Categorize Your Dependencies

Source: Anthony Fu (antfu) Date: 2025-04-28 URL: https://antfu.me/posts/categorize-deps

Summary

Exploratory essay proposing granular dependency categorization using pnpm named catalogs — separating packages into purpose-based groups (test, lint, build, frontend, prod, etc.) rather than just dependencies/devDependencies. Fu demonstrates tooling he’s built: a VS Code extension and updates to taze and eslint-plugin-pnpm to support named catalogs. Already migrating his own projects; framed as exploratory with a call for community experimentation.

Implications

A forward-looking proposal that addresses real monorepo and large-project dependency hygiene problems. pnpm catalogs are the mechanism (relatively new, still gaining adoption). If this pattern catches on, it could influence how build tools, bundlers, and linters consume dependency graph metadata — Fu explicitly notes this future direction. Watch for ecosystem uptake in pnpm-native stacks (Vite, Nuxt, Vitest).