Registry / http-networking / detective-amd

detective-amd

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library6.0.1jsnpmunverified

detective-amd is a JavaScript utility for statically analyzing JavaScript files or Abstract Syntax Trees (ASTs) to identify dependencies declared using various AMD (Asynchronous Module Definition) module syntaxes. It supports the four core AMD forms ('named', 'dependency list', 'factory', 'no dependencies'), as well as 'driver script' (`require([deps], func)`) and CommonJS-like 'REM' forms (`define(function(require, exports, module) {})`). The package also handles dynamically loaded dependencies and JSX code through `node-source-walk`. The current stable version is 6.0.1. While not on a fixed release schedule, it sees updates to maintain compatibility with modern Node.js versions and dependencies, with major versions primarily driven by Node.js LTS support drops. Its key differentiator is its specialized focus on AMD syntax, offering a robust solution for environments still leveraging RequireJS or similar AMD loaders, distinguishing it from general-purpose CommonJS or ESM dependency analysis tools.

http-networking
npm install detective-amd
github ↗package ↗
INSTALL
IMPORT
SIG · DETECTIVE-AMD
D
detective-amd
http-networkingjavascriptv6.0.1
Install
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Import
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Disk
—
Pass rate
0/ 6
Env Coverage0 / 6
glibc
18–22
musl
18–22
Install & Compatibility
Where this runs
tested against v? · npm install
Install × environment matrix
Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux
musl
node 18–226 runs
build_error
glibc
node 18–226 runs
build_error
Code
Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

detective
✓ const detective = require('detective-amd');
✗ import detective from 'detective-amd';
This package is primarily CommonJS. While Node.js >=18 is required, its primary export mechanism is `module.exports`.
detective (named import attempt)
✓ const detective = require('detective-amd');
✗ import { detective } from 'detective-amd';
The package exports a single function as its default. Named imports are not available.
detective (ESM dynamic import)
✓ const detective = await import('detective-amd');
✗ import detective from 'detective-amd';
If used in an ESM context, dynamic `import()` is required to load this CommonJS module, and you'll then access `detective.default`.

Demonstrates how to synchronously extract AMD dependencies from source code, including standard `define` calls, `require` driver scripts, and expression-based requires.

const fs = require('fs'); const detective = require('detective-amd'); // Create a dummy AMD file for demonstration const fileContent = ` // a.js define(['./b', './c'], function (b, c) { console.log(b, c); }); // b.js define({ name: 'foo' }); // c.js define(function () { return 'bar'; }); // main.js - A driver script require(['./a'], function (a) { // My app will get booted up from here }); // another.js - with expression-based require define(function (require) { const dynamicDep = 'dynamic_module'; const x = require('./' + dynamicDep); const y = require('./static_module'); }); `; fs.writeFileSync('example.js', fileContent, 'utf8'); // Analyze the 'a.js' part of the content const srcA = `define(['./b', './c'], function (b, c) { console.log(b, c); });`; console.log('Dependencies for a.js:', detective(srcA)); // Analyze the 'main.js' part of the content const srcMain = `require(['./a'], function (a) {});`; console.log('Dependencies for main.js (driver script):', detective(srcMain)); // Analyze the 'another.js' part with expression-based requires const srcAnother = ` define(function (require) { const dynamicDep = 'dynamic_module'; const x = require('./' + dynamicDep); const y = require('./static_module'); }); `; console.log('Dependencies for another.js (expression-based):', detective(srcAnother)); // Clean up dummy file (optional) fs.unlinkSync('example.js');
Debug
Known issues
breakingVersion 6.0.0 introduced a breaking change by dropping support for Node.js versions older than 18. Users on older Node.js runtimes will encounter errors or unexpected behavior.
fix
Upgrade your Node.js environment to version 18 or higher. If unable to upgrade Node.js, remain on `detective-amd@5.x`.
affects: >=6.0.0
breakingVersion 5.0.0 dropped support for Node.js 12. Environments running Node.js 12 or earlier will not be able to use this version.
fix
Upgrade your Node.js environment to version 14 or higher (or 18+ for v6+). If unable to upgrade Node.js, remain on `detective-amd@4.x`.
affects: >=5.0.0 <6.0.0
gotchaWhen an AMD `require` call uses an expression instead of a string literal (e.g., `require('./' + variable)`), `detective-amd` will return a string representation of that expression (e.g., `"'./' + variable"`) rather than attempting to resolve it. This means dynamic dependencies will not yield concrete file paths.
fix
Be aware that dynamically resolved paths cannot be fully analyzed statically. Manual inspection or runtime analysis might be needed for these cases.
affects: >=3.x
gotchaThe package is primarily designed for CommonJS consumption. Attempting to use `import detective from 'detective-amd';` in an ES module context will result in a runtime error because `module.exports` is not directly compatible with default ES module imports.
fix
In an ESM context, use a dynamic import: `const detectiveModule = await import('detective-amd'); const detective = detectiveModule.default;`
affects: >=3.x
Errors
Common errors & fixes
Error [ERR_REQUIRE_ESM]: require() of ES Module ... not supported.
Attempting to `require()` this package from an ES module context, or the package itself has become ESM-only (which it has not, but this is a common problem in the ecosystem).
fix
This package is CommonJS. If you are in an ES module context (e.g., `"type": "module"` in package.json), you must use dynamic `import()` to load it: `const detectiveModule = await import('detective-amd'); const detective = detectiveModule.default;`
SyntaxError: Unexpected token 'export' (or 'import')
You are using `detective-amd` in a CJS file, but the source code you are passing to it contains ES module syntax (e.g., `import` or `export` statements). While `detective-amd` supports JSX, it is specifically for AMD syntax analysis, not ESM.
fix
Ensure the source code being passed to `detective-amd` exclusively uses AMD or older JavaScript syntax. If you need to detect ES module dependencies, use a different package designed for ESM analysis.
TypeError: detective is not a function
This typically occurs when `detective-amd` is imported incorrectly in an ESM context, where `import detective from 'detective-amd';` results in `detective` being the entire module object, not the function itself.
fix
When using `await import('detective-amd')` in ESM, the main function is accessed via the `.default` property: `const detectiveModule = await import('detective-amd'); const detective = detectiveModule.default;`
Upgrade
Version history
6.0.1latest on npm
Audit
Dependencies
node-source-walkrequiredUsed for parsing and walking the AST, providing support for JSX syntax.
Agent activity
5 hits · last 30 days
node
4
OpenAI (training)
1
Resources
githubhttps://github.com/dependents/node-detective-amd ↗
packagehttps://www.npmjs.com/package/detective-amd ↗
detective-amd — npm install detective-amd · libregistry