ln-821-npm-upgrader Skill

Paths: File paths (references/, ../ln-*) are relative to this skill directory.

ln-821-npm-upgrader

Type: L3 Worker Category: 8XX Optimization

Upgrades Node.js dependencies using npm, yarn, or pnpm with automatic breaking change detection and migration.

Overview

| Aspect | Details | |--------|---------| | Input | Project path, package manager type, upgrade policy | | Output | Updated package manifest and a machine-readable dependency upgrade summary | | Supports | npm, yarn (classic and berry), pnpm |

Workflow

Phases: Pre-flight -> Analyze -> Security Audit -> Check Outdated -> Identify Breaking -> Apply Upgrades -> Apply Migrations -> Verify Build -> Report

Phase 0: Pre-flight Checks

| Check | Required | Action if Missing | |-------|----------|-------------------| | package.json | Yes | Block upgrade | | Lock file (package-lock.json, yarn.lock, pnpm-lock.yaml) | No | Warn and regenerate before final verification | | Package manager available | Yes | Block upgrade | | Workspace baseline safe | Yes | In managed runs coordinator already prepared it; in standalone runs protect rollback locally |

Runtime Coordination

Managed runs receive deterministic runId and exact summaryArtifactPath from ln-820. Standalone runs remain supported; if runtime arguments are omitted, generate a standalone run-scoped artifact before returning.

Phase 1: Analyze Dependencies

Read package.json and categorize dependencies for upgrade priority.

| Category | Examples | Priority | |----------|----------|----------| | peer | typescript, @types/* | 1 | | framework | react, vue, next | 2 | | build | vite, webpack, esbuild | 3 | | ui | @radix-ui/*, tailwindcss | 4 | | state | @tanstack/react-query, zustand | 5 | | utils | lodash, date-fns | 6 | | dev | eslint, prettier, test tooling | 7 |

Phase 2: Security Audit

| Manager | Command | |---------|---------| | npm | npm audit --audit-level=high | | yarn | yarn audit --level high | | pnpm | pnpm audit --audit-level high |

Actions:

| Severity | Action | |----------|--------| | Critical | Block and report | | High | Warn and continue | | Moderate/Low | Log only |

Phase 3: Check Outdated

| Manager | Command | |---------|---------| | npm | npm outdated --json | | yarn | yarn outdated --json | | pnpm | pnpm outdated --json |

Phase 4: Identify Breaking Changes

MANDATORY READ: Load breaking_changes_patterns.md for full patterns.

Detection flow:

Compare current vs latest major versions.
Check shared breaking-change patterns.
Query Context7 or Ref for migration guides before changing code.

Common breaking examples:

| Package | Breaking Version | Key Changes | |---------|------------------|-------------| | react | 18 -> 19 | JSX transform, refs as props | | vite | 5 -> 6 | ESM-only, newer Node baseline | | eslint | 8 -> 9 | Flat config | | tailwindcss | 3 -> 4 | CSS-first config | | typescript | 5.4 -> 5.5+ | Stricter inference |

Phase 5: Apply Upgrades

Upgrade order:

peer dependencies
framework packages
build tools
UI libraries
utilities
dev dependencies

| Manager | Command | |---------|---------| | npm | npm install <package>@latest --save | | yarn | yarn add <package>@latest | | pnpm | pnpm add <package>@latest |

Peer dependency conflicts:

| Situation | Solution | |-----------|----------| | ERESOLVE | npm install --legacy-peer-deps | | Still fails | npm install --force only as last resort |

MCP Tools for Migration Search

| Priority | Tool | When to Use | |----------|------|-------------| | 1 | mcp__context7__query-docs | First choice for library docs | | 2 | mcp__Ref__ref_search_documentation | Official docs and GitHub | | 3 | WebSearch | Latest info and community fixes |

Use MCP tools to fetch migration guides before applying non-trivial changes.

Phase 6: Apply Migrations

Use MCP tools to find the current migration guide.
Apply automated code transforms only when the guide supports them.
Log manual follow-up steps for the final report.

Do not hardcode migrations without checking current documentation.

Phase 7: Verify Build

| Check | Command | |-------|---------| | TypeScript | npm run check or npx tsc --noEmit | | Build | npm run build | | Tests | npm test if available |

On failure:

Identify the failing package.
Search Context7 or Ref for the fix.
If unresolved, rollback that package and continue with the remaining candidates.

Phase 8: Report Results

| Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | project | Project path | | packageManager | npm, yarn, or pnpm | | duration | Total time | | upgrades.major[] | Breaking changes applied | | upgrades.minor[] | Feature updates | | upgrades.patch[] | Bug fixes | | migrations[] | Applied migrations | | skipped[] | Already latest or policy-skipped | | verification | Build/test/type-check verdict | | warnings[] | Non-blocking issues | | artifact_path | Durable worker report path, if written |

Configuration

Options:
  upgradeType: major          # major | minor | patch
  allowBreaking: true
  autoMigrate: true
  queryMigrationGuides: true
  auditLevel: high
  minimumReleaseAge: 14
  legacyPeerDeps: false
  force: false
  runBuild: true
  runTests: false
  runTypeCheck: true
  rollbackOnFailure: true

Error Handling

| Error | Cause | Solution | |-------|-------|----------| | ERESOLVE | Peer dependency conflict | Retry with legacy peer dependency mode | | ENOENT | Missing lock file | Regenerate dependencies first | | Build fail | Breaking change | Apply migration guide or rollback offending package | | Type errors | Version mismatch | Update types or framework peer packages |

Rollback: Restore package.json and the lock file, then run a clean install to restore the previous state.

References

Runtime Summary Artifact

MANDATORY READ: Load references/coordinator_summary_contract.md

Emit a dependency-worker summary envelope.

Managed mode:

ln-820 passes deterministic runId and exact summaryArtifactPath
write the summary to the provided summaryArtifactPath

Standalone mode:

omit runId and summaryArtifactPath
write .hex-skills/runtime-artifacts/runs/{run_id}/dependency-worker/ln-821--{identifier}.json

Monitor (2.1.98+): For install/audit/build/test commands expected >30s, use Monitor. Fallback: Bash(run_in_background=true).

Definition of Done

[ ] Package manifest analyzed and dependencies prioritized
[ ] Security audit completed for the selected package manager
[ ] Outdated packages identified
[ ] Breaking changes checked via patterns plus current docs
[ ] Upgrades applied with rollback on failure
[ ] Build and relevant verification commands pass after upgrades
[ ] dependency-worker summary artifact written to the managed or standalone path

Version: 1.1.0 Last Updated: 2026-01-10

Agent Skills: ln-821-npm-upgrader

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