dependency-update

name	dependency-update
description	Process for safely adding or updating npm dependencies
disable-model-invocation	true

Adding a new dependency

1. Check bundle impact — justify packages >50 KB
2. Verify licence: must be MIT, Apache-2.0, BSD-2-Clause, or BSD-3-Clause
3. Check maintainer activity: last publish within 12 months, >1 maintainer for critical packages
4. Pin to exact version for CLI tools; use ^ for library dependencies
5. Add to package.json in the correct section (dependencies vs devDependencies)
6. Run npm install and commit the updated lockfile

Updating an existing dependency

1. Read the changelog between current and target version — note any breaking changes
2. Run the full test suite after the update: npm test
3. Run npm audit and resolve any new advisories before committing
4. Update in a separate commit from feature work: chore(deps): bump express from 4.18 to 4.19

Never do

• Do not use npm install --legacy-peer-deps without a comment explaining why
• Do not add a dependency to solve a problem that already has a solution in the codebase
• Do not add polyfills for browser APIs if target environments already support them