diff --git a/packages/plugin-js-packages/README.md b/packages/plugin-js-packages/README.md
index 8eb9ca87e..dacfff66f 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-js-packages/README.md
+++ b/packages/plugin-js-packages/README.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 📦 **Code PushUp plugin for JavaScript packages.** 🛡️
 
-This plugin allows you to list outdated dependencies and run audit for known vulnerabilities.
+This plugin checks for known vulnerabilities and outdated dependencies.
 It supports the following package managers:
 
 - [NPM](https://docs.npmjs.com/)
@@ -17,9 +17,7 @@ It supports the following package managers:
 
 1. If you haven't already, install [@code-pushup/cli](../cli/README.md) and create a configuration file.
 
-2. Insert plugin configuration. By default, `audit` and `outdated` commands will be run.
-
-   Default configuration will look as follows:
+2. Insert plugin configuration with your package manager. By default, both `audit` and `outdated` checks will be run. The result should look as follows:
 
    ```js
    import jsPackagesPlugin from '@code-pushup/js-packages-plugin';
@@ -28,14 +26,12 @@ It supports the following package managers:
      // ...
      plugins: [
        // ...
-       await jsPackagesPlugin(),
+       await jsPackagesPlugin({ packageManager: 'npm' }), // replace with your package manager
      ],
    };
    ```
 
-   You may run this plugin with a custom configuration for any supported package manager or command.
-
-   A custom configuration will look similarly to the following:
+   You may run this plugin with a custom configuration for any supported package manager or command. A custom configuration will look similarly to the following:
 
    ```js
    import jsPackagesPlugin from '@code-pushup/js-packages-plugin';
@@ -49,7 +45,7 @@ It supports the following package managers:
    };
    ```
 
-3. (Optional) Reference individual audits or the provided plugin group which you wish to include in custom categories (use `npx code-pushup print-config` to list audits and groups).
+3. (Optional) Reference individual audits or the provided plugin groups which you wish to include in custom categories (use `npx code-pushup print-config` to list audits and groups).
 
    💡 Assign weights based on what influence each command should have on the overall category score (assign weight 0 to only include as extra info, without influencing category score).
 
@@ -58,17 +54,30 @@ It supports the following package managers:
      // ...
      categories: [
        {
-         slug: 'dependencies',
-         title: 'Package dependencies',
+         slug: 'security',
+         title: 'Security',
          refs: [
            {
              type: 'group',
-             plugin: 'npm-package-manager', // replace prefix with your package manager
+             plugin: 'npm-audit', // replace prefix with your package manager
              slug: 'js-packages',
              weight: 1,
            },
          ],
        },
+       {
+         slug: 'up-to-date',
+         title: 'Up-to-date tools',
+         refs: [
+           {
+             type: 'group',
+             plugin: 'npm-outdated', // replace prefix with your package manager
+             slug: 'js-packages',
+             weight: 1,
+           },
+           // ...
+         ],
+       },
        // ...
      ],
    };
@@ -82,16 +91,13 @@ It supports the following package managers:
 
 The plugin accepts the following parameters:
 
-- (optional) `packageManager`: The package manager you are using. Supported values: `npm`, `yarn-classic` (v1), `yarn-modern` (v2+), `pnpm`. Default is `npm`.
+- `packageManager`: The package manager you are using. Supported values: `npm`, `yarn-classic` (v1), `yarn-modern` (v2+), `pnpm`.
 - (optional) `checks`: Array of checks to be run. Supported commands: `audit`, `outdated`. Both are configured by default.
 - (optional) `auditLevelMapping`: If you wish to set a custom level of issue severity based on audit vulnerability level, you may do so here. Any omitted values will be filled in by defaults. Audit levels are: `critical`, `high`, `moderate`, `low` and `info`. Issue severities are: `error`, `warn` and `info`. By default the mapping is as follows: `critical` and `high` → `error`; `moderate` and `low` → `warning`; `info` → `info`.
 
-> [!NOTE]
-> All parameters are optional so the plugin can be called with no arguments in the default setting.
-
 ### Audits and group
 
-This plugin provides a group for convenient declaration in your config. When defined this way, all measured coverage type audits have the same weight.
+This plugin provides a group per check for a convenient declaration in your config.
 
 ```ts
      // ...
@@ -103,7 +109,13 @@ This plugin provides a group for convenient declaration in your config. When def
            {
              type: 'group',
              plugin: 'js-packages',
-             slug: 'npm-package-manager', // replace prefix with your package manager
+             slug: 'npm-audit', // replace prefix with your package manager
+             weight: 1,
+           },
+           {
+             type: 'group',
+             plugin: 'js-packages',
+             slug: 'npm-outdated', // replace prefix with your package manager
              weight: 1,
            },
            // ...
@@ -113,7 +125,7 @@ This plugin provides a group for convenient declaration in your config. When def
      ],
 ```
 
-Each package manager command still has its own audit. So when you want to include a subset of commands or assign different weights to them, you can do so in the following way:
+Each dependency group has its own audit. If you want to check only a subset of dependencies (e.g. run audit and outdated for production dependencies) or assign different weights to them, you can do so in the following way:
 
 ```ts
      // ...
@@ -125,15 +137,21 @@ Each package manager command still has its own audit. So when you want to includ
            {
              type: 'audit',
              plugin: 'js-packages',
-             slug: 'npm-audit', // replace prefix with your package manager
+             slug: 'npm-audit-prod', // replace prefix with your package manager
              weight: 2,
            },
-           {
+                      {
              type: 'audit',
              plugin: 'js-packages',
-             slug: 'npm-outdated', // replace prefix with your package manager
+             slug: 'npm-audit-dev', // replace prefix with your package manager
              weight: 1,
            },
+           {
+             type: 'audit',
+             plugin: 'js-packages',
+             slug: 'npm-outdated-prod', // replace prefix with your package manager
+             weight: 2,
+           },
            // ...
          ],
        },
diff --git a/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/config.ts b/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/config.ts
index 41fbcd8b3..6cd42f27a 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/config.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/config.ts
@@ -49,9 +49,7 @@ export const jsPackagesPluginConfigSchema = z.object({
     })
     .min(1)
     .default(['audit', 'outdated']),
-  packageManager: packageManagerSchema
-    .describe('Package manager to be used. Defaults to npm')
-    .default('npm'),
+  packageManager: packageManagerSchema.describe('Package manager to be used.'),
   auditLevelMapping: z
     .record(packageAuditLevelSchema, issueSeveritySchema, {
       description:
diff --git a/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/config.unit.test.ts b/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/config.unit.test.ts
index 36f82cb57..7bff75e7d 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/config.unit.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/config.unit.test.ts
@@ -20,11 +20,17 @@ describe('jsPackagesPluginConfigSchema', () => {
   });
 
   it('should accept a minimal JS package configuration', () => {
-    expect(() => jsPackagesPluginConfigSchema.parse({})).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() =>
+      jsPackagesPluginConfigSchema.parse({
+        packageManager: 'pnpm',
+      } satisfies JSPackagesPluginConfig),
+    ).not.toThrow();
   });
 
   it('should fill in default values', () => {
-    const config = jsPackagesPluginConfigSchema.parse({});
+    const config = jsPackagesPluginConfigSchema.parse({
+      packageManager: 'npm',
+    });
     expect(config).toEqual<FinalJSPackagesPluginConfig>({
       checks: ['audit', 'outdated'],
       packageManager: 'npm',
@@ -39,9 +45,12 @@ describe('jsPackagesPluginConfigSchema', () => {
   });
 
   it('should throw for no passed commands', () => {
-    expect(() => jsPackagesPluginConfigSchema.parse({ checks: [] })).toThrow(
-      'too_small',
-    );
+    expect(() =>
+      jsPackagesPluginConfigSchema.parse({
+        packageManager: 'yarn-classic',
+        checks: [],
+      }),
+    ).toThrow('too_small');
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/js-packages-plugin.ts b/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/js-packages-plugin.ts
index 056945ea4..52cdd5bff 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/js-packages-plugin.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/js-packages-plugin.ts
@@ -5,11 +5,13 @@ import { name, version } from '../../package.json';
 import {
   JSPackagesPluginConfig,
   PackageCommand,
+  PackageManager,
   jsPackagesPluginConfigSchema,
 } from './config';
 import { createRunnerConfig } from './runner';
 import {
   auditDocs,
+  groupDepDocs,
   outdatedDocs,
   pkgManagerDocs,
   pkgManagerIcons,
@@ -32,8 +34,9 @@ import {
  *
  * @returns Plugin configuration.
  */
+
 export async function jsPackagesPlugin(
-  config: JSPackagesPluginConfig = {},
+  config: JSPackagesPluginConfig,
 ): Promise<PluginConfig> {
   const jsPackagesPluginConfig = jsPackagesPluginConfigSchema.parse(config);
   const pkgManager = jsPackagesPluginConfig.packageManager;
@@ -44,43 +47,96 @@ export async function jsPackagesPlugin(
     'bin.js',
   );
 
-  const audits: Record<PackageCommand, Audit> = {
+  return {
+    slug: 'js-packages',
+    title: 'Plugin for JS packages',
+    icon: pkgManagerIcons[pkgManager],
+    description:
+      'This plugin runs audit to uncover vulnerabilities and lists outdated dependencies. It supports npm, yarn classic and berry, pnpm package managers.',
+    docsUrl: pkgManagerDocs[pkgManager],
+    packageName: name,
+    version,
+    audits: createAudits(pkgManager, checks),
+    groups: createGroups(pkgManager, checks),
+    runner: await createRunnerConfig(runnerScriptPath, jsPackagesPluginConfig),
+  };
+}
+
+function createGroups(
+  pkgManager: PackageManager,
+  checks: PackageCommand[],
+): Group[] {
+  const groups: Record<PackageCommand, Group> = {
     audit: {
       slug: `${pkgManager}-audit`,
       title: `${pkgManagerNames[pkgManager]} audit`,
-      description: `Lists ${pkgManagerNames[pkgManager]} audit vulnerabilities.`,
+      description: `Group containing ${pkgManagerNames[pkgManager]} vulnerabilities.`,
       docsUrl: auditDocs[pkgManager],
+      refs: [
+        // eslint-disable-next-line no-magic-numbers
+        { slug: `${pkgManager}-audit-prod`, weight: 8 },
+        { slug: `${pkgManager}-audit-dev`, weight: 1 },
+        { slug: `${pkgManager}-audit-optional`, weight: 1 },
+      ],
     },
     outdated: {
       slug: `${pkgManager}-outdated`,
       title: `${pkgManagerNames[pkgManager]} outdated dependencies`,
-      description: `Lists ${pkgManagerNames[pkgManager]} outdated dependencies.`,
+      description: `Group containing outdated ${pkgManagerNames[pkgManager]} dependencies.`,
       docsUrl: outdatedDocs[pkgManager],
+      refs: [
+        // eslint-disable-next-line no-magic-numbers
+        { slug: `${pkgManager}-outdated-prod`, weight: 8 },
+        { slug: `${pkgManager}-outdated-dev`, weight: 1 },
+        { slug: `${pkgManager}-outdated-optional`, weight: 1 },
+      ],
     },
   };
 
-  const group: Group = {
-    slug: `${pkgManager}-package-manager`,
-    title: `${pkgManagerNames[pkgManager]} package manager`,
-    description: `Group containing both audit and dependencies command audits for the ${pkgManagerNames[pkgManager]} package manager.`,
-    docsUrl: pkgManagerDocs[pkgManager],
-    refs: checks.map(check => ({
-      slug: `${pkgManager}-${check}`,
-      weight: 1,
-    })),
-  };
+  return checks.map(check => groups[check]);
+}
 
-  return {
-    slug: 'js-packages',
-    title: 'Plugin for JS packages',
-    icon: pkgManagerIcons[pkgManager],
-    description:
-      'This plugin runs audit to uncover vulnerabilities and lists outdated dependencies. It supports npm, yarn classic and berry, pnpm package managers.',
-    docsUrl: pkgManagerDocs[pkgManager],
-    packageName: name,
-    version,
-    audits: checks.map(check => audits[check]),
-    groups: [group],
-    runner: await createRunnerConfig(runnerScriptPath, jsPackagesPluginConfig),
-  };
+function createAudits(
+  pkgManager: PackageManager,
+  checks: PackageCommand[],
+): Audit[] {
+  return checks.flatMap(check => [
+    {
+      slug: `${pkgManager}-${check}-prod`,
+      title: getAuditTitle(pkgManager, check, 'prod'),
+      description: getAuditDescription(check, 'prod'),
+      docsUrl: groupDepDocs[pkgManager],
+    },
+    {
+      slug: `${pkgManager}-${check}-dev`,
+      title: getAuditTitle(pkgManager, check, 'dev'),
+      description: getAuditDescription(check, 'dev'),
+      docsUrl: groupDepDocs[pkgManager],
+    },
+    {
+      slug: `${pkgManager}-${check}-optional`,
+      title: getAuditTitle(pkgManager, check, 'optional'),
+      description: getAuditDescription(check, 'optional'),
+      docsUrl: groupDepDocs[pkgManager],
+    },
+  ]);
+}
+
+function getAuditTitle(
+  pkgManager: PackageManager,
+  check: PackageCommand,
+  depGroup: 'prod' | 'dev' | 'optional',
+) {
+  return check === 'audit'
+    ? `Vulnerabilities for ${pkgManagerNames[pkgManager]} ${depGroup} dependencies.`
+    : `Outdated ${pkgManagerNames[pkgManager]} ${depGroup} dependencies.`;
+}
+
+function getAuditDescription(
+  check: PackageCommand,
+  depGroup: 'prod' | 'dev' | 'optional',
+) {
+  return check === 'audit'
+    ? `Runs security audit on ${depGroup} dependencies.`
+    : `Checks for outdated ${depGroup} dependencies`;
 }
diff --git a/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/js-packages-plugin.unit.test.ts b/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/js-packages-plugin.unit.test.ts
index 973f4aafb..0ac13036f 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/js-packages-plugin.unit.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/js-packages-plugin.unit.test.ts
@@ -24,35 +24,54 @@ describe('jsPackagesPlugin', () => {
     );
   });
 
-  it('should set package manager and commands based on configuration', async () => {
+  it('should create a group for both audit and outdated when no check configuration is provided', async () => {
     await expect(
-      jsPackagesPlugin({ packageManager: 'yarn-classic', checks: ['audit'] }),
+      jsPackagesPlugin({ packageManager: 'npm' }),
+    ).resolves.toStrictEqual(
+      expect.objectContaining<Partial<PluginConfig>>({
+        groups: [
+          expect.objectContaining<Partial<Group>>({
+            slug: 'npm-audit',
+          }),
+          expect.objectContaining<Partial<Group>>({
+            slug: 'npm-outdated',
+          }),
+        ],
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('should configure a group based on package manager and chosen check', async () => {
+    await expect(
+      jsPackagesPlugin({ packageManager: 'yarn-modern', checks: ['outdated'] }),
     ).resolves.toStrictEqual(
       expect.objectContaining({
-        audits: [expect.objectContaining({ slug: 'yarn-classic-audit' })],
         groups: [
           expect.objectContaining<Partial<Group>>({
-            slug: 'yarn-classic-package-manager',
-            refs: [{ slug: 'yarn-classic-audit', weight: 1 }],
+            slug: 'yarn-modern-outdated',
           }),
         ],
       }),
     );
   });
 
-  it('should use npm with both audit and outdated commands when no configuration is provided', async () => {
-    await expect(jsPackagesPlugin()).resolves.toStrictEqual(
-      expect.objectContaining<Partial<PluginConfig>>({
+  it('should create an audit for each dependency group', async () => {
+    await expect(
+      jsPackagesPlugin({ packageManager: 'yarn-classic', checks: ['audit'] }),
+    ).resolves.toStrictEqual(
+      expect.objectContaining({
         audits: [
-          expect.objectContaining({ slug: 'npm-audit' }),
-          expect.objectContaining({ slug: 'npm-outdated' }),
+          expect.objectContaining({ slug: 'yarn-classic-audit-prod' }),
+          expect.objectContaining({ slug: 'yarn-classic-audit-dev' }),
+          expect.objectContaining({ slug: 'yarn-classic-audit-optional' }),
         ],
         groups: [
           expect.objectContaining<Partial<Group>>({
-            slug: 'npm-package-manager',
+            slug: 'yarn-classic-audit',
             refs: [
-              { slug: 'npm-audit', weight: 1 },
-              { slug: 'npm-outdated', weight: 1 },
+              { slug: 'yarn-classic-audit-prod', weight: 8 },
+              { slug: 'yarn-classic-audit-dev', weight: 1 },
+              { slug: 'yarn-classic-audit-optional', weight: 1 },
             ],
           }),
         ],
diff --git a/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/utils.ts b/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/utils.ts
index b219e3992..a2e732a6a 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-js-packages/src/lib/utils.ts
@@ -34,3 +34,10 @@ export const outdatedDocs: Record<PackageManager, string> = {
   'yarn-modern': 'https://github.com/mskelton/yarn-plugin-outdated',
   pnpm: 'https://pnpm.io/cli/outdated',
 };
+
+export const groupDepDocs: Record<PackageManager, string> = {
+  npm: 'https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/using-npm/config#include',
+  'yarn-classic': 'https://classic.yarnpkg.com/docs/usage',
+  'yarn-modern': 'https://yarnpkg.com/cli/npm/audit#options',
+  pnpm: 'https://pnpm.io/cli/audit#options',
+};