Socket CLI

CLI for Socket.dev — scan dependencies, audit packages, apply security patches, and gate installs from your terminal or CI. This is the 1.x line of the published socket package on npm.

npm install -g socket
socket --help

• socket npm [args...] and socket npx [args...] - Wraps npm/npx with Socket security scanning

• socket fix - Fix CVEs in dependencies

• socket optimize - Optimize dependencies with @socketregistry overrides

• socket cdxgen [command] - Run cdxgen for SBOM generation

• socket patch <command> - Apply, manage, and rollback Socket security patches for vulnerable dependencies

Quick start:

# Scan for available patches, download, and apply.
socket patch scan
socket patch apply

# Or download a specific patch by UUID.
socket patch get <uuid> --org <org-slug>
socket patch apply

# Add to postinstall so patches reapply on npm install.
socket patch setup --yes

Free patches work without authentication. For paid patches, set SOCKET_CLI_API_TOKEN and SOCKET_CLI_ORG_SLUG.

All aliases support the flags and arguments of the commands they alias.

• socket ci - Alias for socket scan create --report (creates report and exits with error if unhealthy)

Use --uv-members to scan selected directories of a uv workspace with the versions pinned in the workspace's shared uv.lock:

socket scan create --uv-members ./packages/api ./packages/worker

Each TARGET is a directory with its own pyproject.toml. uv finds the uv.lock in that directory or in its workspace root, so one scan can cover members of several workspaces. The scan includes each target's transitive and local workspace dependencies, all extras, and all dependency groups. Dependencies used only by dependency groups are marked as development dependencies. Unrelated members and the shared lockfile are not added to the scan.

This mode requires uv on PATH with support for uv export --format cyclonedx1.5, which uv currently treats as a preview feature. The export runs offline with --frozen, so it uses the existing lockfile without resolving newer versions, installing packages, or changing the project.

The CLI writes a socket-uv-cdx.json SBOM into each target directory, uploads only those SBOMs in place of regular manifest discovery, and removes them after the scan, including on failure, Ctrl-C, or SIGTERM. It stops if that file already exists. --read-only prepares the SBOMs without uploading them, and --dry-run validates the options without running uv.

With --reach, pass a single target. Reachability analysis then runs on that member's directory. --uv-members cannot be combined with --auto-manifest or --dynamic-sbom-inference.

Socket reachability analysis comes in three forms:

• Full application reachability (formerly Tier 1): Analyzes your application together with its dependencies to determine whether vulnerable code is actually invoked from your code through the full dependency graph — the highest-precision reachability analysis. Run it with socket scan create --reach.
• Precomputed reachability (formerly Tier 2): Determines whether vulnerable code in transitive dependencies is reachable through your direct dependencies, using precomputed static analysis of dependency chains (no access to your application code required). In the CLI this is the fallback used when full application reachability cannot complete (see the --reach-continue-on-* flags).
• Dependency reachability (formerly Tier 3): Package-level filtering that detects which dependencies are actually used, so CVEs in unused/dead dependencies can be filtered out.

• --json - Output as JSON
• --markdown - Output as Markdown

• --dry-run - Run without uploading
• --debug - Show debug output
• --help - Show help
• --max-old-space-size - Set Node.js memory limit
• --max-semi-space-size - Set Node.js heap size
• --version - Show version

Socket CLI reads socket.yml configuration files. Supports version 2 format with projectIgnorePaths for excluding files from reports.

• SOCKET_CLI_API_TOKEN - Socket API token
• SOCKET_CLI_CONFIG - JSON configuration object
• SOCKET_CLI_GITHUB_API_URL - GitHub API base URL
• SOCKET_CLI_GIT_USER_EMAIL - Git user email (default: github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com)
• SOCKET_CLI_GIT_USER_NAME - Git user name (default: github-actions[bot])
• SOCKET_CLI_GITHUB_TOKEN - GitHub token with repo access (alias: GITHUB_TOKEN)
• SOCKET_CLI_NO_API_TOKEN - Disable default API token
• SOCKET_CLI_NPM_PATH - Path to npm directory
• SOCKET_CLI_ORG_SLUG - Socket organization slug
• SOCKET_CLI_ACCEPT_RISKS - Accept npm/npx risks
• SOCKET_CLI_VIEW_ALL_RISKS - Show all npm/npx risks

• Socket API Reference
• Socket GitHub App
• @socketsecurity/sdk

Run locally:

npm install
npm run build
npm exec socket

• SOCKET_CLI_API_BASE_URL - API base URL (default: https://api.socket.dev/v0/)
• SOCKET_CLI_API_PROXY - Proxy for API requests (aliases: HTTPS_PROXY, https_proxy, HTTP_PROXY, http_proxy)
• SOCKET_CLI_API_TIMEOUT - API request timeout in milliseconds
• SOCKET_CLI_COANA_LAUNCHER - How the reachability engine (@coana-tech/cli) is launched: auto (default; try npx, fall back to npm install + node if the launcher fails), npx (never fall back), or npm-install (skip npx entirely)
• SOCKET_CLI_DEBUG - Enable debug logging
• DEBUG - Enable debug package logging

MIT