Feature request: Launch child process to automate "Run the following to upgrade all global packages"

Author: danielzgtgCreated Jul 22, 2026Updated Jul 26, 2026
Labelsenhancement

Steps to Reproduce

.ncurc: N/A

Dependencies: No package.json

Steps:

  1. Run ncu -gu

Current Behavior

Even with -u passed, it suggests a command to run instead of running it.

bash
$ ncu -gu
[====================] 33/33 100%

 @angular/cli                   21.1.3  →        22.0.7
 bun                             1.3.9  →        1.3.14
 detox-cli                     20.47.0  →       20.51.4
 elasticdump                   6.124.2  →       6.125.1
 firebase-tools                 15.5.1  →       15.24.0
 google-closure-compiler  20260128.0.0  →  20260720.0.0
 graphql                       16.12.0  →        17.0.2
 http-server-upload              3.0.0  →         3.1.0
 lighthouse                     13.0.2  →        13.4.1
 npm                           11.17.0  →        12.0.1
 pnpm                           11.5.0  →       11.15.1
 prettier                        3.8.1  →         3.9.6
 svgo                            4.0.0  →         4.0.2
 typescript                      5.9.3  →         7.0.2
 web-ext                         9.2.0  →        10.5.0

ncu itself cannot upgrade global packages. Run the following to upgrade all global packages: 

npm -g install @angular/[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Expected Behavior

We should use https://nodejs.org/api/child_process.html and launch the suggested command after printing it. Skip this on Windows if files being open is a problem. ncu could also launch a Bash script like https://github.com/raineorshine/npm-check-updates/issues/265#issuecomment-245472623 , but Bash doesn't work for @angular/cli and we might need Node.

Source: raineorshine/npm-check-updates