socket-patch 3.3.0

CLI tool for applying security patches to dependencies

Socket Patch CLI

Apply security patches to npm and Python dependencies without waiting for upstream fixes.

Installation

One-line install (recommended)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SocketDev/socket-patch/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Detects your platform (macOS/Linux, x64/ARM64), downloads the latest binary, and installs to /usr/local/bin or ~/.local/bin. Use sudo sh instead of sh if /usr/local/bin requires root.

Manual download

Download a prebuilt binary from the latest release:

# macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -fsSL https://github.com/SocketDev/socket-patch/releases/latest/download/socket-patch-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz | tar xz

# macOS (Intel)
curl -fsSL https://github.com/SocketDev/socket-patch/releases/latest/download/socket-patch-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz | tar xz

# Linux (x86_64)
curl -fsSL https://github.com/SocketDev/socket-patch/releases/latest/download/socket-patch-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz | tar xz

# Linux (ARM64)
curl -fsSL https://github.com/SocketDev/socket-patch/releases/latest/download/socket-patch-aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz | tar xz

Then move the binary onto your PATH:

sudo mv socket-patch /usr/local/bin/

npm

npx @socketsecurity/socket-patch

Or install globally:

npm install -g @socketsecurity/socket-patch

pip

pip install socket-patch

Cargo

cargo install socket-patch-cli

By default this builds with npm and PyPI support. For additional ecosystems:

cargo install socket-patch-cli --features cargo,golang,maven,composer,nuget

Quick Start

You can pass a patch UUID directly to socket-patch as a shortcut:

socket-patch 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
# equivalent to: socket-patch get 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

Global Options

These flags are accepted by every subcommand — they are flattened into each command's argument set, so socket-patch <command> --json --cwd ./app works uniformly. A command silently ignores any global flag it doesn't use (e.g. list --global parses fine and the flag is a no-op).

Each flag has a matching SOCKET_* environment variable. Precedence is CLI arg > env var > default, so a flag on the command line always wins over the environment.

Flag	Env var	Description
--cwd <dir>	SOCKET_CWD	Working directory (default: .). The manifest path is resolved relative to this.
-m, --manifest-path <path>	SOCKET_MANIFEST_PATH	Path to the patch manifest, resolved relative to --cwd (default: .socket/manifest.json).
--api-url <url>	SOCKET_API_URL	Socket API URL for the authenticated endpoint (default: https://api.socket.dev).
--api-token <token>	SOCKET_API_TOKEN	Socket API token. When omitted, the public patch proxy is used.
-o, --org <slug>	SOCKET_ORG_SLUG	Organization slug. Auto-resolved when omitted and a token is set.
--proxy-url <url>	SOCKET_PROXY_URL	Public proxy URL used when no API token is set.
-e, --ecosystems <list>	SOCKET_ECOSYSTEMS	Restrict to specific ecosystems (comma-separated, e.g. npm,pypi).
--download-mode <mode>	SOCKET_DOWNLOAD_MODE	Artifact to fetch when local files are missing: diff (default, smallest delta), package (full per-package tarball), or file (legacy per-file blobs).
--offline	SOCKET_OFFLINE	Strict airgap: never contact the network. Operations that need remote data fail loudly.
-g, --global	SOCKET_GLOBAL	Operate on globally-installed packages.
--global-prefix <path>	SOCKET_GLOBAL_PREFIX	Override the path used to discover globally-installed packages.
-j, --json	SOCKET_JSON	Emit machine-readable JSON output. Every JSON response includes a "status" field ("success", "error", "no_manifest", etc.) for reliable programmatic consumption.
-v, --verbose	SOCKET_VERBOSE	Show extra detail in human-readable output.
-s, --silent	SOCKET_SILENT	Suppress non-error output.
--dry-run	SOCKET_DRY_RUN	Preview the operation without making any mutations.
-y, --yes	SOCKET_YES	Skip interactive confirmation prompts.
--lock-timeout <secs>	SOCKET_LOCK_TIMEOUT	Seconds to wait for .socket/apply.lock before giving up. 0/unset = a single non-blocking try; a positive value retries with backoff. Only meaningful for mutating commands (apply, rollback, repair, remove).
--break-lock	SOCKET_BREAK_LOCK	Force-remove a stale .socket/apply.lock before acquiring it. Use only when no other socket-patch process is running; emits an auditable lock_broken event in the JSON envelope.
--debug	SOCKET_DEBUG	Emit verbose debug logs to stderr.
--no-telemetry	SOCKET_TELEMETRY_DISABLED	Disable anonymous usage telemetry.

Commands

The tables below list only the command-specific flags. Every command also accepts the Global Options above.

get

Get security patches from Socket API and apply them. Accepts a UUID, CVE ID, GHSA ID, PURL, or package name. The identifier type is auto-detected but can be forced with a flag.

Alias: download

Usage:

socket-patch get <identifier> [options]

Command-specific options (plus all Global Options):

Flag	Description
--id	Force identifier to be treated as a UUID
--cve	Force identifier to be treated as a CVE ID
--ghsa	Force identifier to be treated as a GHSA ID
-p, --package	Force identifier to be treated as a package name
--save-only	Download patch without applying it (alias: --no-apply)
--one-off	Apply patch immediately without saving to the .socket folder
--all-releases	Download patches for every release/distribution variant of a matched package (PyPI wheel/sdist, RubyGems platform, Maven classifier), not just the installed one

Authenticated lookups require an org: pass --org <slug> (or set SOCKET_ORG_SLUG) when using SOCKET_API_TOKEN.

Examples:

# Get patch by UUID
socket-patch get 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

# Get patch by CVE
socket-patch get CVE-2024-12345

# Get patch by GHSA
socket-patch get GHSA-xxxx-yyyy-zzzz

# Get patch by package name (fuzzy matches installed packages)
socket-patch get lodash

# Download only, don't apply
socket-patch get CVE-2024-12345 --save-only

# Apply to global packages
socket-patch get lodash -g

# JSON output for scripting
socket-patch get CVE-2024-12345 --json -y

scan

Scan installed packages for available security patches. Since v3.0 scan --sync is the single command bots need for full auto-update: it discovers patches, applies them, and garbage-collects orphan blob files plus manifest entries for uninstalled packages — all in one invocation.

Usage:

socket-patch scan [options]

Command-specific options (plus all Global Options):

Flag	Description
--apply	Download and apply selected patches in JSON mode (non-interactive). Without it, scan --json is read-only.
--prune	Garbage-collect after the scan: remove manifest entries for uninstalled packages and orphan blob/diff/package-archive files. Off by default.
--sync	Sugar for --apply --prune. The canonical bot-mode flag.
--batch-size <n>	Packages per API request (default: 100)
--all-releases	Store patches for every release/distribution variant, not just the installed one — makes the manifest portable across environments (e.g. cross-platform CI caches)
--vex <path>	On a successful scan, also write an OpenVEX 0.2.0 document to this path. See Inline VEX generation. (env: SOCKET_VEX)
--vex-product, --vex-no-verify, --vex-doc-id, --vex-compact	Passthrough to the embedded VEX builder; mirror the standalone vex knobs. Inert unless --vex is set.

Use --dry-run to preview what --apply/--prune/--sync would do without mutating disk.

Examples:

# Scan local project (interactive prompt to apply)
socket-patch scan

# Scan with JSON output (discover + updates, no mutation)
socket-patch scan --json

# Bot mode: discover, apply, prune, sweep — all in one
socket-patch scan --json --sync --yes

# Apply without pruning manifest entries (default)
socket-patch scan --apply --yes

# Apply + prune explicitly (equivalent to --sync)
socket-patch scan --json --apply --prune --yes

# Preview a full sync without mutating disk
socket-patch scan --json --sync --yes --dry-run

# Scan only npm packages
socket-patch scan --ecosystems npm

# Scan global packages
socket-patch scan -g

# Scan + apply + emit an OpenVEX attestation in one pass
socket-patch scan --json --sync --yes --vex socket.vex.json

apply

Apply security patches from the local manifest.

Usage:

socket-patch apply [options]

Command-specific options (plus all Global Options):

Flag	Description
-f, --force	Skip pre-application hash verification (apply even if package version differs)
--vex <path>	On a successful apply, also write an OpenVEX 0.2.0 document to this path. See Inline VEX generation. (env: SOCKET_VEX)
--vex-product, --vex-no-verify, --vex-doc-id, --vex-compact	Passthrough to the embedded VEX builder; mirror the standalone vex knobs. Inert unless --vex is set.

Examples:

# Apply patches
socket-patch apply

# Dry run
socket-patch apply --dry-run

# Apply only npm patches
socket-patch apply --ecosystems npm

# Apply in offline mode
socket-patch apply --offline

# JSON output for CI/CD
socket-patch apply --json

# Apply and emit an OpenVEX attestation in one step
socket-patch apply --vex socket.vex.json

rollback

Rollback patches to restore original files. If no identifier is given, all patches are rolled back.

Usage:

socket-patch rollback [identifier] [options]

Command-specific options (plus all Global Options):

Flag	Description
--one-off	Rollback by fetching original (beforeHash) files from the API — no manifest required

Examples:

# Rollback all patches
socket-patch rollback

# Rollback a specific package
socket-patch rollback "pkg:npm/lodash@4.17.20"

# Rollback by UUID
socket-patch rollback 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

# Dry run
socket-patch rollback --dry-run

# JSON output
socket-patch rollback --json

list

List all patches in the local manifest.

Usage:

socket-patch list [options]

No command-specific options — see Global Options (--json, --manifest-path, --cwd are the relevant ones).

Examples:

# List patches
socket-patch list

# JSON output
socket-patch list --json

Sample Output:

Found 2 patch(es):

Package: pkg:npm/lodash@4.17.20
  UUID: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
  Tier: free
  License: MIT
  Vulnerabilities (1):
    - GHSA-xxxx-yyyy-zzzz (CVE-2024-12345)
      Severity: high
      Summary: Prototype pollution in lodash
  Files patched (1):
    - lodash.js

remove

Remove a patch from the manifest (rolls back files first by default).

Usage:

socket-patch remove <identifier> [options]

Arguments:

• identifier - Package PURL (e.g., pkg:npm/package@version) or patch UUID

Command-specific options (plus all Global Options):

Flag	Description
--skip-rollback	Only update manifest, do not restore original files

Examples:

# Remove by PURL
socket-patch remove "pkg:npm/lodash@4.17.20"

# Remove by UUID
socket-patch remove 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

# Remove without rolling back files
socket-patch remove "pkg:npm/lodash@4.17.20" --skip-rollback

# JSON output
socket-patch remove "pkg:npm/lodash@4.17.20" --json

repair

Download missing blobs and clean up unused blobs.

Alias: gc

repair cleans up the .socket/ directory without running a scan — useful when you've manually adjusted the manifest, recovered from a partial-failure state, or just want to free space. For the combined workflow (discover + apply + GC in one pass), use scan --sync --json --yes instead.

Usage:

socket-patch repair [options]

Command-specific options (plus all Global Options):

Flag	Description
--download-only	Only download missing artifacts, do not clean up (incompatible with --offline)

Examples:

# Full repair (download missing + clean up unused)
socket-patch repair

# Cleanup only, no downloads
socket-patch repair --offline

# Download missing blobs only
socket-patch repair --download-only

# JSON output for scripting
socket-patch repair --json

setup

Configure package.json postinstall scripts to automatically apply patches after npm install.

Usage:

socket-patch setup [options]

No command-specific options — see Global Options (--dry-run, --yes, --json, --cwd are the relevant ones).

Examples:

# Interactive setup
socket-patch setup

# Non-interactive
socket-patch setup -y

# Preview changes
socket-patch setup --dry-run

# JSON output for scripting
socket-patch setup --json -y

vex

Generate an OpenVEX 0.2.0 attestation describing the vulnerabilities that the applied patches have mitigated. See OpenVEX attestations below for the full workflow.

Usage:

socket-patch vex [options]

Command-specific options (plus all Global Options):

Flag	Description
-O, --output <path>	Write the VEX document to this path instead of stdout. Required when combined with --json. (env: SOCKET_VEX_OUTPUT)
--product <id>	Override the auto-detected top-level product PURL/identifier. (env: SOCKET_VEX_PRODUCT)
--no-verify	Skip the on-disk file-hash check and trust the manifest — useful on a build machine that doesn't have the patched files laid out. (env: SOCKET_VEX_NO_VERIFY)
--doc-id <id>	Override the document @id. Default is a random urn:uuid:<v4> regenerated each run; pin this for a reproducible identifier. (env: SOCKET_VEX_DOC_ID)
--compact	Emit compact JSON instead of pretty-printed. (env: SOCKET_VEX_COMPACT)

Examples:

# Print a VEX document to stdout (human-readable status goes to stderr)
socket-patch vex

# Write the document to a file
socket-patch vex --output socket.vex.json

# CI shape: VEX doc to file, machine-readable envelope to stdout
socket-patch vex --json --output socket.vex.json

# Generate on a build box without verifying on-disk files
socket-patch vex --no-verify --output socket.vex.json

OpenVEX attestations

socket-patch vex turns your local manifest into a signed-off statement of which known vulnerabilities no longer affect your build because a Socket patch has been applied. This lets vulnerability scanners stop flagging CVEs that you've already remediated in place — without bumping the package version.

How it works

1. Reads .socket/manifest.json and, unless --no-verify is passed, re-checks each patched file's hash on disk so the attestation only covers patches that are actually applied.
2. Auto-detects the top-level product identifier (override with --product), probing in order:
   • .git/config [remote "origin"] → pkg:github/<owner>/<repo> (similar for GitLab/Bitbucket; raw URL otherwise)
   • package.json → pkg:npm/<name>@<version>
   • pyproject.toml → pkg:pypi/<name>@<version>
   • Cargo.toml → pkg:cargo/<name>@<version>
3. Emits an OpenVEX 0.2.0 document whose statements mark each mitigated vulnerability as not_affected (justification: the patch is present), suitable for piping into vexctl, Grype, Trivy, and similar tools.

Output channels

Invocation	VEX document	stdout
default (no --output, no --json)	stdout	human-readable status on stderr
--output <path>	the file	one-line summary
--json --output <path>	the file	machine-readable envelope (the CI shape)

--json requires --output, since the VEX document is itself JSON and would otherwise collide with the envelope on stdout.

Using it with a scanner

# Generate the attestation as part of CI, then hand it to a scanner
socket-patch vex --output socket.vex.json

# Suppress already-patched findings in Grype
grype <image-or-dir> --vex socket.vex.json

# Or with Trivy
trivy image --vex socket.vex.json <image>

Run socket-patch get or socket-patch scan --sync first — vex errors with no_patches against an empty manifest.

Inline VEX on apply / scan

You don't need a separate vex invocation: pass --vex <path> to apply or scan and the same OpenVEX document is generated as a side-effect of a successful run.

# Patch and attest in one step
socket-patch apply --vex socket.vex.json

# Discover, apply, prune, and attest — the full bot-mode pass
socket-patch scan --json --sync --yes --vex socket.vex.json

The --vex-product, --vex-no-verify, --vex-doc-id, and --vex-compact flags mirror the standalone command's --product / --no-verify / --doc-id / --compact knobs.

Contract:

• The document is always written to the file (never stdout), so it never collides with the command's own --json output. JSON mode adds a top-level vex summary — { path, statements, format } — to the envelope (apply) / result (scan).
• It's built from the manifest as it stands after the run (including any --apply/--sync writes) and verified against on-disk state unless --vex-no-verify is set. Generated for real applies, --dry-run, and read-only scans alike.
• Fail-the-command: if --vex was requested but generation fails (no detectable product, empty/missing manifest, nothing verified, unwritable path), the command exits non-zero even when the apply/scan itself succeeded, with a stable error code in the JSON output.

Scripting & CI/CD

All commands support --json for machine-readable output. JSON responses always include a "status" field for easy error detection:

# Check for available patches in CI (read-only)
result=$(socket-patch scan --json --ecosystems npm)
patches=$(echo "$result" | jq '.totalPatches')

# Auto-update bot mode: discover, apply, prune, sweep in one pass
socket-patch scan --json --sync --yes | jq '{
  applied:     [.apply.patches[] | select(.action == "added" or .action == "updated") | .purl],
  pruned:      .gc.prunedManifestEntries,
  bytes_freed: .gc.bytesFreed
}'
# Pipe this into peter-evans/create-pull-request to open a PR with the changes.

# Apply patches and check result
socket-patch apply --json | jq '.status'
# "success", "partial_failure", "no_manifest", or "error"

When stdin is not a TTY (e.g., in CI pipelines), interactive prompts auto-proceed instead of blocking. Progress indicators and ANSI colors are automatically suppressed when output is piped.

Environment Variables

Every Global Option has a matching SOCKET_* environment variable (listed in that table), and vex-specific flags map to SOCKET_VEX_*. The most commonly used variables are:

Variable	Description
SOCKET_API_TOKEN	API authentication token. Use the raw token (sktsec_<...>_api) shown when it was generated, not the SHA-512 hash (sha512-...) that the dashboard may also display for identification.
SOCKET_ORG_SLUG	Default organization slug
SOCKET_API_URL	API base URL (default: https://api.socket.dev)

Manifest Format

Downloaded patches are stored in .socket/manifest.json:

{
  "patches": {
    "pkg:npm/package-name@1.0.0": {
      "uuid": "unique-patch-id",
      "exportedAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
      "files": {
        "path/to/file.js": {
          "beforeHash": "git-sha256-before",
          "afterHash": "git-sha256-after"
        }
      },
      "vulnerabilities": {
        "GHSA-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx": {
          "cves": ["CVE-2024-12345"],
          "summary": "Vulnerability summary",
          "severity": "high",
          "description": "Detailed description"
        }
      },
      "description": "Patch description",
      "license": "MIT",
      "tier": "free"
    }
  }
}

Patched file contents are in .socket/blob/ (named by git SHA256 hash).

Supported Platforms

Platform	Architecture
macOS	ARM64 (Apple Silicon), x86_64 (Intel)
Linux	x86_64, ARM64, ARMv7, i686
Windows	x86_64, ARM64, i686
Android	ARM64