package-lock-utd

Checks if package-lock.json is Up To Date (= UTD)

Have you ever made a change to package.json and forgot to run npm install to apply this change to package-lock.json? Many projects use a CI action to catch such inconsistencies. However, these CI actions often only rely on npm ci, which only catches a subset of inconsistencies. For instance, npm ci does NOT fail when the name or version field are unequal.

This package helps! package-lock-utd very strictly checks whether package-lock.json is up to date. If npm install would somehow modify package-lock.json, package-lock-utd exits with a non-zero exit code.

Usage

package-lock-utd is primarily meant to be used in CI environments, such as GitHub Actions. However, you can also use it locally.

To run package-lock-utd, simply execute the following command in the root directory of your npm project:

npx --yes [email protected]

If package-lock.json is up to date, the program will exit with a 0 exit code. If package-lock.json is not up to date (or an error occurred), the program will exit with a non-zero exit code.

We use the --yes flag in the command to skip a prompt asking whether the package shall be installed. This is particularly useful in automated environments. Technically, npx is able to detect such environments pretty reliably, but it will often print a warning instead, which is also rather irritating.

Sample GitHub Actions config

name: Main Checks

on: [push, pull_request, workflow_dispatch]

jobs:
  lint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: 18

      - name: Check if package-lock.json is up to date
        run: npx --yes [email protected]

      # Now, run any command you like. This is just an example.
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci

      - name: Run the linter
        run: npm run lint

Warning
Make sure to execute npx [email protected] before running any commands that potentially modify package-lock.json. Otherwise, you might get false negative results.

Local installation

If you frequently need to run the command on your local machine, you can also install the package globally:

npm install -g [email protected]

It is recommended to update the package from time to time. To do this, simply rerun the install command mentioned above.