diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/query/query-compiler.js b/packages/gatsby/src/query/query-compiler.js
index 455b43142add1..2b5c067861f40 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/query/query-compiler.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/query/query-compiler.js
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ const {
   VariablesInAllowedPositionRule,
 } = require(`graphql`)
 
-const getGatsbyDependents = require(`../utils/gatsby-dependents`)
+import { getGatsbyDependents } from "../utils/gatsby-dependents"
 const { store } = require(`../redux`)
 import * as actions from "../redux/actions/internal"
 const { default: FileParser } = require(`./file-parser`)
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/query/query-watcher.js b/packages/gatsby/src/query/query-watcher.js
index e002e83bf759c..3506375919275 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/query/query-watcher.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/query/query-watcher.js
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ const queryCompiler = require(`./query-compiler`).default
 const report = require(`gatsby-cli/lib/reporter`)
 const queryUtil = require(`./index`)
 const debug = require(`debug`)(`gatsby:query-watcher`)
-const getGatsbyDependents = require(`../utils/gatsby-dependents`)
+import { getGatsbyDependents } from "../utils/gatsby-dependents"
 
 const getQueriesSnapshot = () => {
   const state = store.getState()
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/gatsby-dependents.js b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/gatsby-dependents.ts
similarity index 50%
rename from packages/gatsby/src/utils/gatsby-dependents.js
rename to packages/gatsby/src/utils/gatsby-dependents.ts
index 69cdcd053a89a..effcf12e11998 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/gatsby-dependents.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/gatsby-dependents.ts
@@ -1,32 +1,35 @@
 import { store } from "../redux"
 import { memoize } from "lodash"
 
-const { createRequireFromPath } = require(`gatsby-core-utils`)
-const { join, dirname } = require(`path`)
+import { createRequireFromPath } from "gatsby-core-utils"
+import { join, dirname } from "path"
+import { PackageJson } from "../.."
+import { readFile } from "fs-extra"
 
-const fs = require(`fs`)
-const { promisify } = require(`util`)
-const readFile = promisify(fs.readFile)
+interface IDependency {
+  name: string
+  version: string
+  path: string
+}
 
-const getAllDependencies = (pkg, { noDev } = {}) =>
+const getAllDependencies = (pkg: PackageJson): Set<[string, string]> =>
   new Set([
     ...Object.entries(pkg.dependencies || {}),
-    ...Object.entries((!noDev && pkg.devDependencies) || {}),
+    ...Object.entries(pkg.devDependencies || {}),
     ...Object.entries(pkg.optionalDependencies || {}),
   ])
 
-const readJSON = async file => {
+const readJSON = async (file: string): Promise<PackageJson> => {
   const buffer = await readFile(file)
   return JSON.parse(buffer.toString())
 }
 
 const getTreeFromNodeModules = async (
-  dir,
-  filterFn = () => true,
-  results = new Map()
-) => {
+  dir: string,
+  results: Map<string, IDependency> = new Map()
+): Promise<IDependency[]> => {
   const requireFromHere = createRequireFromPath(`${dir}/:internal:`)
-  let packageJSON
+  let packageJSON: PackageJson
   try {
     packageJSON = await readJSON(require.resolve(join(dir, `package.json`)))
   } catch (error) {
@@ -36,17 +39,18 @@ const getTreeFromNodeModules = async (
   await Promise.all(
     Array.from(getAllDependencies(packageJSON)).map(async ([name, version]) => {
       try {
-        const currentDependency = {
+        const currentDependency: IDependency = {
           name,
           version,
           path: dirname(requireFromHere.resolve(`${name}/package.json`)),
         }
-        if (filterFn(currentDependency)) {
-          await getTreeFromNodeModules(
-            currentDependency.path,
-            filterFn,
-            results
-          )
+
+        // Include anything that has `gatsby` in its name but not `gatsby` itself
+        if (
+          /gatsby/.test(currentDependency.name) &&
+          currentDependency.name !== `gatsby`
+        ) {
+          await getTreeFromNodeModules(currentDependency.path, results)
           if (!results.has(currentDependency.name))
             results.set(currentDependency.name, currentDependency)
         }
@@ -56,16 +60,13 @@ const getTreeFromNodeModules = async (
       }
     })
   )
+
   return Array.from(results.values())
 }
 
-// Returns [Object] with name and path
-module.exports = memoize(async () => {
-  const { program } = store.getState()
-  const nodeModules = await getTreeFromNodeModules(
-    program.directory,
-    // Include anything that has `gatsby` in its name but not `gatsby` itself
-    dependency => /gatsby/.test(dependency.name) && dependency.name !== `gatsby`
-  )
-  return nodeModules
-})
+export const getGatsbyDependents = memoize(
+  async (): Promise<IDependency[]> => {
+    const { program } = store.getState()
+    return getTreeFromNodeModules(program.directory)
+  }
+)
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js
index 97f0da1154d16..27d67ae9a5332 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ const { getPublicPath } = require(`./get-public-path`)
 const debug = require(`debug`)(`gatsby:webpack-config`)
 const report = require(`gatsby-cli/lib/reporter`)
 import { withBasePath, withTrailingSlash } from "./path"
-const getGatsbyDependents = require(`./gatsby-dependents`)
+import { getGatsbyDependents } from "./gatsby-dependents"
 
 const apiRunnerNode = require(`./api-runner-node`)
 const createUtils = require(`./webpack-utils`)