Provided by: npm_6.14.4+ds-1ubuntu2_all 
NAME
npm-outdated - Check for outdated packages
Synopsis
npm outdated [[<@scope>/]<pkg> ...]
Description
This command will check the registry to see if any (or, specific) installed packages are currently
outdated.
In the output:
• wanted is the maximum version of the package that satisfies the semver range specified in package.json.
If there's no available semver range (i.e. you're running npm outdated --global, or the package isn't
included in package.json), then wanted shows the currently-installed version.
• latest is the version of the package tagged as latest in the registry. Running npm publish with no
special configuration will publish the package with a dist-tag of latest. This may or may not be the
maximum version of the package, or the most-recently published version of the package, depending on how
the package's developer manages the latest dist-tag npm-dist-tag.
• location is where in the dependency tree the package is located. Note that npm outdated defaults to a
depth of 0, so unless you override that, you'll always be seeing only top-level dependencies that are
outdated.
• package type (when using --long / -l) tells you whether this package is a dependency or a
devDependency. Packages not included in package.json are always marked dependencies.
• homepage (when using --long / -l) is the homepage value contained in the package's package.json
• Red means there's a newer version matching your semver requirements, so you should update now.
• Yellow indicates that there's a newer version above your semver requirements (usually new major, or new
0.x minor) so proceed with caution.
An example
$ npm outdated
Package Current Wanted Latest Location
glob 5.0.15 5.0.15 6.0.1 test-outdated-output
nothingness 0.0.3 git git test-outdated-output
npm 3.5.1 3.5.2 3.5.1 test-outdated-output
local-dev 0.0.3 linked linked test-outdated-output
once 1.3.2 1.3.3 1.3.3 test-outdated-output
With these dependencies:
{
"glob": "^5.0.15",
"nothingness": "github:othiym23/nothingness#master",
"npm": "^3.5.1",
"once": "^1.3.1"
}
A few things to note:
• glob requires ^5, which prevents npm from installing glob@6, which is outside the semver range.
• Git dependencies will always be reinstalled, because of how they're specified. The installed
committish might satisfy the dependency specifier (if it's something immutable, like a commit SHA), or
it might not, so npm outdated and npm update have to fetch Git repos to check. This is why currently
doing a reinstall of a Git dependency always forces a new clone and install.
• npm@3.5.2 is marked as "wanted", but "latest" is npm@3.5.1 because npm uses dist-tags to manage its
latest and next release channels. npm update will install the newest version, but npm install npm (with
no semver range) will install whatever's tagged as latest.
• once is just plain out of date. Reinstalling node_modules from scratch or running npm update will bring
it up to spec.
Configuration
json
• Default: false
• Type: Boolean
Show information in JSON format.
long
• Default: false
• Type: Boolean
Show extended information.
parseable
• Default: false
• Type: Boolean
Show parseable output instead of tree view.
global
• Default: false
• Type: Boolean
Check packages in the global install prefix instead of in the current project.
depth
• Default: 0
• Type: Int
Max depth for checking dependency tree.
See Also
• npm help update
• npm help dist-tag
• npm help registry
• npm help folders
April 2020 NPM-OUTDATED(1)