Pre-install dependency audit

Know the grade
before you install.

depsift reads an npm package — or your whole project — straight from the registry and hands back a graded report: real CVEs, the exact install script that runs on your machine, and every maintainer you'd be trusting. No install. No account. No AI.

$npx depsift express
zero dependenciesnothing to installnpm · pnpm · bun · yarn
The transcript

Every signal that decides whether a package is safe to add.

One read-only command resolves the dependency graph from the registry and reports the facts. Nothing is installed, nothing touches disk.

vulns

Real CVEs, whole tree

Every resolved package matched against npm's own advisory database — the same data npm audit uses. No Snyk account, no AI that invents a vulnerability that isn't there.

scripts

The literal install script

Not "this package has an install script" — the exact command that will run on your machine, flagged when it reaches the network, pipes to a shell, or evals.

tree

npm-accurate count

A zero-dependency semver resolver, parity-tested against node-semver, resolves every range the way npm does — so the package count matches what lands in node_modules.

project

Audit the whole project

Run it with no argument in any repo to grade your entire dependencies and devDependencies tree at once.

lockfile

Reads your lockfile

In project mode depsift parses your pnpm-lock.yaml, bun.lock, package-lock.json, or yarn.lock and audits the exact versions you installed — not a fresh re-resolve. Every parser is zero-dependency; --no-lock forces registry resolution.

trust

Maintainers and staleness

How many maintainers you'd be trusting, how many packages are deprecated, and when the oldest dependency last shipped.

grade

A verdict you can gate on

A clear A through F. A critical CVE or a malicious install script forces an F and exit code 2 — drop it straight into CI.

How it compares

Built different on purpose.

The thorough tools want an account, a wrapper around your installs, or an AI. depsift is one read-only command with nothing to install.

depsiftnpqshould-installhowfat
Real CVEs (npm advisories)yesvia SnykAI-guessed
Shows the literal install-script commandyes
Install-script danger scanyes
npm-accurate resolutionyesn/an/ayes
Whole-project audit and gradeyesAI
Runtime dependencies0455
Needs account / API key / AInoSnykyes (AI)no
Deterministicyesyesyes
Changes your workflownonpq installnono
Usage

Nothing to learn.

No flags, no config. Run it, read the report, move on.

# audit one package before you add it
npx depsift express
npx depsift left-pad@1.3.0 # pin a version or range
npx depsift express@^5 # ranges resolved like npm
 
# audit your whole project's dependency tree
npx depsift
 
# gate CI — a critical CVE or malicious script exits 2
npx depsift "$NEW_DEP" || exit 1
Adepsift

Stop installing blind.

Every npm install is a trust decision. Make it with the report in front of you.

$npx depsift express