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--- name: ln-32-dependency-upgrader description: "Upgrades dependencies across package managers with breaking-change research and rollback-safe verification. Use for dependency maintenance; not general code modernization." --- # Dependency Upgrader **Goal:** Upgrade dependencies in small, attributable batches. Preserve manifests, lockfiles, runtime support, and product behavior; do not treat a newer version as valuable without compatibility, security, or maintenance evidence. **Execution contract:** Treat the ordered checkbox workflow below as this skill's Definition of Done. Track every checkbox as `PENDING`, then resolve it to `PROVEN` with concrete evidence, `CLEARED` with evidence that its conditional trigger is absent, or `UNPROVEN`; reading, mentioning, delegating, skipping, or tool failure is not proof. Before returning, resolve every `PENDING`, count only `PROVEN` and `CLEARED` items as complete, apply this skill's verdict, decision, and approval rules to every `UNPROVEN`, and prepend **Checklist: X/Y complete**<br>**Incomplete: None | section/item — reason; outcome impact; exact next action**; list every `UNPROVEN` item. ## Tool Routing | Need | Preferred tool | Use it when | Fallback | |---|---|---|---| | Package-manager detection | Manifests, lockfiles, workspace files, runtime files, and repository instructions | Always before choosing commands or update scope | Build and CI configuration | | Outdated and vulnerable packages | Native package-manager outdated and audit commands | The manager and registry are available | Official registry, vendor advisory, and lockfile inspection | | Breaking changes and support | Official release notes, migration guides, changelogs, advisories, and runtime support tables | Every consequential minor, major, replacement, or security update | Primary-source repository releases; otherwise mark `UNVERIFIED` | | Usage and blast radius | Language server or host-native code intelligence | An updated API, type, plugin, build tool, or runtime may affect consumers | Targeted import, symbol, configuration, and script search | | Safe version changes | Native package-manager commands | Updating manifests and generated lock state | Do not hand-edit lockfiles or emulate package resolution | | Verification | Repository-defined install, restore, build, lint, type, test, migration, and smoke commands | Before changes and after each batch | CI and script inspection with explicit unverified status | | Diff and rollback | Git status, diff, and isolated commits or worktree | Protecting user changes and reverting only the failed batch | Stop if the batch cannot be isolated safely | Never publish packages, rotate credentials, deploy, or weaken audit and verification gates. Do not run lifecycle scripts from an untrusted package source without the environment's normal safeguards. ## Evidence Rules - Manifests and lockfiles define what is installed; registry "latest" does not override project runtime or compatibility constraints. - A vulnerability finding requires the affected version, advisory, reachability or exposure context, and a credible remediation. - A breaking-change claim requires release or migration evidence matching the exact version transition. - Keep generated lockfile changes only when produced by the selected native package manager and expected repository version. - Upgrade success requires repository verification, not only a successful install or restore. ## Checklist ### 1. Discover Scope and Protect the Workspace - [ ] Detect all package managers, workspaces, manifests, lockfiles, central version files, registries, runtime pins, tool manifests, and generated dependency files. - [ ] Classify each deliverable as an application, library, plugin, CLI, container, or build tool so version ranges, lockfiles, peer constraints, and supported-runtime promises are interpreted correctly. - [ ] Read repository instructions and determine supported package-manager versions, update commands, lockfile policy, and CI expectations. - [ ] Inspect Git state and isolate the work so existing user changes cannot be overwritten or mistaken for upgrade output. - [ ] Start a run-owned resource ledger with every created absolute path, worktree, process ID, cache, report, and temporary artifact; never register pre-existing resources as cleanup targets. - [ ] Resolve the requested scope: security-only, routine patch or minor maintenance, selected packages, majors, runtime migration, or complete refresh. - [ ] Capture install or restore, build, lint, type, test, smoke, and security-audit baseline before editing. - [ ] Record pre-existing failures, advisories, deprecations, peer conflicts, and unsupported runtime combinations. ### 2. Research and Plan Batches - [ ] Use native outdated and audit commands to inventory direct and relevant transitive updates without changing files. - [ ] Separate removals, security fixes, routine updates, major changes, build-tool changes, and runtime or ecosystem migrations. - [ ] Check official release notes and migration guides for API changes, configuration changes, defaults, peer constraints, runtime support, and removed behavior. - [ ] Resolve environment markers, extras, optional/dev groups, peer dependencies, target frameworks, and platform-specific packages; a graph that resolves only on the current machine is not sufficient when the project promises a wider matrix. - [ ] Check official advisories for affected ranges, exploit conditions, fixed versions, workarounds, and whether the dependency is reachable in this project. - [ ] Search actual imports, symbols, plugins, scripts, configuration, generated code, and runtime loading for every consequential dependency. - [ ] Identify unused, duplicate, abandoned, replaced, or platform-redundant dependencies as separate removal candidates; require runtime and dynamic-loading evidence, and explicit user approval when removal is outside the requested upgrade scope. - [ ] Order batches by prerequisite: package manager or runtime, build tooling, foundational libraries, framework, integrations, then leaf packages. - [ ] Keep routine batches small enough to attribute failure; batch framework families, analyzers, generated clients, or tightly constrained peers together only when their compatibility matrix requires it. - [ ] Stop for user direction when mutually exclusive version strategies, runtime support, licensing, registry policy, or migration scope changes product intent. ### 3. Apply Each Batch Safely - [ ] Use the native package manager to update manifests and lockfiles with the repository's expected version and flags. - [ ] Avoid broad re-resolution when the request is narrow unless the manager cannot preserve the lock graph safely; explain unavoidable churn. - [ ] Inspect install scripts, registry source, checksums, package provenance, and unexpected new transitive packages when security risk warrants it. - [ ] Update imports, APIs, types, configuration, build scripts, plugins, generated clients, and application code required by documented breaking changes. - [ ] Update user or operator documentation only when accepted behavior, prerequisites, configuration, or commands change. - [ ] Inspect the diff immediately for unrelated formatting, deleted constraints, registry drift, line-ending churn, generated artifacts, and accidental downgrades. - [ ] Inspect the resolved graph for newly duplicated major versions, unsatisfied or silently ignored peers, changed optional features, and transitive substitutions that alter runtime behavior. - [ ] Do not suppress warnings, disable audits, skip required checks, pin incompatible peers forcibly, or add compatibility hacks without evidence. ### 4. Verify and Keep or Revert - [ ] Run install or restore from a clean-enough state to prove lockfile reproducibility. - [ ] Run the relevant build, lint, type, unit, integration, smoke, packaging, migration, and application-start checks after each batch. - [ ] Classify affected runtime, target-framework, OS, architecture, and feature combinations as required or optional; retain a batch only with local or trusted CI evidence for every required cell, and return `BLOCKED` when required coverage has no credible fallback. - [ ] Exercise changed APIs, plugins, serializers, build outputs, and runtime paths that generic tests may not cover. - [ ] Compare bundle, startup, artifact, or performance metrics when the updated dependency can materially change them. - [ ] Re-run the security audit and distinguish fixed, remaining, newly introduced, unreachable, and no-fix advisories. - [ ] Keep the batch only when verification passes and expected behavior remains supported. - [ ] Revert the entire failed batch without touching user work, record the blocking package or migration, and continue only with independent safe batches. - [ ] Establish the retained dependency state as the baseline before applying the next batch. - [ ] Classify each planned batch as `KEPT` when applied and verified, `REVERTED` when applied then fully rolled back after failed verification, or `SKIPPED` when deliberately not applied because a required decision, compatibility strategy, or independent prerequisite is unresolved. ### 5. Finalize and Report - [ ] Run the full required repository verification on the combined retained state. - [ ] Confirm manifests, lockfiles, runtime pins, CI, containers, documentation, and generated metadata agree on the final versions. - [ ] Remove only run-owned ledger entries: verify absolute paths remain inside approved temporary roots, stop exact recorded process IDs, preserve dirty or pre-existing worktrees, and retain evidence artifacts intentionally reported. - [ ] List intentionally skipped packages with exact constraint, risk, advisory, or migration reason. - [ ] Report direct and important transitive changes, removals, code migrations, advisories, verification, lockfile churn, and residual maintenance risk. - [ ] Use `UPDATED` when every requested retained batch passes required verification; use `PARTIAL` when at least one independent batch is retained and another is reverted, skipped, or optional coverage remains; use `NO_CHANGE` when no batch is retained and the baseline is restored; use `BLOCKED` when no safe batch can proceed or required verification is unavailable. ## Output Contract ```markdown # Dependency Upgrade **Verdict:** UPDATED | PARTIAL | NO_CHANGE | BLOCKED ## Scope and baseline - Package managers, workspaces, and runtime constraints - Requested update policy - Pre-existing verification and advisories ## Batches | Batch | Packages | Version changes | Decision | Verification | |---|---|---|---|---| | ... | ... | ... | KEPT / REVERTED / SKIPPED | ... | ## Security and compatibility - Fixed, remaining, and introduced advisories - Breaking changes and code migrations - Runtime, peer, and registry constraints ## Final verification and residual risks Commands, results, skipped packages, limitations, and follow-up decisions. ## Evidence artifacts Run-owned paths and hashes for manifests, lockfiles, exact commands, final diff, rollback, and cleanup proof. ```