ready-to-use Renovate config for this repo)
| +- github-actions-sbom-workflow.yml (SBOM + attestation workflow)
| +- dependency-triage-report.md (npm audit triage report template)
+- reports/
| +- README.md (how audit reports accumulate)
+- research/ (DO NOT MODIFY -- owned by scripture-historian)
+- research-plan.md
+- research-summary.md
+- index.md
+- internal/01-command-brief.md
+- external/ (5 source files)
Pairing
| Role | Artifact |
|---|
| This stinger | .cursor/skills/dependency-audit-stinger/ |
| Paired Bee | .cursor/agents/dependency-audit-worker-bee.md |
Forged by stinger-forge, retargeted to the @deeplake/hivemind npm package. Part of The Hive, curated by Mario Aldayuz a.k.a @thenotoriousllama.
