Important: This documentation covers Yarn 1 (Classic).
For Yarn 2+ docs and migration guide, see yarnpkg.com.

Dependencies and versions

Package dependencies are critical to the success of a package. When you develop the functionality of your package, you will very likely use existing code defined in other packages. Those packages then become dependencies to your project.

Your package.json file is the home for the declaration of all your dependencies, from development to production to optional. You will specify both the package name and minimum version information for each dependency.

Your yarn.lock file ensures that your package is consistent across installations by storing the versions of which dependencies are installed with your package.

Additional Reading
package.json
yarn.lock