add-dep

Vet a new or changed third-party dependency for license, provenance, and supply-chain risk before any install runs.

What it does

Gates a new or changed third-party dependency through review before anything installs. Naming the package here — with a version if you have one, or without one to have the reviewer evaluate the latest available — hands the decision to the dependency-reviewer agent, which reads .codearbiter/security-controls.md for the allowed/denied license list and supply-chain policy, and .codearbiter/tech-stack.md for stack fit and the project’s dependency manager.

Once the agent clears the package, the install command is surfaced for confirmation rather than run silently, and the resulting lock-file update ships in the same commit as the manifest edit, so the two never drift apart.

This gate is orchestrator-enforced, not hook-enforced: there’s no pre-bash rule blocking a bare install command run outside this channel the way the crypto/secret gate blocks a raw shell command. The discipline depends on actually routing installs through here.

Usage

/ca:add-dep <package[@version]>

Version is optional; omitting it evaluates the latest available release.

Example

> /ca:add-dep left-pad@1.3.0

dependency-reviewer: left-pad@1.3.0
  license: MIT (allowed)
  provenance: npm registry, 6M+ weekly downloads, maintained
  supply-chain: no known advisories

Cleared. Install command ready:
  npm install left-pad@1.3.0
Run it? (lock-file change will be committed alongside package.json)

When to reach for it

Removing a dependency, or a code change that happens to bump one, goes through /ca:fix or /ca:feature instead (the manifest change is reviewed at /ca:pr); asking about a package without installing it is /ca:btw’s job.

Gates

Gate	When	Effect
dependency review	before any install runs	the dependency-reviewer agent must clear the package first — a denied license or unresolved supply-chain concern blocks the install

Source

Source — plugins/ca/commands/add-dep.md (v2.9.1)

---
description: Vet a new or changed third-party dependency for license, provenance, and supply-chain risk before any install runs.
argument-hint: "<package[@version]>"
---

# /ca:add-dep — dependency review

Gate a new or changed third-party dependency through review before it lands. When you route through
this command, the orchestrator runs no install until the `dependency-reviewer` agent clears the
package. Specify the exact version if you have one; without one, the reviewer evaluates the latest
available version.

## Routes to

The `dependency-reviewer` agent (`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/agents/dependency-reviewer.md`). The agent
reads `${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR}/.codearbiter/security-controls.md` (allowed/denied licenses, provenance
and supply-chain policy) and `${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR}/.codearbiter/tech-stack.md` (stack fit, dependency
manager) to judge the package.

After the agent clears it, the orchestrator surfaces the install command for confirmation. The lock
file change is committed alongside the manifest change — never one without the other.

## When NOT to use

- Removing a dependency → `/ca:fix` or `/ca:feature` with the change described.
- Updating an existing dependency as part of a code change → `/ca:feature` / `/ca:fix`; manifest
  changes route to review at `/ca:pr`.
- Asking about a package without installing it → `/ca:btw`.

## Hard gate

MUST NOT install before `dependency-reviewer` clears the package. BLOCK on a denied license or any
unresolved supply-chain or provenance concern.

This gate is **orchestrator-enforced, not hook-enforced**: unlike the crypto/secret gate
(`pre-bash.py` H-09b/H-10b), there is no pre-bash rule that blocks a bare `npm`/`pip`/`yarn`/`pnpm
install` typed outside this command. The discipline depends on routing installs through `/ca:add-dep`.
A hook-level install block (parallel to the security-gate marker) would be a stronger posture, but is a
deliberate behavior change — a possible future enhancement, not the current contract.

View in repo