Node Modules Inspector

A VS Code extension that provides a powerful, organized view of your node_modules dependencies with version information, dependency classification, and smart grouping.

Features

• Unified Package View: All instances of each package grouped together, regardless of where they're installed
• Version Conflict Detection: Easily spot when the same package has multiple versions installed (highlighted in yellow)
• Dependency Classification:
  • Direct (green): Listed in your dependencies
  • Dev (blue): Listed in your devDependencies
  • Peer (purple): Listed in your peerDependencies
  • Transitive (gray): Installed as a dependency of another package
• Location Tracking:
  • Hoisted: At the top-level node_modules
  • Nested: Inside another package (version conflict)
  • Workspace: In a monorepo sub-package
• Multi-root Support: Works with monorepos and projects with multiple node_modules folders
• Quick Search: Press Cmd+F (Mac) or Ctrl+F (Windows/Linux) to search all packages
• Click to Navigate: Click any package to open its package.json and reveal it in the Explorer
• Open in npm Registry: Right-click to open packages in npmjs.com or your custom internal registry (configurable)

Usage

1. Open a project with node_modules
2. Find the "Node Modules Explorer" panel in the Explorer sidebar
3. Browse packages or use the search icon to find specific packages
4. Hover over items for detailed information about dependency type and location
5. Click to open package.json files

Icon Legend

Package Level

Instance Level

Requirements

• VS Code 1.100.0 or higher
• A project with node_modules

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

• nodeModulesInspector.primaryRegistry: Configure a primary npm registry for "Open in npm" (falls back to npmjs.com)

Configuring a Custom Registry

For internal/private registries (like Artifactory, Verdaccio, or Nexus), add to your VS Code User Settings (so it applies to all projects):

{
  "nodeModulesInspector.primaryRegistry": {
    "name": "Internal Registry",
    "urlPattern": "https://npm.mycompany.com/package/{package}/"
  }
}

Note: When you right-click a package and select "Open in npm Registry", your primary registry is listed first, with npmjs.com as a fallback. This is useful if your internal registry mirrors public packages - you can check your internal registry first, then fall back to npmjs.com if needed.

URL Pattern placeholders:

• {package}: Full package name (e.g., @scope/name or lodash)
• {scope}: Just the scope (e.g., @scope)
• {name}: Just the package name without scope (e.g., name)

Commands

• nodeModulesVersions.refresh: Refresh the package list
• nodeModulesVersions.search: Search packages
• nodeModulesVersions.openInNpm: Open package in npm registry

Known Issues

None yet! Please report issues on GitHub.

Release Notes

1.0.0

Initial release:

• Package grouping by name
• Dependency type detection (direct/dev/peer/transitive)
• Location type detection (hoisted/nested/workspace)
• Multi-root workspace support
• Search functionality
• Click to open package.json

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open an issue or PR on GitHub.

License

MIT