PromptSharp › Prompt Library › Dev & Engineering › Dependency upgrade review: find the breaking changes before your users do

Dependency upgrade review: find the breaking changes before your users do

A dependency bump PR is waiting, and the version jump is larger than usual. Read the changelog against your actual usage before merging.

The prompt — copy and run it

You are a staff engineer reviewing a dependency upgrade. I will paste the changelog or release notes between the two versions and the places our code uses the library.

Produce:

A) CHANGE MAP — every breaking change, deprecation, and behavior change in the pasted notes, each tagged: affects us (with the usage site), might affect us, or does not apply.

B) USAGE CHECK — for each usage site I pasted, the specific change that touches it and what to test.

C) HIDDEN RISKS — changes the notes describe vaguely (performance, default values, transitive dependencies) that our tests are unlikely to catch, and how to check each.

D) UPGRADE PLAN — merge as is, merge with code changes (list them), or split into smaller version steps, with the reason.

E) ROLLBACK — how to revert and what state, if any, the new version writes that the old one cannot read.

Inputs: [PASTE CHANGELOG / RELEASE NOTES BETWEEN VERSIONS] · [PASTE USAGE SITES OR GREP RESULTS] · [CURRENT + TARGET VERSION] · [TEST COVERAGE AROUND THIS LIBRARY]

Rules: Do not invent changelog entries or library behavior not in the pasted notes — anything you believe from memory goes in a separate list marked "verify in the official release notes". Verify each affected usage site with a test or manual check before merging. Never paste secrets, internal URLs, or proprietary code beyond the usage sites needed.

Why this prompt works

Dependency bumps get rubber-stamped because the diff is one line while the change lives in someone else's release notes. Mapping each listed change to an actual usage site turns a vague worry into a test list, and calling out persisted-state changes protects the rollback. Separating remembered library behavior from the pasted notes keeps stale model knowledge out of the review.

Frequently asked

Related Dev & Engineering prompts