rfc: group outdated packages by dependency type

npm · Jun 5, 2021 · 7387ef8 · 7387ef8
1 parent 15e3eae
commit 7387ef8
Showing 1 changed file with 70 additions and 0 deletions.
diff --git a/accepted/0000-outdated-pkgs-by-dep.md b/accepted/0000-outdated-pkgs-by-dep.md
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+# Group outdated packages by package type
+
+## Summary
+
+Group outdated packages by with their corresponding dependency type in `package.json` (_e.g._ `dependencies`, `devDependencies`, etc).
+
+## Motivation
+
+It helps developers to visualize and manage outdated packages according to their dependency type. This is specially useful for projects with a large number of dependencies.
+
+## Detailed Explanation
+
+Currently, by running `npm outdated --long`, the output include two additional columns: `Package Type` and `Homepage`. The former indicates the dependency type as defined in `package.json`. However, there is no CLI option to group the packages by `Package Type` and, thus, the packages are sorted by `Package` name only.
+
+### Example
+
+Current behavior, rows are sorted by `Package`.
+
+```bash
+$ npm outdated --long
+Package          Current   Wanted   Latest  Location  Package Type          Homepage
+@types/jest       25.2.3   25.2.3  26.0.23  example   devDependencies       ...
+@types/node      8.10.66  8.10.66  15.12.1  example   devDependencies       ...
+chalk              3.0.0    3.0.0    4.1.1  example   dependencies          ...
+cosmiconfig        6.0.0    6.0.0    7.0.0  example   dependencies          ...
+glob               7.1.6    7.1.7    7.1.7  example   bundledDependencies   ...
+memfs             2.17.1   2.17.1    3.2.2  example   peerDependencies      ...
+rimraf             2.7.1    2.7.1    3.0.2  example   bundledDependencies   ...
+typescript         3.9.9    3.9.9    4.3.2  example   devDependencies       ...
+update-notifier    4.1.3    4.1.3    5.1.0  example   dependencies          ...
+xregexp            3.2.0    3.2.0    5.0.2  example   optionalDependencies  ...
+```
+
+### Proposal
+
+Using the new flag `--by-type`, rows are sorted by `Package Type` and then by `Package` name
+
+```bash
+$ npm outdated --long --by-type
+Package          Current   Wanted   Latest  Location  Package Type          Homepage
+glob               7.1.6    7.1.7    7.1.7  example   bundledDependencies   ...
+rimraf             2.7.1    2.7.1    3.0.2  example   bundledDependencies   ...
+@types/jest       25.2.3   25.2.3  26.0.23  example   devDependencies       ...
+@types/node      8.10.66  8.10.66  15.12.1  example   devDependencies       ...
+typescript         3.9.9    3.9.9    4.3.2  example   devDependencies       ...
+xregexp            3.2.0    3.2.0    5.0.2  example   optionalDependencies  ...
+memfs             2.17.1   2.17.1    3.2.2  example   peerDependencies      ...
+chalk              3.0.0    3.0.0    4.1.1  example   dependencies          ...
+cosmiconfig        6.0.0    6.0.0    7.0.0  example   dependencies          ...
+update-notifier    4.1.3    4.1.3    5.1.0  example   dependencies          ...
+```
+
+
+## Rationale and Alternatives
+
+An alternative solution is to filter the current list of outdated packages by type, using CLI options like `--prod` for `production`, `--dev` for `development`, `--optional`, `--peer`, and `--bundled`. Example:
+
+```bash
+$ npm outdated --prod
+Package          Current   Wanted   Latest  Location
+chalk              3.0.0    3.0.0    4.1.1  example
+cosmiconfig        6.0.0    6.0.0    7.0.0  example
+update-notifier    4.1.3    4.1.3    5.1.0  example
+```
+However, this alternative requires to give multiple commands to get all the outdated packages.
+
+
+## Implementation
+
+It would affect the [npm/cli](https://github.com/npm/cli) repository, particularly the command `outdated`, implemented by [outdated.js](https://github.com/npm/cli/blob/latest/lib/outdated.js).