keithamus/sort-package-json

Doesn't handle betterScripts correctly

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#399 opened on Jan 29, 2026

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bughelp wanted

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Description

The sripts and betterScripts fields are treated as strings, but the betterScripts format supports objects. Because of this, the script crashes with an error if betterScripts is an object.

"better-scripts": { "dev": { "alias": "🧑🏻‍💻 Dev", "command": "react-scripts start", "desc": "Start a development server" } }

TypeError: command.includes is not a function at isSequentialScript (file:sort-package-json/index.js:261:11) at file:sort-package-json/index.js:273:35 at Array.some (<anonymous>) at hasSequentialScript (file:sort-package-json/index.js:273:18) at file:sort-package-json/index.js:321:8 at file:sort-package-json/index.js:22:24 at file:sort-package-json/index.js:67:34 at file:sort-package-json/index.js:12:32 at Array.reduce (<anonymous>) at file:sort-package-json/index.js:12:9 at file:sort-package-json/index.js:555:14 at file:sort-package-json/index.js:22:24 at editStringJSON (file:sort-package-json/index.js:524:22) at sortPackageJson (file:sort-package-json/index.js:536:10)

Contributor guide

Research direction
Inspect the `isSequentialScript` function in `index.js` around line 261. The error occurs because `command` is an object when `betterScripts` uses the object format. Modify the function to check if `command` is a string before calling `.includes()`, or handle the object case by extracting the `command` property from the object.
Tech stack
javascript
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
JavaScript
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
70