| name | safe-dependency-change |
| description | Gate dependency additions, removals, upgrades, and lockfile changes. Use before changing dependencies, package managers, SDKs, generated lockfiles, or install commands. |
Safe Dependency Change
Use this skill before changing dependencies or package-management state.
Read templates/dependency-change-gate.md before editing dependency manifests
or lockfiles.
Workflow
- Confirm the task requires a dependency change.
- Search for existing dependencies, platform APIs, or small local
implementation alternatives.
- Identify whether the change is runtime, dev-only, tooling, or lockfile-only.
- Check license, maintenance, security, bundle/runtime impact, and platform
compatibility when relevant.
- Ask for explicit approval before making the dependency change unless the
user already approved it in the current request.
- Use the repository's existing package manager and lockfile convention.
- Run relevant install, build, test, and lockfile checks.
Guardrails
- Do not change package managers.
- Do not install global tools silently.
- Do not update broad dependency ranges to fix one issue unless necessary.
- Do not commit generated caches, downloaded packages, credentials, or runtime
state.
Output
Dependency Gate
- need:
- alternative:
- package change:
- approval:
- verification:
