# Install npm-check-updates with Homebrew, Nix, pacman Find newer versions of dependencies than what your package.json allows. Version 23.0.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-28. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#npm-check-updates. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:npm-check-updates ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install npm-check-updates ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#npm-check-updates ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/np/npm-check-updates/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S npm-check-updates ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: npm-check-updates from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:npm-check-updates - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 23.0.0 - **Source summary:** Find newer versions of dependencies than what your package.json allows - **Homepage:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-28T02:34:02Z - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - ncu (alias) - npm-check-updates (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 23.0.0 ## Project history and usage npm-check-updates, usually invoked as ncu, is a long-running Node.js CLI for finding newer dependency versions than the ranges recorded in package.json and optionally rewriting those ranges. Its GitHub repository and npm registry package were both created on 2013-09-07. ### Project history The project's core behavior has stayed focused: compare project dependency declarations with registry versions, preserve the user's version-range style where possible, and write the package file only when asked with -u/--upgrade. The README describes support for npm, yarn, pnpm, deno, and bun, plus CLI and module usage. By 2026 the project had a large option surface for dependency sections, registries, JSON output, workspaces, interactive upgrades, owner-change reporting, and doctor mode. The npm registry metadata consulted for this batch reported 532 published versions and latest version 22.2.9 published on 2026-06-28. ### Adoption history ncu is a mainstream utility in JavaScript dependency maintenance because it covers a workflow that npm outdated and npm update do not fully replace: reviewing and changing declared ranges in package.json before reinstalling. The GitHub metadata consulted for this batch reported over 10k stars, and the package is available through npm, Homebrew, Nix, and Arch. npm's public downloads API reported 3,121,600 downloads for npm-check-updates from 2026-05-30 through 2026-06-28 and 31,701,760 downloads from 2025-06-29 through 2026-06-28. Homebrew analytics reported 4,290 formula installs over its 365-day window. ### How it is used Package maintainers use ncu as a review step: run ncu to see available upgrades, inspect changelogs or use output formats such as repo/time/group, then run ncu -u followed by the package manager install command to update the lockfile. Its doctor mode is aimed at the more cautious path: iteratively install upgrades and run tests to isolate breaking updates. Its practical role is especially visible in projects that do not want an automated bot to make every dependency decision. It gives humans a terse dependency diff, lets them filter by dependency type or package name, and supports alternative package managers while still centering package.json. ### Why package nerds care npm-check-updates is one of the standard 'dependency hygiene' tools in the Node ecosystem: small enough to use by hand, scriptable enough for CI or release chores, and independent of any one package manager's built-in update semantics. ### Timeline - 2013-09-07: GitHub repository and npm package created. - 2026-06-28: npm registry metadata reports version 22.2.9 published. - 2026-05-30 to 2026-06-28: npm downloads API reports 3,121,600 downloads. ### Related projects - npm outdated - npm update - Renovate - Dependabot - yarn - pnpm - bun - deno ### Sources - - - - - - ## Security Notes No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for npm-check-updates. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL. ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: .ncurc, .ncurc.json, .ncurc.yaml, .ncurc.yml, .ncurc.js, .ncurc.mjs, .ncurc.cjs, ~/.ncurc ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - npm-check-updates: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/np/npm-check-updates/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman - npm-check-updates - 23.0.0-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: npm-check-updates from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Find newer versions of dependencies than what your package.json allows | https://github.com/raineorshine/npm-check-updates ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/npm-check-updates.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/npm-check-updates.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph