Detecting Dependency Confusion

Q: What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Detecting Dependency Confusion skill fit in?

A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Detecting Dependency Confusion is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the Security category. Learn more at https://claudskills.com/learn/what-is-skill-md/.

Category: Security · Sub-category: threat-hunting · Last updated: 2026-08-08

type:audit

Detect and prevent dependency confusion (public-over-private package name resolution) in npm, PyPI, and Maven by enumerating claimable internal package names with tools like `confused` and OWASP `dep-scan`, then enforcing source restrictions via `.npmrc`, `pip.conf`/`pyproject.toml`, and Maven `settings.xml`. Use when onboarding a repo to a supply-chain security program, auditing lockfiles/manifests for confusable dependencies, or after an incident that may have leaked internal package names.

Security AStatic scan found no risk patternsHow grading works ›

About this skill (catalog notes)

Detecting Dependency Confusion includes explicit scope boundaries (an explicit 'when not to use' or 'out of scope' section); a dedicated installation section; 12 code blocks for direct copy-paste. The SKILL.md runs to about 1,458 words, in the catalog's typical mid-range.

Source: mahipal.engineer/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
License: Apache-2.0
Original author: mahipal
Indexed lastmod: 2026-08-08
Catalog position: Security · threat-hunting
Indexed related skills: 10

How Detecting Dependency Confusion fits the catalog

Detecting Dependency Confusion sits in the Security category under the threat-hunting sub-topic in the ClaudSkills catalog. There are 10 related skills indexed alongside it; comparing a few before installing usually reveals which fits your workflow best.

Is Detecting Dependency Confusion safe to install?

A free static scan against the OWASP Agentic Skills Top 10 found no risk patterns in Detecting Dependency Confusion’s SKILL.md — no data-exfiltration, prompt-injection, or unexpected-execution signatures. The full security scan is below.

Installing & verifying

Installing Detecting Dependency Confusion writes its SKILL.md to ~/.claude/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion/SKILL.md; Claude Code discovers it automatically on the next session — no restart flag needed. It declares no allowed-tools restriction, so it inherits your session’s existing tool access rather than narrowing it. To confirm it loaded, ask Claude to list its available skills — detecting-dependency-confusion should appear by name.

What Detecting Dependency Confusion needs to run

Prerequisites: Ships its own installation / prerequisites section — it isn’t purely self-contained; read that first.
Scope discipline: Declares explicit “when not to use” boundaries — safer than average to hand to an autonomous agent, which is less likely to over-apply it.
Worked code: 12 copy-paste code blocks in the body.
Depth: ~1,458 words, typical mid-range depth.

When to reach for it

There are 10 related skills in Security — a two-minute scan of the alternatives usually confirms whether Detecting Dependency Confusion is the right pick.

These notes are auto-generated from features detected in the SKILL.md file and from this catalog's structure — they aren't part of the source repository.

What this skill does

Detecting Dependency Confusion is a community-contributed Claude Code skill in the threat-hunting sub-category. It ships as a SKILL.md file that Claude Code auto-discovers under ~/.claude/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion/ and loads when your prompt matches the skill's trigger.

When to invoke it: Use when onboarding a repo to a supply-chain security program, auditing lockfiles/manifests for confusable dependencies, or after an incident that may have leaked internal package names.

Who uses this skill

The Detecting Dependency Confusion Claude Code skill is built for security engineers, penetration testers, DevSecOps practitioners, and development teams hardening codebases and infrastructure. It's part of ClaudSkills (also referred to as Claude Skills or Claude Code Skills) — the open community-curated registry of 178,000+ SKILL.md files for Anthropic's Claude Code agent and the wider Claude ecosystem (Claude API, Claude Agent SDK).

How to install

Free

Manual install (2 steps)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion
curl -L https://claudskills.com/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion/SKILL.md

Or just download SKILL.md directly and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion/. Claude Code auto-discovers it on next session.

Skills live at ~/.claude/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion/SKILL.md on macOS/Linux, or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\detecting-dependency-confusion\SKILL.md on Windows. See the full install guide for step-by-step instructions.

📱 Install from your phone or desktop Telegram

Open @claudskills_bot on Telegram, tap Open Desktop App, and the desktop app installs this skill for you. Or share the bot link with a colleague — they get the same one-tap install. Learn more →

Pro

One-click install via the desktop app

The ClaudSkills desktop app installs any skill directly into ~/.claude/skills/ with one click — no terminal required. Pro starts at $9/mo or $149 lifetime.

Pro

For the full experience including quality scoring and one-click install features for each skill — upgrade to Pro.

See pricing → Download desktop app

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Detecting Dependency Confusion Claude Code skill?

Install via the ClaudSkills desktop app (one click) or copy SKILL.md from the source repository to ~/.claude/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion/SKILL.md and restart Claude Code. Both flows are detailed at claudskills.com/install/.

What does the Detecting Dependency Confusion skill do?

Is this skill free to install?

Yes. ClaudSkills is an open registry — every skill keeps its source repository's license, and manual install via copy is free. ClaudSkills Pro ($9/mo, $79/yr, or $149 one-time) adds one-click install via the desktop app and a multi-signal Quality Score.

When should I use the Detecting Dependency Confusion skill?

Use Detecting Dependency Confusion when your Claude Code task falls under the Security category — specifically in the threat hunting area. Claude Code auto-discovers installed skills and invokes the right one based on the task description, so you can also ask Claude directly (e.g. "use Detecting Dependency Confusion" or describe the task and let Claude pick). Browse related skills at /category/security/.

What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Detecting Dependency Confusion skill fit in?

A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Detecting Dependency Confusion is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the Security category. Learn more at /learn/what-is-a-claude-skill/.

Attribution & license

Source: https://github.com/mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills/blob/HEAD/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion/SKILL.md
License: Apache-2.0
Author: mahipal
Website: https://mahipal.engineer/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills/

Cite this skill

If you reference this skill in a blog post, paper, or documentation, you can cite it as:

APA

mahipal. (2026). Detecting Dependency Confusion [Claude Code skill]. ClaudSkills. https://claudskills.com/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion/

BibTeX

@misc{detecting-dependency-confusion-2026,
  author    = {mahipal},
  title     = {Detecting Dependency Confusion [Claude Code skill]},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {ClaudSkills},
  url       = {https://claudskills.com/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion/}
}

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Security scan

Grade A · scanned 2026-08-08 — free static scan against the OWASP Agentic Skills Top 10.

No risk patterns were found in any of the ten OWASP-aligned categories. How grading works ›

✓ Prompt injection
✓ Data exfiltration
✓ Supply chain
✓ Reverse shell
✓ Credentials
✓ Execution
✓ Filesystem
✓ Persistence
✓ Obfuscation
✓ Network

Show this grade on your repo (click to copy):

[![Security: A](https://img.shields.io/badge/Security-A-2e7d32)](https://claudskills.com/skills/detecting-dependency-confusion/#security)

More Security skills

Browse all Security skills in the ClaudSkills registry, or explore these other picks from the same category:

Browse all Security skills → Top 100 skills

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