---
name: dependency-management
description: "Investigate whether a dependency is actually necessary, check existing versions/conventions, minimize dependency additions, and update lockfiles deliberately."
---

# Dependency Management Skill

Investigate whether a dependency is actually necessary, check existing versions/conventions, minimize dependency additions, and update lockfiles deliberately.

## Subagents
When you need to delegate sub‑tasks, use the `pi-subagents` skill.

**Example:** To evaluate a new dependency, use a **scout** to check if the functionality exists in the standard library, another **scout** to compare versions and licensing of alternatives, and a **reviewer** to verify the lockfile update doesn't introduce transitive conflicts.

*You may adapt the delegation pattern to fit the exact requirements of the codebase.*

## Process

### 1. Necessity
- Can this be done with stdlib?
- Is there an existing internal utility?
- What's the maintenance cost?

### 2. Conventions
- Check existing similar dependencies
- Follow version pinning policy
- Use approved registries

### 3. Minimize
- Prefer fewer, well-maintained deps
- Avoid transitive dependency bloat
- Consider vendoring for small utils

### 4. Update
- Update lockfiles atomically
- Test after updates
- Document breaking changes