npm-check-updates

npm-check-updates upgrades your package.json dependencies to the latest versions, ignoring specified versions.

• maintains existing semantic versioning policies, i.e. "react": "^18.3.1" to "react": "^19.2.7".
• only modifies package.json file. Run npm install to update your installed packages and package-lock.json.
• sensible defaults, but highly customizable
• compatible with npm, yarn, pnpm, deno, and bun
• CLI and module usage
• Pure ESM architecture with dual-build support (ESM/CJS)

$${\color{red}Red}$$ major upgrade (and all major version zero)

$${\color{cyan}Cyan}$$ minor upgrade

$${\color{green}Green}$$ patch upgrade

Requirements

• Node.js: ^20.19.0 || ^22.12.0 || >=24.0.0
• npm: >=10.0.0

Installation

Install globally to use npm-check-updates or the shorter ncu:

npm install -g npm-check-updates

Or run with npx (only the long form is supported):

npx npm-check-updates

Usage

Check the latest versions of all project dependencies:

$ ncu
Checking package.json
[====================] 5/5 100%

 eslint             7.32.0  →    8.0.0
 prettier           ^2.7.1  →   ^3.0.0
 svelte            ^3.48.0  →  ^3.51.0
 typescript         >3.0.0  →   >4.0.0
 untildify          <4.0.0  →   ^4.0.0
 webpack               4.x  →      5.x

Run ncu -u to upgrade package.json

Upgrade a project's package file:

Make sure your package file is in version control and all changes have been committed. This will overwrite your package file.

$ ncu -u
Upgrading package.json
[====================] 1/1 100%

 express           4.12.x  →   4.13.x

Run npm install to install new versions.

$ npm install      # update installed packages and package-lock.json

Check global packages:

ncu -g

Interactive Mode

Choose which packages to update in interactive mode:

ncu --interactive
ncu -i

Combine with --format group for a truly luxe experience:

Keys

• ↑↓ Select a package
• Space Toggle selection
• a Toggle all
• Enter Upgrade

Filter packages

Filter packages using the --filter option or adding additional cli arguments:

# upgrade only mocha
ncu mocha
ncu -f mocha
ncu --filter mocha

# upgrade only chalk, mocha, and react
ncu chalk mocha react
ncu chalk, mocha, react
ncu -f "chalk mocha react"

Filter with wildcards or regex:

# upgrade packages that start with "react-"
ncu react-*
ncu "/^react-.*$/"

Exclude specific packages with the --reject option or prefixing a filter with !. Supports strings, wildcards, globs, comma-or-space-delimited lists, and regex:

# upgrade everything except nodemon
ncu \!nodemon
ncu -x nodemon
ncu --reject nodemon

# upgrade packages that do not start with "react-".
ncu \!react-*
ncu '/^(?!react-).*$/' # mac/linux
ncu "/^(?!react-).*$/" # windows

Advanced filters: filter, filterResults, filterVersion

How dependency updates are determined

• Direct dependencies are updated to the latest stable version:
• 2.0.1 → 2.2.0
• 1.2 → 1.3
• 0.1.0 → 1.0.1
• Range operators are preserved and the version is updated:
• ^1.2.0 → ^2.0.0
• 1.x → 2.x
• >0.2.0 → >0.3.0
• "Less than" is replaced with a wildcard:
• <2.0.0 → ^3.0.0
• 1.0.0 < 2.0.0 → ^3.0.0
• "Any version" is preserved:
• * → *
• Prerelease versions are ignored by default.
• Use --pre to include prerelease versions (e.g. alpha, beta, build1235)
• Choose what level to upgrade to:
• With --target semver, update according to your specified semver version ranges:
  • ^1.1.0 → ^1.9.99
• With --target minor, strictly update the patch and minor versions (including major version zero):
  • 0.1.0 → 0.2.1
• With --target patch, strictly update the patch version (including major version zero):
  • 0.1.0 → 0.1.2
• With --target @next, update to the version published on the next tag:
  • 0.1.0 -> 0.1.1-next.1

Options

Options are merged with the following precedence:

1. Command line options
2. Local Config File (current working directory)
3. Project Config File (next to package.json)
4. User Config File ($HOME)

Options that take no arguments can be negated by prefixing them with --no-, e.g. --no-peer.