Dependency Manager

Manages Python project dependencies with support for adding, removing, auditing, and detecting unused packages across multiple package manager formats.

When to Use

• You need to add or remove a Python dependency and keep your dependency file in sync
• You want to audit your project for known security vulnerabilities
• You suspect there are unused packages inflating your dependency list
• You want a quick security check after adding a new package

Prerequisites

• A Python project with a dependency file (pyproject.toml, requirements.txt, Pipfile, or setup.py)
• pip-audit for vulnerability auditing (install with uv pip install pip-audit)
• An activated virtual environment is recommended

Workflow

/deps add <package> — Add a dependency

1. Detect package manager — check for pyproject.toml (uv/pip), requirements.txt, Pipfile, setup.py:

   ls pyproject.toml requirements*.txt Pipfile setup.py 2>/dev/null
   

2. Install the package:

   uv pip install <package>
   

   or fall back to:

   pip install <package>
   

3. Update the appropriate dependency file — add the package with its resolved version to the correct file format.
4. Run a quick security check on the new package:

   pip-audit --require-hashes --no-deps -r <file>
   

5. Verify import works:

   python -c "import <package>"
   

/deps remove <package> — Remove a dependency

1. Remove from dependency file — delete the entry from requirements.txt, pyproject.toml, Pipfile, or setup.py.
2. Uninstall the package:

   uv pip uninstall <package>
   

   or fall back to:

   pip uninstall <package>
   

3. Check for broken imports in the codebase:

   grep -r "import <package>" --include="*.py" .
   grep -r "from <package>" --include="*.py" .
   

4. Report if any files still reference the removed package, listing each file and line.

/deps audit — Security audit

1. Run pip-audit on the project dependencies:

   pip-audit -r requirements.txt
   

   or:

   pip-audit
   

2. If pip-audit is not installed, suggest installing it:

   uv pip install pip-audit
   

3. Run safety check as a secondary scanner (if available):

   safety check --full-report
   

4. Parse results and present:
   • Package name, installed version, fixed version
   • CVE ID and severity
   • Description of vulnerability
5. Offer to update vulnerable packages:

   uv pip install <package>==<fixed-version>
   

6. Re-run audit after updates to confirm fixes.

/deps unused — Find unused packages

1. List installed packages from the dependency file.
2. For each package, search the codebase for imports:

   grep -r "import <package>" --include="*.py" .
   grep -r "from <package>" --include="*.py" .
   

   • Account for package name vs import name differences (e.g., python-dateutil -> dateutil, Pillow -> PIL)
3. Report packages with no detected imports.
4. Flag false positives — plugins, CLI tools, test dependencies, runtime-only deps.
5. Offer to remove confirmed unused packages.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Solution
No dependency file found	Project not initialized	Run pip freeze > requirements.txt or create a pyproject.toml
pip-audit not installed	Missing audit tool	Run uv pip install pip-audit or pip install pip-audit
Virtual environment not activated	System Python in use	Activate your venv with source .venv/bin/activate or create one with python -m venv .venv
Package name vs import name mismatch	Different PyPI name and import name	Manually verify the import name; common mappings are handled automatically
Permission denied during install	System Python or restricted env	Use a virtual environment or add --user flag