Dependency Checker

What This Skill Does

The Dependency Checker is a specialized OpenClaw agent skill designed to audit software projects for security vulnerabilities and stale packages. It identifies the project ecosystem—npm for JavaScript/Node.js or pip for Python—and executes diagnostic commands to produce a detailed report. The skill scans for outdated packages, classifies them by version delta (Patch, Minor, or Major), and performs a security audit using native tools like 'npm audit' or 'pip-audit' where available. By providing a structured overview of technical debt, it helps developers stay ahead of security threats and maintenance burdens without manual command-line overhead.

Installation

To integrate this skill into your OpenClaw environment, execute the following command in your terminal: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/sa9saq/dependency-checker Ensure that you have 'npm' and 'pip' installed and configured in your system's PATH, as the skill relies on these binaries to analyze your local file system.

Use Cases

• Proactive Security Audits: Regularly check production repositories for known vulnerabilities that need immediate patching.
• Technical Debt Management: Identify dependencies that are trailing far behind current stable releases to prioritize refactoring efforts.
• Onboarding Cleanup: When inheriting a legacy project, run the checker to understand the current state of the dependency tree and identify potential breaking updates before starting feature work.
• CI/CD Preparation: Use as a pre-flight check before merging pull requests to ensure no insecure packages are being introduced into the production stack.

Example Prompts

1. "Check the current directory for any outdated npm packages and show me which ones have high-severity security vulnerabilities."
2. "Analyze the project requirements.txt file and tell me if any dependencies are pinned to versions with known security issues."
3. "Scan my repository for both npm and pip dependencies, and give me a summary of major version changes I should be aware of before upgrading."

Tips & Limitations

• Manual Review for Major Updates: The skill distinguishes between patch and major versions. Always treat 'Major' updates with caution, as they often contain breaking API changes that require manual code adjustments. Never use automated 'fix' commands without verifying the changelogs.
• Monorepo Handling: If your project is a monorepo, the skill needs to be pointed toward individual package directories to ensure all manifests are scanned.
• Private Registries: If your company uses private npm registries, ensure your system's .npmrc is correctly configured, as the skill mimics the permissions of your local environment.