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name: pnpm-dependency-analysis description: Analyze package usage, resolved versions, direct/transitive dependencies, workspace interdependencies, and blast radius in pnpm monorepos. Perfect for Dependabot PR triage, upgrades, security reviews, and version conflict debugging.

pnpm Dependency Analysis Skill (Fusion Framework)

Helps answer:

• Where is PACKAGE used (direct & transitive)?
• What real versions are resolved across workspaces?
• Which workspaces depend on each other (forward/reverse graph)?
• What's the blast radius / risk level for an upgrade or patch?

All commands run from the root of the repository. Replace PACKAGE with the real name (e.g., lodash, zod, @tanstack/react-query, eslint).

1. Core: Where is this package used?

Direct usages only (fastest & cleanest)

Copypnpm why PACKAGE --recursive --depth=0

Shows only workspaces that list PACKAGE in dependencies, devDependencies, peerDependencies, or optionalDependencies.

Full dependency tree (transitive paths)

Copypnpm why PACKAGE --recursive --long

Shows how PACKAGE gets pulled in indirectly through other dependencies.

Resolved versions per workspace (critical for upgrades)

Copypnpm why PACKAGE --recursive --json \
  | jq -r '.[] | "\(.workspace)\t→ \(.version)\t\(.dependencyType // "unknown")\t\(.from // "-")"'

Why this matters:

• See all versions resolved across workspaces (handles overrides, workspace:*, catalog)
• Identify version inconsistencies or conflicts
• Understand if workspace protocol controls the version

2. Workspace → Workspace Dependency Graph

Which workspaces depend on each other (direct only)

Copypnpm recursive list --depth=0 --json --only-projects \
  | jq 'to_entries[]
      | {from: .key, to: (.value.dependencies // {} | keys + (.value.devDependencies // {} | keys) + (.value.peerDependencies // {} | keys))}
      | select(.to | length > 0)'

Shows the project-level dependency structure (e.g., which @equinor/fusion-framework-* packages depend on others).

Generate Mermaid-compatible edges (paste into GitHub PR/comments)

Copypnpm -r exec -- jq -r 'select(.dependencies != null or .devDependencies != null or .peerDependencies != null)
  | .name as $self
  | (.dependencies // {} | keys) + (.devDependencies // {} | keys) + (.peerDependencies // {} | keys)
  | .[] as $dep
  | "\($self) --> \($dep)"' | sort | uniq

Example Mermaid output (copy the edges into a code block with ```mermaid):

Copygraph LR
  @equinor/fusion-framework-cli --> @equinor/fusion-framework-utils
  @equinor/fusion-framework-react --> @equinor/fusion-framework-core
  @equinor/fusion-framework-react --> @equinor/fusion-framework-utils

Paste into GitHub issue, PR description, or mermaid.live for interactive view.

3. One-liner investigation report

CopyPACKAGE=some-package

echo "=== Direct usages ==="
pnpm why "$PACKAGE" --recursive --depth=0

echo -e "\n=== Resolved versions ==="
pnpm why "$PACKAGE" --recursive --json \
  | jq -r '.[] | "\(.workspace)\t→ \(.version)\t\(.dependencyType)"'

echo -e "\n=== package.json mentions ==="
grep -rl "$PACKAGE" packages/ apps/ || echo "None"

echo -e "\n=== Config/tooling mentions (eslint/vite/vitest/storybook/etc) ==="
find . -type f \( -name 'eslint.*' -o -name 'vite.*' -o -name 'vitest.*' \
  -o -name 'playwright.*' -o -name 'storybook.*' -o -name 'tsconfig*.json' \
  -o -name 'next.config.*' \) \
  -exec grep -l "$PACKAGE" {} \; | grep -vE 'node_modules|dist|build|.turbo|.cache' || echo "None"

Produces a clean summary of where the package appears across the monorepo.

4. Risk / Blast Radius Reference Table

5. Narrowing search with --filter

Scope down large investigations by focusing on specific package groups:

Copy# Only check /packages/* (not cookbooks, etc)
pnpm why PACKAGE --recursive --filter="./packages/*"

# Only check /apps/* 
pnpm why PACKAGE --recursive --filter="./apps/*"

# Only check React packages
pnpm why PACKAGE --recursive --filter="@equinor/fusion-framework-react"

Tips & Notes

• Prerequisites: jq (recommended, for JSON parsing). Built-in tools (grep, find) are used for file searches
• Faster searches: Install rg (ripgrep) to speed up searches: brew install ripgrep (optional, not required)
• Mermaid visualization: If you have many edges, ask Copilot to clean up the output or use mermaid.live with an interactive filter
• Interactive workspace graph: pnpm install -g pnpm-workspace-graph → run pnpm-workspace-graph to open an interactive browser view
• For Dependabot PRs: Run this skill before merging to gauge impact and gather context for your review
• Pair with other skills: Combine with security-audit, changelog-lookup, or version-compatibility checks for full triage

Common Dependabot Scenarios

"Should I merge this React upgrade?"

1. Run: pnpm why @latest/react --recursive --depth=0
2. Check if versions are consistent across workspaces
3. Look at packages/react/ CHANGELOG for breaking changes
4. If only in devDependencies or 1–2 packages, lower risk

"Can I upgrade this shared utility?"

1. Run: pnpm why @equinor/fusion-framework-utils --recursive
2. Count affected workspaces
3. Check if workspace protocol is used (workspace:*)
4. If yes and ≤3 packages depend on it: safe
5. If no and >5 packages: run tests before merge

"What about this obscure transitive dep?"

1. Run: pnpm why some-obscure-package --recursive --long
2. Look at (.from) field to see which package pulled it in
3. Check if it appears in only one place in the tree
4. If it's behind a single package, upgrading that package is safe

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For questions or improvements: Refer to pnpm docs or the Fusion Framework contributing guide.