---
title: "GuardDog (malicious packages)"
description: "Checks the npm and PyPI dependencies declared in package.json and requirements*.txt for malicious packages with DataDog GuardDog. guarddog downloads each dependency (the highest version matching its range) from the public registry and analyses it statically with YARA rules and registry-metadata heuristics such as typosquatting; nothing is installed or run. Only a sanitised copy of each manifest, holding registry dependencies, is passed to it from a scratch directory. Opt-in because it downloads every dependency and sends their names to the registries."
url: https://openaudit.se/auditors/code.guarddog/
---

# GuardDog (malicious packages)

`code.guarddog`

Checks the npm and PyPI dependencies declared in package.json and requirements*.txt for malicious packages with DataDog GuardDog. guarddog downloads each dependency (the highest version matching its range) from the public registry and analyses it statically with YARA rules and registry-metadata heuristics such as typosquatting; nothing is installed or run. Only a sanitised copy of each manifest, holding registry dependencies, is passed to it from a scratch directory. Opt-in because it downloads every dependency and sends their names to the registries.

- **Engine:** Wrapped scanner
- **Wraps:** `guarddog`
- **Targets:** Codebase
- **Areas:** Supply chain, Security
- **Runs:** Opt-in: only when selected with --only
- **Network:** Contacts services beyond the target

## Run only this auditor

```sh
bunx @openaudit/cli . --only code.guarddog
```

Wraps guarddog. When it isn't installed, the auditor is skipped with an install hint and the rest of the audit runs.

## More supply chain auditors

- [Vulnerable dependencies](https://openaudit.se/auditors/code.dependencies/) (`code.dependencies`)
- [Dependency health](https://openaudit.se/auditors/code.dependency-health/) (`code.dependency-health`)
- [Lockfile integrity and install scripts](https://openaudit.se/auditors/code.lockfiles/) (`code.lockfiles`)
- [osv-scanner dependency scan](https://openaudit.se/auditors/code.osv-scanner/) (`code.osv-scanner`)
- [govulncheck (Go vulnerabilities)](https://openaudit.se/auditors/code.govulncheck/) (`code.govulncheck`)
- [pip-audit (Python vulnerabilities)](https://openaudit.se/auditors/code.pip-audit/) (`code.pip-audit`)
- [cargo-audit (Rust advisories)](https://openaudit.se/auditors/code.cargo-audit/) (`code.cargo-audit`)
- [npm audit](https://openaudit.se/auditors/code.npm-audit/) (`code.npm-audit`)