CLI reference

The native argument parser defines the command interface. Run pipdeptree --help to list the installed version’s options.

Summary metrics

--summary emits the fields below in text, rich or JSON form. The Modes column identifies their sources. all works for each command. default needs an installed environment; text reports n/a and JSON omits those fields for from-index and from-lock.

Field	Meaning	Modes
total_packages	Number of packages in the tree.	all
direct_dependencies	Top-level packages (not required by any other package).	all
transitive_dependencies	Packages required by another package (total - direct).	all
max_depth	Longest dependency chain, counted in packages.	all
cyclic_dependencies	Number of dependency cycles detected.	all
missing_dependencies	Distinct packages required but not installed.	default
conflicting_dependencies	packages with an unsatisfied requirement and the total conflicting edges.	default
licenses	breakdown per license string, count of unknown licenses, and a copyleft flag.	default
min_requires_python	Highest Requires-Python lower bound across packages (the effective floor).	default
total_size / total_size_raw	On-disk size of all packages, human-readable and in bytes.	default