Compared with other tools
Ripedeps is not the only way to keep dependencies current. Here is what the common tools do, what they have in common with it, and where it takes a different approach.
The tools side by side
The descriptions below are short and general. These tools change, so check each one's own documentation for what it does today. This page was written in October 2026.
| Tool | What it does | You get |
|---|---|---|
npm outdated | Lists the installed packages with their current, wanted and latest versions. | a report |
| npm-check-updates | Finds newer versions and, with -u, writes them into package.json. Has options for the target level and a cooldown. | an edited package.json |
| Dependabot | Opens pull requests for outdated dependencies in a GitHub repository on a schedule. Has a cooldown setting for version updates. | pull requests |
| Renovate | Opens pull requests or merge requests on several hosting platforms, with extensive configuration and a minimumReleaseAge. | pull requests |
| Ripedeps | Takes one package.json and plans a consistent set of versions: an age gate, a step limit, and packages kept aligned with each other. | a diff, the new file and an explanation for every package |
What they share
The idea of waiting before taking a new release is not unique to Ripedeps. Dependabot, Renovate and npm-check-updates all have a setting for a minimum age, and package managers are adding their own. If you already use one of them with a cooldown, you are doing the same thing for the same reason. See why let releases ripen.
What differs is the rest: where the tool runs, what it changes, and how it decides.
What Ripedeps does differently
These are the choices Ripedeps makes. Check what your current tool does for each.
- Versions are chosen together. It picks one version for every package so that the peer ranges and the aligned dependencies among your packages hold, and ranks the alternatives in a fixed order: alignment before freshness. See constraints and ranking.
- Every decision is explained. Each package gets one sentence that names the version, the step, the age and, if something stayed behind, the first reason. The sentences come from templates, so they are stable. See examples.
- Deterministic. The same file and the same registry data give the same plan. There is no AI at runtime.
@typesfollow your runtime.@types/nodeis aligned to the lowest Node major in yourengines.node. See @types and engines.node.- It needs only a file. No repository access, no installation, no account. Paste the file, give its URL, run the script or let an agent call the MCP server.
- It plans one package at a time on request. A focus moves a single package and the neighbours it needs.
What it does not do
- It does not open pull requests, watch repositories or run on a schedule. Your pipeline does that.
- It does not read or write lockfiles.
- It has no vulnerability data. It does not know which versions are affected by an advisory.
- It reads one package.json per call and no workspace configuration. See monorepos.
- It knows only what the public npm registry knows. A package from a private registry is reported as unknown and skipped.
Using them together
Ripedeps does not replace a tool that watches your repositories. It can sit next to one. Use it to look at the plan for a file before you accept a batch of updates, to take a single package today with a focus, or to give an AI assistant a plan with reasons. The weekly pull request in the guides shows how to build a simple loop of your own.
Try it on your own file in the web tool.