version-match.js

Upgrade versions in a package.json by referencing dependencies from other projects.

What it does

• Reads the dependencies and devDependencies fields from the list of input package.json files.
• Builds a map of the highest version string seen for each dependency using JavaScript's string comparison (lexicographic order). This means "9.0.0" is considered higher than "10.0.0" in the current implementation, which may not match semver expectations.
• Updates the target package.json in place for any matching dependencies/devDependencies.

Usage

Provide one or more package.json files to read from and a --target file to update:

# Using bun (can run TypeScript directly)
bun main.ts ../project-a/package.json ../project-b/package.json --target ./package.json

# Using ts-node
npm install
npx ts-node main.ts ../project-a/package.json --target ./package.json

The target file is rewritten with updated version strings.

Make it a local executable CLI

To install this as a local CLI command on your machine:

Using bun

• run bun run compile

  this will create a version-match executable for you

• move executable into your $PATH.

Using npm, npx and node

1. Build the TypeScript file to JavaScript:

   npx --yes typescript@5.3.3 tsc main.ts --outDir dist --module commonjs --target es2020

2. Add a Node shebang and make the output executable:

   printf '#!/usr/bin/env node\n' | cat - dist/main.js > dist/version-match
   chmod +x dist/version-match

3. Point a CLI name to the executable and link it locally:

   npm pkg set bin.version-match=dist/version-match
   npm link

After linking, you can run version-match --target ./package.json <other package.json files> from anywhere.