| name | upgrade-deps |
| description | Upgrade dependencies safely by auditing usage, researching breaking changes, and verifying after upgrade. Scales effort to version jump size — light check for patches, full audit for majors. Use when asked to upgrade, bump, or update a dependency or package. |
| compatibility | Requires tokenlean CLI tools (npm i -g tokenlean) and git |
Upgrade Deps
Upgrade dependencies safely by understanding usage before changing versions.
Workflow
Audit → Research → Upgrade → Verify → Clean up
1. Audit
Understand current usage before changing anything:
tl-npm <package>
tl-search "<package-name>"
tl-deps <file>
2. Research
Check what changed between versions:
tl-browse <changelog-url>
tl-context7 <package> "migration guide"
Look for: removed APIs, renamed functions, changed defaults, new peer deps.
3. Upgrade
Apply the version bump:
tl-diff --breaking
tl-snippet <symbol> <file>
4. Verify
tl-run "<test command>"
tl-test-map <file>
tl-guard
5. Clean up
Remove old compatibility code:
tl-unused
tl-search "<old-version>"
Decision tree
Upgrade request → How big is the version jump?
├─ Patch (1.2.3 → 1.2.4) → Light check
│ → tl-npm to confirm, upgrade, tl-run tests
├─ Minor (1.2 → 1.3) → Standard check
│ → tl-search for usage, tl-browse changelog
│ → Upgrade, tl-run tests
└─ Major (1.x → 2.x) → Full audit
→ tl-search for all usage sites
→ tl-browse changelog + migration guide
→ tl-snippet on every consumer
→ Upgrade, tl-diff --breaking, tl-run tests
→ tl-unused to clean up compat code
Tips
- tl-npm output includes the changelog URL — use it with tl-browse
- Use tl-context7 for popular frameworks (React, Next.js, etc.) — it has migration guides
- Always check for changed peer dependencies after major upgrades
- Run tl-unused after removing compatibility code — catch leftover dead exports
- Never upgrade a major version without reading the migration guide first