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Problem when updating a version that a dependency does not support

· 3 min read
Bruno Carneiro
Bruno Carneiro
Fundador da @TautornTech

Keeping a codebase up to date can become difficult as the project grows and new features and libraries are added.

Throughout a project's lifetime, minor and patch updates are very common in libraries and, in most cases, do not cause any trouble — they are even transparent to the development team.

Major Releases​

Major changes usually occur in Major releases.

This type of release can bring significant changes to the core of the library, directly impacting developers. Some libraries provide tools to assist with code updates, as I mentioned in this post, but there is an aspect that goes beyond updating the code itself: updating internal dependencies.

The Dependency Problem​

Libraries that use npm as their package manager often declare their submodules and the versions required for their internal operation.

Even if I update my project to version 19, for example, a dependency I use may not have been updated, which will prevent the update of my own project.

How to Solve It​

A great way to work around this is to fork the project, make the update, and open a Pull Request with the solution.

Of course, this will take time and may not be straightforward, but it is a valid and really cool option because it is a way to contribute to a project you use.

Another option — which I do not recommend — is to use the command:

npm install --legacy-peer-deps

This command tells npm to ignore the update, but it can introduce issues in the code.

That is why it is very important to use tools that have a strong community and keep up with the evolution of their dependencies.

Forcing dependency installation can introduce compatibility risks. It is therefore highly recommended to thoroughly test your application after making these changes to ensure everything works as expected.

There are cases where even replacing the library is the solution, since there are no guarantees of updates for every project.

Conclusion​

For this reason, it is very important to use tools that have a strong community and keep up with the evolution of their dependencies.

I am currently facing this problem with the React-Ace tool — version 13.0, which I use, does not have React version 19 as a peerDependency, causing the issue.

"peerDependencies": {
  "react": "^0.13.0 || ^0.14.0 || ^15.0.1 || ^16.0.0 || ^17.0.0 || ^18.0.0",
  "react-dom": "^0.13.0 || ^0.14.0 || ^15.0.1 || ^16.0.0 || ^17.0.0 || ^18.0.0"
},

I am using a fork that has already implemented support for the new version while I wait for the official library update.