diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 275adb59..e1b8a720 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
         "semver-utils": "^1.1.4",
         "source-map-support": "^0.5.21",
         "spawn-please": "^2.0.1",
+        "strip-json-comments": "^5.0.0",
         "untildify": "^4.0.0",
         "update-notifier": "^6.0.2",
         "yaml": "^2.2.1"
@@ -810,6 +811,18 @@
         "node": "*"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/@eslint/eslintrc/node_modules/strip-json-comments": {
+      "version": "3.1.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-3.1.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-6fPc+R4ihwqP6N/aIv2f1gMH8lOVtWQHoqC4yK6oSDVVocumAsfCqjkXnqiYMhmMwS/mEHLp7Vehlt3ql6lEig==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=8"
+      },
+      "funding": {
+        "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/sindresorhus"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@eslint/eslintrc/node_modules/type-fest": {
       "version": "0.20.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/type-fest/-/type-fest-0.20.2.tgz",
@@ -3893,6 +3906,18 @@
         "node": ">=8"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/eslint/node_modules/strip-json-comments": {
+      "version": "3.1.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-3.1.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-6fPc+R4ihwqP6N/aIv2f1gMH8lOVtWQHoqC4yK6oSDVVocumAsfCqjkXnqiYMhmMwS/mEHLp7Vehlt3ql6lEig==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=8"
+      },
+      "funding": {
+        "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/sindresorhus"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/eslint/node_modules/type-fest": {
       "version": "0.20.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/type-fest/-/type-fest-0.20.2.tgz",
@@ -6165,6 +6190,18 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-6FlzubTLZG3J2a/NVCAleEhjzq5oxgHyaCU9yYXvcLsvoVaHJq/s5xXI6/XXP6tz7R9xAOtHnSO/tXtF3WRTlA==",
       "dev": true
     },
+    "node_modules/mocha/node_modules/strip-json-comments": {
+      "version": "3.1.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-3.1.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-6fPc+R4ihwqP6N/aIv2f1gMH8lOVtWQHoqC4yK6oSDVVocumAsfCqjkXnqiYMhmMwS/mEHLp7Vehlt3ql6lEig==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=8"
+      },
+      "funding": {
+        "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/sindresorhus"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/mocha/node_modules/supports-color": {
       "version": "8.1.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/supports-color/-/supports-color-8.1.1.tgz",
@@ -7586,6 +7623,18 @@
         "run-con": "cli.js"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/run-con/node_modules/strip-json-comments": {
+      "version": "3.1.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-3.1.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-6fPc+R4ihwqP6N/aIv2f1gMH8lOVtWQHoqC4yK6oSDVVocumAsfCqjkXnqiYMhmMwS/mEHLp7Vehlt3ql6lEig==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=8"
+      },
+      "funding": {
+        "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/sindresorhus"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/run-parallel": {
       "version": "1.2.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/run-parallel/-/run-parallel-1.2.0.tgz",
@@ -8076,12 +8125,11 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/strip-json-comments": {
-      "version": "3.1.1",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-3.1.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-6fPc+R4ihwqP6N/aIv2f1gMH8lOVtWQHoqC4yK6oSDVVocumAsfCqjkXnqiYMhmMwS/mEHLp7Vehlt3ql6lEig==",
-      "dev": true,
+      "version": "5.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-5.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-V1LGY4UUo0jgwC+ELQ2BNWfPa17TIuwBLg+j1AA/9RPzKINl1lhxVEu2r+ZTTO8aetIsUzE5Qj6LMSBkoGYKKw==",
       "engines": {
-        "node": ">=8"
+        "node": ">=14.16"
       },
       "funding": {
         "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/sindresorhus"
@@ -9418,6 +9466,12 @@
             "brace-expansion": "^1.1.7"
           }
         },
+        "strip-json-comments": {
+          "version": "3.1.1",
+          "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-3.1.1.tgz",
+          "integrity": "sha512-6fPc+R4ihwqP6N/aIv2f1gMH8lOVtWQHoqC4yK6oSDVVocumAsfCqjkXnqiYMhmMwS/mEHLp7Vehlt3ql6lEig==",
+          "dev": true
+        },
         "type-fest": {
           "version": "0.20.2",
           "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/type-fest/-/type-fest-0.20.2.tgz",
@@ -11404,6 +11458,12 @@
             "ansi-regex": "^5.0.1"
           }
         },
+        "strip-json-comments": {
+          "version": "3.1.1",
+          "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-3.1.1.tgz",
+          "integrity": "sha512-6fPc+R4ihwqP6N/aIv2f1gMH8lOVtWQHoqC4yK6oSDVVocumAsfCqjkXnqiYMhmMwS/mEHLp7Vehlt3ql6lEig==",
+          "dev": true
+        },
         "type-fest": {
           "version": "0.20.2",
           "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/type-fest/-/type-fest-0.20.2.tgz",
@@ -13425,6 +13485,12 @@
           "integrity": "sha512-6FlzubTLZG3J2a/NVCAleEhjzq5oxgHyaCU9yYXvcLsvoVaHJq/s5xXI6/XXP6tz7R9xAOtHnSO/tXtF3WRTlA==",
           "dev": true
         },
+        "strip-json-comments": {
+          "version": "3.1.1",
+          "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-3.1.1.tgz",
+          "integrity": "sha512-6fPc+R4ihwqP6N/aIv2f1gMH8lOVtWQHoqC4yK6oSDVVocumAsfCqjkXnqiYMhmMwS/mEHLp7Vehlt3ql6lEig==",
+          "dev": true
+        },
         "supports-color": {
           "version": "8.1.1",
           "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/supports-color/-/supports-color-8.1.1.tgz",
@@ -14452,6 +14518,14 @@
         "ini": "~3.0.0",
         "minimist": "^1.2.6",
         "strip-json-comments": "~3.1.1"
+      },
+      "dependencies": {
+        "strip-json-comments": {
+          "version": "3.1.1",
+          "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-3.1.1.tgz",
+          "integrity": "sha512-6fPc+R4ihwqP6N/aIv2f1gMH8lOVtWQHoqC4yK6oSDVVocumAsfCqjkXnqiYMhmMwS/mEHLp7Vehlt3ql6lEig==",
+          "dev": true
+        }
       }
     },
     "run-parallel": {
@@ -14828,10 +14902,9 @@
       "dev": true
     },
     "strip-json-comments": {
-      "version": "3.1.1",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-3.1.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-6fPc+R4ihwqP6N/aIv2f1gMH8lOVtWQHoqC4yK6oSDVVocumAsfCqjkXnqiYMhmMwS/mEHLp7Vehlt3ql6lEig==",
-      "dev": true
+      "version": "5.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/strip-json-comments/-/strip-json-comments-5.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-V1LGY4UUo0jgwC+ELQ2BNWfPa17TIuwBLg+j1AA/9RPzKINl1lhxVEu2r+ZTTO8aetIsUzE5Qj6LMSBkoGYKKw=="
     },
     "supports-color": {
       "version": "7.2.0",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index c45fd7c8..12c0ced1 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@
     "semver-utils": "^1.1.4",
     "source-map-support": "^0.5.21",
     "spawn-please": "^2.0.1",
+    "strip-json-comments": "^5.0.0",
     "untildify": "^4.0.0",
     "update-notifier": "^6.0.2",
     "yaml": "^2.2.1"
diff --git a/src/lib/findLockfile.ts b/src/lib/findLockfile.ts
index 429533c2..9024d675 100644
--- a/src/lib/findLockfile.ts
+++ b/src/lib/findLockfile.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ export default async function findLockfile(
         return { directoryPath: currentPath, filename: 'pnpm-lock.yaml' }
       } else if (files.includes('deno.json')) {
         return { directoryPath: currentPath, filename: 'deno.json' }
+      } else if (files.includes('deno.jsonc')) {
+        return { directoryPath: currentPath, filename: 'deno.jsonc' }
       }
 
       const pathParent = path.resolve(currentPath, '..')
diff --git a/src/lib/findPackage.ts b/src/lib/findPackage.ts
index f2b17c62..3bbf9467 100644
--- a/src/lib/findPackage.ts
+++ b/src/lib/findPackage.ts
@@ -70,7 +70,11 @@ async function findPackage(options: Options) {
     pkgData = data || getPackageDataFromFile(await pkgFile, pkgPath)
   } else {
     // find the closest package starting from the current working directory and going up to the root
-    pkgFile = pkgPath ? findUp.sync(pkgPath, { cwd: options.cwd || process.cwd() }) : null
+    pkgFile = pkgPath
+      ? findUp.sync(!options.packageFile && options.packageManager === 'deno' ? ['deno.json', 'deno.jsonc'] : pkgPath, {
+          cwd: options.cwd || process.cwd(),
+        })
+      : null
     pkgData = getPackageDataFromFile(pkgFile, pkgPath)
   }
 
diff --git a/src/lib/initOptions.ts b/src/lib/initOptions.ts
index 8ae38326..28786a13 100644
--- a/src/lib/initOptions.ts
+++ b/src/lib/initOptions.ts
@@ -158,11 +158,7 @@ async function initOptions(runOptions: RunOptions, { cli }: { cli?: boolean } =
 
   const resolvedOptions: Options = {
     ...options,
-    ...(options.deep
-      ? { packageFile: '**/package.json' }
-      : packageManager === 'deno' && !options.packageFile
-      ? { packageFile: 'deno.json' }
-      : null),
+    ...(options.deep ? { packageFile: '**/package.json' } : null),
     ...(packageManager === 'deno' && options.dep !== cliOptionsMap.dep.default ? { dep: ['imports'] } : null),
     ...(options.format && options.format.length > 0 ? { format: options.format } : null),
     filter: args || filter,
diff --git a/src/lib/runLocal.ts b/src/lib/runLocal.ts
index fa1f0541..9dea7604 100644
--- a/src/lib/runLocal.ts
+++ b/src/lib/runLocal.ts
@@ -164,13 +164,16 @@ async function runLocal(
   print(options, '\nOptions:', 'verbose')
   print(options, sortOptions(options), 'verbose')
 
-  let pkg
+  let pkg: PackageFile
 
   try {
     if (!pkgData) {
-      throw new Error('Missing pkgData: ' + pkgData)
+      throw new Error('Missing pkgData')
     } else {
-      pkg = jph.parse(pkgData)
+      // strip comments from jsonc files
+      const pkgDataStripped =
+        pkgFile?.endsWith('.jsonc') && pkgData ? (await import('strip-json-comments')).default(pkgData) : pkgData
+      pkg = jph.parse(pkgDataStripped)
     }
   } catch (e: any) {
     programError(
diff --git a/test/package-managers/deno/index.test.ts b/test/package-managers/deno/index.test.ts
index 429ae68f..a98945b6 100644
--- a/test/package-managers/deno/index.test.ts
+++ b/test/package-managers/deno/index.test.ts
@@ -24,11 +24,11 @@ describe('deno', async function () {
         'ncu-test-v2': 'npm:ncu-test-v2@1.0.0',
       },
     }
-    await fs.writeFile(pkgFile, JSON.stringify(pkg), 'utf-8')
+    await fs.writeFile(pkgFile, JSON.stringify(pkg))
     try {
       const pkgData = await spawn(
         'node',
-        [bin, '--jsonUpgraded', '--verbose', '--packageManager', 'deno', '--packageFile', pkgFile],
+        [bin, '--jsonUpgraded', '--packageManager', 'deno', '--packageFile', pkgFile],
         undefined,
       )
       const pkg = jph.parse(pkgData)
@@ -46,9 +46,9 @@ describe('deno', async function () {
         'ncu-test-v2': 'npm:ncu-test-v2@1.0.0',
       },
     }
-    await fs.writeFile(pkgFile, JSON.stringify(pkg), 'utf-8')
+    await fs.writeFile(pkgFile, JSON.stringify(pkg))
     try {
-      const pkgData = await spawn('node', [bin, '--jsonUpgraded', '--verbose'], undefined, {
+      const pkgData = await spawn('node', [bin, '--jsonUpgraded'], undefined, {
         cwd: tempDir,
       })
       const pkg = jph.parse(pkgData)
@@ -57,4 +57,71 @@ describe('deno', async function () {
       await fs.rm(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
     }
   })
+
+  it('rewrite deno.json', async () => {
+    const tempDir = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'npm-check-updates-'))
+    const pkgFile = path.join(tempDir, 'deno.json')
+    const pkg = {
+      imports: {
+        'ncu-test-v2': 'npm:ncu-test-v2@1.0.0',
+      },
+    }
+    await fs.writeFile(pkgFile, JSON.stringify(pkg))
+    try {
+      await spawn('node', [bin, '-u'], undefined, { cwd: tempDir })
+      const pkgDataNew = await fs.readFile(pkgFile, 'utf-8')
+      const pkg = jph.parse(pkgDataNew)
+      pkg.should.deep.equal({
+        imports: {
+          'ncu-test-v2': 'npm:ncu-test-v2@2.0.0',
+        },
+      })
+    } finally {
+      await fs.rm(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('auto detect deno.jsonc', async () => {
+    const tempDir = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'npm-check-updates-'))
+    const pkgFile = path.join(tempDir, 'deno.jsonc')
+    const pkgString = `{
+  "imports": {
+    // this comment should be ignored in a jsonc file
+    "ncu-test-v2": "npm:ncu-test-v2@1.0.0"
+  }
+}`
+    await fs.writeFile(pkgFile, pkgString)
+    try {
+      const pkgData = await spawn('node', [bin, '--jsonUpgraded'], undefined, {
+        cwd: tempDir,
+      })
+      const pkg = jph.parse(pkgData)
+      pkg.should.have.property('ncu-test-v2')
+    } finally {
+      await fs.rm(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('rewrite deno.jsonc', async () => {
+    const tempDir = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'npm-check-updates-'))
+    const pkgFile = path.join(tempDir, 'deno.jsonc')
+    const pkg = {
+      imports: {
+        'ncu-test-v2': 'npm:ncu-test-v2@1.0.0',
+      },
+    }
+    await fs.writeFile(pkgFile, JSON.stringify(pkg))
+    try {
+      await spawn('node', [bin, '-u'], undefined, { cwd: tempDir })
+      const pkgDataNew = await fs.readFile(pkgFile, 'utf-8')
+      const pkg = jph.parse(pkgDataNew)
+      pkg.should.deep.equal({
+        imports: {
+          'ncu-test-v2': 'npm:ncu-test-v2@2.0.0',
+        },
+      })
+    } finally {
+      await fs.rm(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
+  })
 })