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Exploring the dependencies of a repository

In this article

You can use the dependency graph to see the packages your project depends on and the repositories that depend on it. In addition, you can see any vulnerabilities detected in its dependencies.

Viewing the dependency graph

The dependency graph shows the dependencies and dependents of your repository. For information about the detection of dependencies and which ecosystems are supported, see "About the dependency graph."

  1. On GitHub.com, navigate to the main page of the repository.
  2. Under your repository name, click Insights. Insights tab in the main repository navigation bar
  3. In the left sidebar, click Dependency graph. Dependency graph tab in the left sidebar
  4. Optionally, under "Dependency graph", click Dependents. Dependents tab on the dependency graph page

Dependencies view

Dependencies are grouped by ecosystem. You can expand a dependency to view its dependencies. Dependencies on private repositories, private packages, or unrecognized files are shown in plain text. If the package manager for the dependency is in a public repository, GitHub will display a link to that repository.

If vulnerabilities have been detected in the repository, these are shown at the top of the view for users with access to Dependabot alerts.

Dependencies graph

Dependents view

For public repositories, the dependents view shows how the repository is used by other repositories. To show only the repositories that contain a library in a package manager, click NUMBER Packages immediately above the list of dependent repositories. The dependent counts are approximate and may not always match the dependents listed.

Dependents graph

Enabling and disabling the dependency graph for a private repository

Repository administrators can enable or disable the dependency graph for private repositories.

You can also enable or disable the dependency graph for all repositories owned by your user account or organization. For more information, see "Managing security and analysis settings for your user account" or "Managing security and analysis settings for your organization."

  1. On GitHub.com, navigate to the main page of the repository.

  2. Under your repository name, click Settings. Repository settings button

  3. In the "Security" section of the sidebar, click Security & analysis.

  4. Read the message about granting GitHub read-only access to the repository data to enable the dependency graph, then next to "Dependency Graph", click Enable. "Enable" button for the dependency graph

You can disable the dependency graph at any time by clicking Disable next to "Dependency Graph" on the Security & analysis tab.

Changing the "Used by" package

You may notice some repositories have a "Used by" section in the sidebar of the Code tab. Your repository will have a "Used by" section if:

  • The dependency graph is enabled for the repository (see the above section for more details).
  • Your repository contains a package that is published on a supported package ecosystem.
  • Within the ecosystem, your package has a link to a public repository where the source is stored.

The "Used by" section shows the number of public references to the package that were found, and displays the avatars of some of the owners of the dependent projects.

"Used by" sidebar section

Clicking any item in this section takes you to the Dependents tab of the dependency graph.

The "Used by" section represents a single package from the repository. If you have admin permissions to a repository that contains multiple packages, you can choose which package the "Used by" section represents.

  1. On GitHub.com, navigate to the main page of the repository.

  2. Under your repository name, click Settings. Repository settings button

  3. In the "Security" section of the sidebar, click Security & analysis.

  4. Under "Code security and analysis", click the drop-down menu in the "Used by counter" section and choose a package. Choose a "Used by" package

Troubleshooting the dependency graph

If your dependency graph is empty, there may be a problem with the file containing your dependencies. Check the file to ensure that it's correctly formatted for the file type.

If the file is correctly formatted, then check its size. The dependency graph ignores individual manifest and lock files that are over 1.5 Mb, unless you are a GitHub Enterprise user. It processes up to 20 manifest or lock files per repository by default, so you can split dependencies into smaller files in subdirectories of the repository.

If a manifest or lock file is not processed, its dependencies are omitted from the dependency graph and they can't be checked for vulnerable dependencies.

Further reading