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On-demand package scanning submits a software component to SafeDep Cloud for malware analysis and returns a verdict with evidence. You name an exact version of a package, an IDE extension, or a GitHub repository. SafeDep analyzes it and tells you whether it is safe to use. It is an independent SafeDep Cloud feature, used from the safedep CLI or the SafeDep API. It is not coupled to Vet or PMG.

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Fast path and slow path

SafeDep answers “is this component malicious?” through two paths built on the same scanning infrastructure. The fast path is automatic. SafeDep continuously scans packages from public registries and records verdicts in its known malicious packages database. SafeDep tools query that database to protect the SDLC at each stage: PMG at install time, Vet in CI, the SafeDep MCP server in AI agent sessions. It is free, answers in milliseconds, and needs no action from you. The slow path is on-demand scanning: the same scanning infrastructure, made available to you on demand. Use it where continuous scanning does not reach. That means components that are not registry packages, such as an MCP server or AI agent skill adopted from a GitHub repository, or an IDE extension, and packages that are not covered by SafeDep’s continuous scanning.

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How a scan works

Every scan runs SafeDep’s malware analysis pipeline against the exact component you name:
  • Static analysis examines the component’s code and metadata for malicious behavior signals: install-time hooks, obfuscation, network and filesystem access, credential theft patterns, and more.
  • AI agent triage investigates those signals. Static analysis alone flags suspicious-looking code in many legitimate packages, so an AI agent examines each signal in context to separate real threats from benign code.
Triage works because the agent draws on SafeDep’s code context for open source software: baselines and memories built from continuously analyzing packages across ecosystems. Because SafeDep knows what normal looks like for OSS code, triage rejects false alarms that a signature-only scanner would surface and digs into behavior that is genuinely out of place.
The result is a verdict backed by evidence you can inspect, not a bare score. See What a scan produces.

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What you can scan

npm

JavaScript and TypeScript packages

PyPI

Python packages

Go Modules

Go modules

RubyGems

Ruby gems

Cargo

Rust crates

VS Code Extensions

Visual Studio Code extensions

Open VSX Extensions

Extensions from the Open VSX registry

GitHub Actions

Actions used in your workflows

GitHub Repositories

Any repository, at a tag, branch, or commit
A GitHub repository target covers anything distributed as a repository rather than through a package registry: a library you found on GitHub, an AI agent skill, a project template. This makes on-demand scanning usable as a pre-use check for components that no registry-based tool can see.

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What a scan produces

A completed scan carries a verdict: malware, benign, or inconclusive, with a confidence score. When the verdict is malware, the full report explains why: a summary, file-level evidence (file, line, observed behavior), project-level evidence, indicators of compromise, and warnings. A scan that cannot run, for example because the named version does not exist in the registry, ends as failed with a reason. Failure is an operational outcome, not a verdict. For how SafeDep decides what is malicious, see Malicious Package.

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Availability

On-demand package scanning requires a SafeDep Cloud Professional or Enterprise plan. Paid plans include a monthly scan allowance per seat, pooled across your tenant. Beyond the allowance, you can opt in to usage-based on-demand billing. The free trial includes one seat’s allowance. See pricing.
Current limits, stated plainly:
  • Scanning is available from the CLI and the API. There is no web dashboard for on-demand scans yet.
  • Submitting a scan requires a signed-in session. API keys do not submit scans. See Scanning from CI and AI Agents for the reasoning.
  • A scan typically completes in a few minutes. The CLI waits up to 5 minutes by default.

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Get started

Package Scan Quickstart

Install the CLI, sign in, and run your first scan.

Scanning from CI and AI Agents

Authentication model, JSON output, verdict gating, polling, and retry semantics for automation.

Usage & On-Demand Billing

How allowances are counted and how to enable usage-based billing beyond them.