vp why

Explain why a dependency is installed. Alias: vp explain.

vp why react
vp why react --json
vp why react --filter web

Options

Option	Description	Notes
--json	Request native JSON output.	Output retains the native schema.
--long	Show extended information.
--parseable	Show parseable output.
-r, --recursive	Check recursively across all workspaces.
--filter <pattern>	Select workspaces by pattern.	Can be repeated.
-w, --workspace-root	Check in workspace root.
-P, --prod	Only production dependencies.
-D, --dev	Only dev dependencies.
--depth <depth>	Limit tree depth.
--no-optional	Exclude optional dependencies.
--exclude-peers	Exclude peer dependencies.
--find-by <finder_name>	Use a finder function defined in .pnpmfile.cjs.

Compatibility

• npm: npm explain.
• pnpm: pnpm why.
• Yarn Classic: yarn why. With multiple package names, warns and checks only the first.
• Yarn Modern: yarn why. With multiple package names, warns and checks only the first.
• Bun: bun why.

Option	npm	pnpm	Yarn Classic	Yarn Modern	Bun	Notes
--json	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
--long	No	Yes	No	No	No
--parseable	No	Yes	No	No	No
-r, --recursive	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
--filter <pattern>	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
-w, --workspace-root	No	Yes	No	No	No
-P, --prod	No	Yes	No	No	No
-D, --dev	No	Yes	No	No	No
--depth <depth>	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
--no-optional	No	Yes	No	No	No
--exclude-peers	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yarn Modern includes peers by default.
--find-by <finder_name>	No	Yes	No	No	No

The dependency graph does not include tools Vite+ bundles or compiles. For readable output, Vite+ shows a hint when it also provides the requested package. Use vp toolchain [tool] to inspect bundled tools.

Native Options

For native options, see npm explain, pnpm why, Yarn why, Yarn Classic why, and Bun why. To pass these options through Vite+, see Native Arguments.