Codependence

One .codependencerc for every dependency manager.

Codependence checks, reports, and updates dependency versions from one repository policy. A root .codependencerc can manage Node, Python, Go, Rust, Docker, and GitHub Actions dependencies independently across local development and CI.

Main Use Case

Keep important versions intentional

Codependence loads one .codependencerc and applies each manager-specific target to its own files. It can keep only listed dependencies current or pin selected dependencies while updating everything else.

The difference from {npm,pnpm} update or yarn upgrade is that Codependence gives you an explicit policy surface: these versions matter, these packages may move, and CI should fail when the repo drifts.

The difference from hosted update bots is scope. Dependabot and Renovate are strong choices for scheduled dependency pull requests. Codependence is useful when dependency policy needs to run locally, in a script, in any CI provider, or across multiple manifests without depending on a hosted bot workflow.

*yes, dependencies can be pinned to ~ or ^ versions in package.json files!

Read more about Codependence and why you might want to use it below.

Usage

Codependence can be used as a standalone CLI, in npm scripts or, secondarily, as a Node utility.

Install

npm install codependence --save-dev
pnpm add codependence --save-dev
bun add codependence --dev
yarn add codependence --dev

Agent skills

Install the eslint-plugin-legibility agent skill directly:

npx eslint-plugin-legibility-install-skill
npx eslint-plugin-legibility-install-skill --target codex
npx eslint-plugin-legibility-install-skill --target claude

This repo also has wrapper scripts for contributor setup:

bun run skills:install        # default shared agent skills location
bun run skills:install:codex  # Codex global skill location
bun run skills:install:claude # Claude rules location

For project-local installs, generated files are ignored by git:

bun run skills:install:local
bun run skills:install:codex:local
bun run skills:install:claude:local

Quick setup

Create the recommended root .codependencerc with manager targets, then run every configured manager:

codependence
codependence --update

For a one-off check without a config:

codependence --codependencies 'react' 'lodash' --update

Legacy projects can embed the policy in the root package.json:

{
  "codependence": {
    "codependencies": ["react", "lodash"]
  },
  "scripts": {
    "update-codependencies": "codependence --update",
    "prepare": "npm run update-codependencies"
  }
}

By default, a codependencies list keeps the 0.x behavior: only those listed dependencies are checked and updated. To pin specific packages while updating everything else, opt into policy/permissive mode:

codependence --permissive --codependencies 'react' 'lodash' --update

Or run a policy check without writing files:

codependence --permissive --codependencies 'react' 'lodash' --dryRun

Initialize Codependence

Quickly set up Codependence in your project with the interactive init command:

# Create the recommended root .codependencerc interactively
codependence init

# Create .codependencerc with all dependencies pinned (legacy mode)
codependence init rc

# Create .codependencerc with listed dependencies pinned
codependence init rc react lodash

# Legacy: add configuration to package.json with all dependencies pinned
codependence init package

# Create separate Node, Python, Go, and infrastructure update workflows
codependence init actions

The configuration init modes will:

• Default to permissive mode (update all dependencies to latest, except those you want to pin)
• Scan your package.json for dependencies
• Let you choose your dependency policy strategy:
  • 🚀 Permissive mode (default/recommended): Update all to latest, pin specific ones
  • 🔒 Pin all mode: Keep all dependencies at current versions
• Recommend .codependencerc, with embedded package.json configuration retained for legacy projects
• Provide clear next steps for running Codependence
• Handle edge cases like missing files or invalid JSON gracefully

codependence init actions reads configured manager targets and generates scheduled pull request workflows without replacing existing files.

Testing

Unit Tests:

bun test                    # Run all unit tests
bun test --coverage        # Run with coverage report

E2E Tests:

./tests/e2e/test-multilang.sh all    # Run all e2e tests
./tests/e2e/test-multilang.sh rust
./tests/e2e/test-multilang.sh docker
./tests/e2e/test-multilang.sh github-actions
./tests/e2e/test-multilang.sh uv
./tests/e2e/test-multilang.sh agent-skills

Codependence as a CLI

Codependence is built as a CLI-first policy tool.

Install Codependence as a root devDependency and keep repository policy in one root .codependencerc.

For monorepos and mixed-language repositories, add manager targets with their own files, rootDir, and policy fields. The CLI loads the config once and executes every target.

Usage: codependence [command] [options]

Commands:
  init [type] [items...]            Initialize Codependence
                                    Types: rc, package, default, actions

Options:
  -f, --files [files...]           File glob pattern
  --target [managers...]           Run only selected manager targets
  --version [manager=version...]   Exact tool versions for init actions
  --post-update-command [name=cmd...] Override generated lockfile commands
  --schedule [area=cron...]        Override generated workflow schedules
  --token-secret <name>            GitHub PAT secret name for generated workflows
  --force                           Replace generated workflow files
  --lockfile [policy]              Require lockfiles, or pass false for manifest-only updates
  -u, --update                      Update dependencies based on check
  -r, --rootDir <rootDir>          Root directory to start search
  -i, --ignore [ignore...]         Ignore glob pattern
  --debug                           Enable debugging
  --silent                          Enable mainly silent logging
  -v, --verbose                     Enable verbose logging (shows debug info)
  -q, --quiet                       Suppress all output except errors
  -cds, --codependencies [deps...] Dependencies to check
  -c, --config <config>            Path to a config file
  -s, --searchPath <searchPath>    Path to do a config file search
  -y, --yarnConfig                  Enable yarn config support
  --level <level>                   Update level: patch, minor, or major (default: major)
  -m, --mode <mode>                verbose: only listed packages; precise: all except listed
  -l, --language <lang>            Target language (nodejs, go, python, rust, docker, github-actions)
  -h, --help                        Show this help message
  --dryRun                          Show what would change without modifying files
  --interactive                     Choose which packages to update interactively
  --watch                           Watch for changes and re-check continuously
  --noCache                         Disable version caching for fresh results
  --format <type>                   Output format: json, markdown, or table (default: table)
  --outputFile <path>               Write output to file instead of stdout

Codependence GitHub Action

Generate the recommended split workflows from the manager targets in .codependencerc:

codependence init actions

This creates at most four stable workflow files for Node, Python, Go, and the combined Docker/GitHub Actions area. Existing files are preserved unless --force is provided.

Run one configured manager target with an exact tool version:

- uses: yowainwright/codependence@v1
  with:
    targets: bun
    version: 1.3.14

PR mode requires a fine-grained PAT and post-update-command. Each manager set uses a stable branch, so scheduled Bun and Go workflows maintain separate pull requests while repeated runs update the existing PR. See the GitHub Action guide for lockfile policy and PAT permissions.

Codependence in Node

Although Codependence is built primarily as a CLI utility, it can be used as a Node utility.

import { checkFiles, codependence } from "codependence";

const checkForOutdated = async () => {
  try {
    await checkFiles({ codependencies: ["fs-extra", "lodash"] });
    console.log("All dependencies are up-to-date");
  } catch (err) {
    console.error("Dependencies are out of date:", (err as Error).message);
  }
};

const updateAllExceptSpecific = async () => {
  await codependence({
    codependencies: ["react", "lodash"],
    permissive: true,
    update: true,
  });
};

checkForOutdated();

0.3.1 compatibility

The v1 CLI keeps the final pre-1.0 contract from 0.3.1: the codependence and cdp binaries, legacy CLI flags, flat and embedded package.json policy, and listed-only codependencies behavior. The named script export retains the legacy non-throwing API. Use checkFiles or codependence when callers need v1 errors and version-diff results.

Configuration Options

.codependencerc is the primary configuration surface. Keep manager policies in the file and use CLI flags for execution choices such as checking, updating, or formatting output.

One .codependencerc, every manager

The root targets array holds independent manager policies. Each target uses manager-scoped default manifests unless files is provided, plus its own policy and version resolver. Codependence runs all targets from the same config.

{
  "lockfile": true,
  "targets": [
    {
      "manager": "bun",
      "files": ["package.json"],
      "codependencies": ["typescript"]
    },
    {
      "manager": "github-actions",
      "files": ["action.yml", ".github/workflows/*.yml"],
      "mode": "precise"
    }
  ]
}

Supported managers are bun, npm, pnpm, yarn, conda, pip, pipenv, poetry, uv, go, rust, docker, and github-actions. Execution options such as update, dryRun, format, and noCache stay at the root and apply to every target. Root rootDir and ignore values are also inherited unless a target overrides them. Root lockfile is inherited and can be disabled for one target with "lockfile": false. Use --target bun or --target go to run only configured targets for those managers. Legacy flat and embedded package.json configurations remain supported, but new projects should use .codependencerc. Target-scoped fields cannot be mixed beside targets.

codependencies: Array<string | Record<string, string>

codependencies is a target-scoped policy array. String entries track the latest version; object entries pin an exact version or range.

• The default value is undefined
• An array is required!

Version policy entries

The Codependence codependencies array supports latest out-of-the-box.

So having this ["fs-extra", "lodash"] will return the latest versions of the packages within the array. It will also match a specified version, like so [{ "foo": "1.0.0" }] and [{ "foo": "^1.0.0" }] or [{ "foo": "~1.0.0" }]. You can also include a * at the end of a name you would like to match. For example, @foo/* will match all packages with @foo/ in the name and return their latest versions. This will also work with foo-*, etc.

Codependence is built in to give you more capability to control your dependencies!

Legacy embedded monorepo policies

New monorepos should define manager targets in the root .codependencerc and scope them with files or rootDir. Embedded codependence.codependencies arrays in child package.json files remain supported for compatibility.

For example

You can have a package.json file in a @foo/bar package with following:

{
  "name": "@foo/bar",
  "dependencies": {
    "fs-extra": "^9.0.0",
  },
  "codependence": {
    "codependencies": [{ "fs-extra": "^9.0.0" }]
  }
}

And another package.json file in a @foo/baz package with following:

{
  "name": "@foo/baz",
  "dependencies": {
    "fs-extra": "^11.1.0",
  },
  "codependence": {
    "codependencies": [{ "fs-extra": "^11.1.0" }]
  }
}

Codependencies will install the right dependency version for each package in your monorepo!

Note: Codependencies can and will still install the expected version defined at the monorepo's root for packages that don't specify differences in their package.json files!

files: Array<string>

An optional array of manifest or workflow glob patterns for a target.

• The default value is ['package.json']
• This array accepts glob patterns as well, example ["package.json", "**/package.json"

update: boolean

An optional root boolean that applies approved dependency updates across every target.

• The default value is false

rootDir: string

An optional string which can used to specify the root directory to run checks from;

• The default value is "./"

ignore: Array<string>

An optional array of strings used to specify directories to ignore

• .git, .next, .venv, node_modules, and *.dockerignore files are ignored by default
• an explicit ignore array replaces these defaults for 0.x compatibility
• glob patterns are accepted

debug: boolean

An optional boolean value used to enable debugging output

• The default value is false

silent: boolean

An optional boolean value used to enable a more silent developer experience

• The default value is false

config: string

An optional path to an alternate config file. Without it, Codependence searches for .codependencerc from the current directory upward.

• The default is undefined

searchPath: string

An optional string containing a search path for location config files.

• The default value is undefined

yarnConfig: boolean

An optional boolean value used to enable *yarn config checking

• The default value is false

permissive: boolean

Controls whether all dependencies are updated to latest except those listed in codependencies.

• The default value is false when codependencies are provided, for compatibility with 0.x jobs
• When true, all dependencies NOT listed in codependencies are updated to latest — your codependencies list is what you want to pin
• Use --mode precise (CLI) or mode: "precise" (config) for the same pin-and-update-everything-else behavior

level: "patch" | "minor" | "major"

An optional string constraining how far updates are allowed to reach.

• "patch" — only update within the same minor version (e.g. 1.2.x)
• "minor" — only update within the same major version (e.g. 1.x.x)
• "major" — allow any update (default)

mode: "verbose" | "precise"

An optional string controlling which packages are checked.

• "verbose" — only check/update the packages listed in codependencies (0.x compatible behavior)
• "precise" — update all dependencies except those listed in codependencies (same as permissive behavior)

dryRun: boolean

An optional boolean that previews what would change without modifying any files.

• The default value is false

interactive: boolean

An optional boolean that prompts you to select which packages to update when combined with --update.

• The default value is false

watch: boolean

An optional boolean that enables continuous checking, re-running every 30 seconds.

• The default value is false

noCache: boolean

An optional boolean that bypasses the version cache for fresh registry results.

• The default value is false

format: "json" | "markdown" | "table"

An optional string specifying the output format. When set, disables the spinner and outputs structured data instead.

• "json" — machine-readable JSON
• "markdown" — Markdown table (useful for PR comments)
• "table" — formatted table (default when flag is used)

outputFile: string

An optional path to write formatted output to a file instead of stdout. Requires format to be set.

Multi-language support (experimental)

Declare each ecosystem through a manager target in .codependencerc. The --language flag remains available for one-off and legacy single-target runs:

codependence --language python
codependence --language go
codependence --language rust
codependence --language docker
codependence --language github-actions

The Docker provider currently supports explicit pinned updates only. Use object codependencies such as {"node":"24-slim"} with mode: "verbose". Dockerfile, Dockerfile.*, and their recursive equivalents are discovered by default. FROM values assembled from Docker ARG variables are not resolved.

The GitHub Actions provider supports explicit pins, latest release resolution, and mode: "precise". Latest versions resolve to immutable commit SHAs, and existing version comments are refreshed with the release tag. Local and Docker actions remain unchanged. Authenticated lookups use GITHUB_TOKEN or GH_TOKEN when available.

Non-Node providers remain experimental, but stable and experimental managers can share the same targets array.

Python requirements updates preserve comments, markers, hashes, and include directives. Unversioned and URL-based requirements are left unchanged. After updating manifests, regenerate and commit ecosystem lockfiles with their native package managers.

Recipes

Listed below are some common patterns (recipes) for using Codependence.

One-off checks without .codependencerc

CLI policy flags remain available for temporary checks and scripts that do not need a repository policy.

codependence --codependencies 'lodash' '{ \"fs-extra\": \"10.0.1\" }'

Want to grab all dependencies which match a <name>* (name star) pattern to return the latest version of them? Sure!

codependence --codependencies '@foo/*' --update

Want to update all dependencies to latest except specific ones?

Use permissive mode and list what you want to pin:

codependence --permissive --codependencies 'react' 'lodash' --update

Synopsis

Codependence is a dependency-policy CLI that loads one .codependencerc and checks each configured manager against its manifests, images, or workflow references.

For each dependency included in the codependencies array, Codependence will either a) check that versions are at latest or b) check that a specified version is matched within manifest files. Codependence can either a) return a pass/fail result or b) update dependency versions in manifest file(s).

Codependence is useful for ensuring important dependency versions are intentional: up-to-date where they should move, pinned where they should not, and consistent across a repo or monorepo.

This utility is built to work alongside dependency automation tools like Dependabot and Renovate. Use those tools for hosted dependency PR automation. Use Codependence for local checks, CI gates, scripted updates, and repo-specific version policy.

Policy Surface

Codependence currently focuses on package manifests and dependency sections. The same policy model can expand to other version surfaces over time.

| Surface | Status | Purpose | | --- | --- | --- | | package.json dependencies | Supported | Enforce dependency policy in Node.js projects and monorepos | | Python, Go, and Rust manifests | Experimental | Apply the same check/update workflow outside Node.js | | Dockerfiles | Experimental | Check base image versions | | GitHub Actions workflows | Experimental | Check action refs in workflow YAML | | Local repository scans | Roadmap | Report drift across a directory of projects, such as ~/code | | Toolchain files | Roadmap | Keep .nvmrc, .node-version, .tool-versions, and .mise.toml aligned | | Compose and other CI YAML | Roadmap | Check service images, actions, and runtime versions in pipeline files |

Codependencies are project dependencies that must stay current or match a specified version.

When a manifest cannot use latest directly, Codependence writes the resolved version required by the target's policy. Exact versions and supported ranges remain explicit in .codependencerc.

Why use Codependence?

Codependence is focused on one job: enforcing dependency version policy where your code actually runs.

• It gives teams a small, explicit policy for versions that must stay current or pinned.
• It can fail CI when dependency versions drift.
• It can update only listed packages, or update everything except listed packages.
• It manages multiple dependency managers and monorepo scopes from one .codependencerc.
• It runs locally, from npm scripts, in GitHub Actions, or in other CI providers.
• It exposes a Node API for custom workflows and internal tooling.

Why not use Codependence?

Codependence isn't for everybody or every repository. Here are some reasons why it might not be for you!

• You only need hosted dependency PRs and are happy with Dependabot or Renovate.
• You do not need local or CI enforcement for version drift.
• You prefer manually pinning versions without automated checks.
• You do not need package-specific or workspace-specific dependency policy.

Demos

Check out Codependence in Action!

• Codependence Cron: Codependence running off a GitHub Action cron job.
• Codependence Monorepo: Codependence monorepo example.

Codependence Debugging

private packages

If there is a .npmrc file, there is no issue with Codependence monitoring private packages. However, if a yarn config is used, Codependence must be instructed to run version checks differently.

Fixes

• With the CLI, add the --yarnConfig option.
• With node, add yarnConfig: true to your options or your config.
• For other private package issues, submit an issue or pull request.

Development Environment

This project uses:

• Node.js 20, 22, or 24 in CI; releases run on Node.js 24
• Bun 1.3.14

We use mise to manage tool versions. If you have mise installed, it will automatically use the correct versions of Node.js and bun.

Setup with mise

# Install mise if you don't have it
curl https://mise.run | sh

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yowainwright/codependence.git
cd codependence

# mise will automatically use the correct versions from .mise.toml
mise install

# Install dependencies
bun install

Setup without mise

# Install Node.js 24
nvm install 24

# Install pinned bun
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash -s "bun-v1.3.14"

# Install dependencies
bun install

Release Strategy

Git tags must match package.json versions. Stable tags like v1.0.0 publish to npm latest. Supported prerelease tags use alpha, beta, or rc, such as v1.0.0-beta.1, and publish to the matching npm dist-tag.

Local release helpers keep the release commit and the publish trigger composable:

bun run release:dry
bun run release:alpha:dry
bun run release:beta:dry
bun run release:rc:dry
bun run release
bun run release:tag

The release helper creates the release commit locally, pushes only the version tag, and restores local main to its starting commit. The tag triggers the publish workflow, which packs the npm tarball and then compiles codependence-linux-x64 with Perry. The standalone executable must pass its help check plus Docker, GitHub Actions, and Rust provider E2E tests before npm publication. The workflow attests both artifacts, publishes the package with npm provenance, and uploads the executable, tarball, and attestation to the GitHub release. It then runs the reusable published-package test suite against the exact npm version before the release is considered successful. Use bun run release:tag when package.json already has the version you want to publish.

Perry is exact-pinned because newer releases currently fail the native link. Only update that pin after bun run test:e2e:binary passes on macOS and Ubuntu 24.04 x64.

Publishing follows the same posture as Pastoralist: GitHub Actions publishes through npm Trusted Publishing/OIDC, not a long-lived npm token. Configure the codependence package on npm with a trusted publisher for yowainwright/codependence, workflow file publish.yml, environment npm-publish, and allowed action npm publish. After the trusted publisher is working, npm package settings should require 2FA and disallow token publishing.

npm rollback

npm versions are immutable. Roll back a bad stable release by restoring the last known-good latest tag and deprecating the bad version instead of unpublishing it:

GOOD_VERSION=1.0.1
BAD_VERSION=1.1.0

npm dist-tag add "codependence@$GOOD_VERSION" latest
npm deprecate "codependence@$BAD_VERSION" "Deprecated after release validation failed. Use codependence@$GOOD_VERSION."
npm view codependence dist-tags --json
npm view codependence@latest version

Keep the failed GitHub release and provenance assets available for auditability, and add a warning that points users to the last known-good version.

Homebrew release

Prepare Homebrew only after the stable npm package and GitHub release exist:

gh workflow run homebrew.yml -f version=1.1.0

The workflow downloads the published npm tarball, computes its SHA256, installs the generated formula through a temporary tap, runs both codependence --help and cdp --help, and attaches codependence.rb to the matching GitHub release. Publish that verified file as Formula/codependence.rb in yowainwright/homebrew-tap; do not derive the formula SHA from a local pack.

Contributing

Contributing is straightforward.

Issues

• Sprinkle some context
• Can you submit a pull request if needed?

Pull Requests

• Add a test (or a description of the test) that should be added
• Update the readme (if needed)
• Sprinkle some context in the pull request.
• Hope it's fun!

Thank you!

Roadmap

• Policy Surface:
  • scan a directory of local repositories and report version drift
  • extend policy checks beyond package manifests to toolchain files such as .nvmrc, .node-version, .tool-versions, and .mise.toml
  • extend Docker image version checks beyond Dockerfile to Containerfile and compose files
  • extend CI pipeline version checks beyond GitHub Actions to other workflow YAML
• Code:
  • add better spying/mocking (in progress)
  • add utils functions to be executed with the cli cmd (monorepo, cadence, all deps)
• Demo Repos
  • monorepo: present how codependence can work to support monorepo updates (in progress)
  • cadence: present how cadence can be implemented with codependence
• Documentation
  • write recipes section after the demo repos are complete (in progress)

Shoutouts

Thanks to Dev Wells and Steve Cox for the aligned code leading to this project. Thanks Navid for some great insights to improve the api!

Made by @yowainwright, MIT 2022-present