May 02, 2023 - Edited on April 23, 2024

Update All NPM Packages

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Table of contents

Every JavaScript project uses NPM packages.

Trying to update each package manually would be tedious and time-consuming

Here's how to update them easily using npm-check-updates.

1. Cleanup your repository

Navigate to you repository in a console and make sure that your working tree is clean by running:

git status

Let’s start by creating a new branch, that way don’t mess up our main branch:

git checkout -b feature/update-all-dependencies

Let’s get an overview of your packages:

npx check-updates

The first time running the command, you will be asked if you want to install it, so just hit y for yes.

The command will print the available updates using three colors:

NPM Updates Overview

The update type is relevant, because npm uses semantic versioning:

Meaning, each package version is made out of three parts: major, minor and patch.

Patch and minor version upgrades are generally not breaking. So you can use the new package version without changing your code.

On the other hand, major update will most like be breaking. This mean you will most likely have to change your code.

At this point you should look up what changed exactly in a major version.

You can check out the npm page of the package or searching if there is an upgrade guide.

Now let’s apply these changes:

npx npm-check-updates -u

After making sure that everything works, you can commit the changes:

git commit -Am "update all dependencies"

For more details, checkout npm-check-updates.