DepMender

A comprehensive CLI tool that scans JavaScript/TypeScript projects for dependency issues and fixes them automatically. Features advanced diagnostics, unused dependency cleanup, real-time monitoring, and intelligent configuration management.

📑 Table of Contents

• What it does
• Installation
• Quick Start
• Commands
  • Core Commands
  • Advanced Commands
  • Utility Commands
• Configuration
• Global Options
• Workflows
• Package Manager Support
• Features
• Contributing
• License

What it does

DepMender helps you maintain healthy dependencies by:

• Scanning for outdated packages, broken installations, and security vulnerabilities
• Fixing issues automatically with intelligent suggestions
• Diagnosing system health and project structure
• Cleaning unused dependencies to reduce bundle size
• Monitoring changes in real-time with watch mode
• Configuring behavior with flexible configuration files

Installation

npm install -g depmender

Quick Start

# Initialize configuration (optional)
depmender init

# Run system health check
depmender doctor

# Scan for dependency issues
depmender scan

# Get detailed report
depmender report

# Fix issues automatically
depmender fix --yes

# Clean unused dependencies
depmender clean --dry-run

# Monitor project in real-time
depmender watch

Commands

Core Commands

depmender scan

Analyzes your project dependencies and shows health overview.

depmender scan                    # Scan current directory
depmender scan --path ./frontend  # Scan specific directory
depmender scan --json            # Get JSON output
depmender scan --verbose         # Show detailed information

depmender report

Generates detailed health report with issue breakdown.

depmender report                  # Generate detailed report
depmender report --json          # Export as JSON
depmender report --verbose       # Include extra details

depmender fix

Automatically fixes detected issues with backup creation.

depmender fix                     # Interactive fix with prompts
depmender fix --yes              # Auto-fix without confirmation
depmender fix --path ./backend   # Fix specific project

Advanced Commands

depmender doctor

Run comprehensive system health diagnostics.

depmender doctor                  # Full system health check

What it checks:

• Node.js environment and version compatibility
• Project structure (package.json, lockfiles, node_modules)
• Package manager health and configuration
• Dependency analysis (duplicates, large packages)
• Performance metrics (install time, disk usage)
• Security audit results
• Personalized recommendations

depmender clean

Find and remove unused dependencies to reduce bundle size.

depmender clean --dry-run         # Preview what would be removed (default)
depmender clean --confirm         # Actually remove unused packages

Features:

• Scans source code for actual imports/requires
• Protects essential dependencies (build tools, linters)
• Shows potential space savings
• Safe removal with dependency analysis

depmender watch

Monitor project files and run dependency checks automatically.

depmender watch                   # Start monitoring current directory
depmender watch --notify          # Enable desktop notifications
depmender watch --webhook URL     # Send results to webhook
depmender watch --interval 30s    # Custom scan interval
depmender watch --auto-fix        # Automatically fix issues

Features:

• Real-time file monitoring (package.json, lockfiles)
• Automatic scans on changes
• Desktop notifications for critical issues
• Webhook integration for CI/CD
• Optional auto-fixing

depmender init

Initialize depmender configuration file.

depmender init                    # Create sample config file
depmender init --force           # Overwrite existing config

Creates: depmender.config.js with customizable options:

• Scanning rules (max outdated days, allowed vulnerabilities)
• Auto-fix settings (risk levels, confirmations)
• Output formatting (colors, verbosity)
• Integrations (Slack, GitHub)

Utility Commands

depmender help

Shows help information for commands.

depmender help                   # General help
depmender help scan              # Help for specific command

depmender examples

Shows usage examples and workflows.

depmender examples              # Show usage examples

depmender troubleshooting

Shows troubleshooting guide for common issues.

depmender troubleshooting       # Show troubleshooting guide

Configuration

Create a depmender.config.js file to customize behavior:

module.exports = {
  // Scanning rules
  rules: {
    maxOutdatedDays: 90,           // Allow packages older than 90 days
    allowedVulnerabilities: ['low'], // Ignore low severity vulnerabilities
    excludePackages: [             // Skip these packages
      '@types/*',
      'eslint-*'
    ],
    includeDev: true               // Include devDependencies in scan
  },
  
  // Auto-fix settings
  autoFix: {
    enabled: false,                // Enable automatic fixes
    confirmBeforeFix: true,        // Ask for confirmation
    backupBeforeFix: true,         // Create backup before fixing
    maxRiskLevel: 'medium'         // Only auto-fix low/medium risk
  },
  
  // Output customization
  output: {
    format: 'detailed',            // 'minimal', 'detailed', 'json'
    showSuccessMessages: true,     // Show success messages
    colors: true                   // Enable colored output
  }
};

Global Options

All commands support these global options:

• -p, --path <path> - Project path to analyze (default: current directory)
• --json - Output results in JSON format
• --verbose - Enable verbose output with additional details
• --quiet - Suppress all logs except errors

Workflows

Daily Development

# Quick health check
depmender scan

# Detailed analysis before deployment
depmender report --verbose

# Fix issues automatically
depmender fix --yes

CI/CD Integration

# Generate JSON report for CI
depmender scan --json > dependency-report.json

# Fail build on critical issues
depmender doctor && depmender scan --json | jq '.healthScore < 50' && exit 1

# Auto-fix in CI (with caution)
depmender fix --yes && npm test

Project Maintenance

# System health check
depmender doctor

# Clean unused dependencies
depmender clean --confirm

# Monitor for changes
depmender watch --notify

Package Manager Support

• npm - Full support with package-lock.json
• Yarn - Full support with yarn.lock
• pnpm - Full support with pnpm-lock.yaml

Features

• Comprehensive Scanning - Detects 6 types of dependency issues
• Intelligent Fixing - Smart suggestions with risk assessment
• System Diagnostics - Complete health check for your environment
• Dependency Cleanup - Remove unused packages safely
• Real-time Monitoring - Watch mode with notifications
• Flexible Configuration - Customize behavior per project
• Detailed Reporting - JSON/HTML output for integration
• Security Focus - Vulnerability detection and fixing
• Performance Optimized - Parallel scanning, caching
• Lightweight - Under 500KB package size

License

MIT

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:

1. Report Bugs - Open an issue with detailed information
2. Suggest Features - Share your ideas for improvements
3. Submit PRs - Fix bugs or add new features
4. Improve Docs - Help make documentation better
5. Share Feedback - Let us know how you're using DepMender

Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/depmender.git
cd depmender

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Run locally
node dist/cli.js --help

Running Tests

npm test

📝 Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for version history and updates.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with ❤️ using TypeScript, Commander.js, and Chalk.

Special thanks to all contributors and the open-source community.

📧 Support

• 📖 Documentation
• 🐛 Issue Tracker
• 💬 Discussions
• 📧 Email: support@depmender.dev

Made with ❤️ for the JavaScript/TypeScript community