diff --git a/Changelog.md b/Changelog.md
index 0af8a1a..7e6a6dd 100644
--- a/Changelog.md
+++ b/Changelog.md
@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ The version numbers roughly follow <a href="https://semver.org">SemVer</a>
 Possible categories: [Added, Changed, Fixed, Removed, Security,
                       Deprecated (for soon-to-be removed features)]
 -->
+- Remove limitation "package must be installed in active project".
+  Any package in the General registry (and standard library) can now be
+  queried from anywhere.
+  - This (re)introduced dependencies: Pkg (a big one; but stdlib), and UUIDS.
 - Dark-mode option for _all_ generated images\
   <sup>(not just local SVGs; also PNGs and webapp URLs)</sup>
   - Pass the `mode=:dark` keyword argument to `open` and `create` for this.
diff --git a/Project.toml b/Project.toml
index 3fa375c..c903344 100644
--- a/Project.toml
+++ b/Project.toml
@@ -6,8 +6,10 @@ version = "0.4.0-dev"
 [deps]
 DefaultApplication = "3f0dd361-4fe0-5fc6-8523-80b14ec94d85"
 EzXML = "8f5d6c58-4d21-5cfd-889c-e3ad7ee6a615"
+Pkg = "44cfe95a-1eb2-52ea-b672-e2afdf69b78f"
 TOML = "fa267f1f-6049-4f14-aa54-33bafae1ed76"
 URIs = "5c2747f8-b7ea-4ff2-ba2e-563bfd36b1d4"
+UUIDs = "cf7118a7-6976-5b1a-9a39-7adc72f591a4"
 
 [compat]
 DefaultApplication = "1"
diff --git a/ReadMe.md b/ReadMe.md
index d3ebbcd..643f5a7 100644
--- a/ReadMe.md
+++ b/ReadMe.md
@@ -30,19 +30,7 @@ This will open the browser to [this url][dotlink], which renders something like
      width=680
      alt="Dependency graph of Unitful, rendered with Graphviz dot">
 
-
 <br>
-<details>
-  
-  The given package (here: [Unitful][unitful]) must be installed in the currently active project for this to work.
-
-  Note that `PkgGraph` does not have to be installed in the same project however:\
-  you can switch projects _after_ `PkgGraph` has been imported (using `pkg> activate …`).
-
-  Even easier is to install `PkgGraph` in your base environment (see [Global Install](#global-install)),
-  so you don't have to switch projects at all.
-
-</details>
 
 To filter out binary dependencies ([JLL packages]) or packages from the Julia standard library, you can set the keyword arguments `jll = false` and `stdlib = false`.
 
@@ -85,7 +73,7 @@ pkg> add PkgGraph
 
 You might want to install `PkgGraph` in your base environment (e.g. `v1.8`).\
 You can then use it in any project, without having to install it in that project
-or having to always switch projects.
+or having to switch projects.
 
 <details>
 
diff --git a/docs/Manifest.toml b/docs/Manifest.toml
index 4f7c516..0cddc25 100644
--- a/docs/Manifest.toml
+++ b/docs/Manifest.toml
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ uuid = "44cfe95a-1eb2-52ea-b672-e2afdf69b78f"
 version = "1.8.0"
 
 [[deps.PkgGraph]]
-deps = ["DefaultApplication", "EzXML", "TOML", "URIs"]
+deps = ["DefaultApplication", "EzXML", "Pkg", "TOML", "URIs", "UUIDs"]
 path = ".."
 uuid = "f9c1b9e4-72e8-4a14-ade5-14f45fc35f11"
 version = "0.4.0-dev"
diff --git a/docs/make.jl b/docs/make.jl
index 618f270..6144212 100644
--- a/docs/make.jl
+++ b/docs/make.jl
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ DocMeta.setdocmeta!(PkgGraph, :DocTestSetup, :(using PkgGraph); recursive=true,
 println("<makedocs>")  # ..including Documenter.HTML(…) construction call
 makedocs(
     source = srcmod,
-    modules = [PkgGraph],
+    # modules = [PkgGraph],
     # ↪ To get a warning if there are any docstrings not mentioned in the markdown.
     sitename = "PkgGraph.jl",
     # ↪ Displayed in page title and navbar.
diff --git a/docs/src/ref/internals.md b/docs/src/ref/internals.md
index ee07a84..fb48d1e 100644
--- a/docs/src/ref/internals.md
+++ b/docs/src/ref/internals.md
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ Internals
 
 ```@docs
 depgraph
-packages_in_active_manifest
 is_jll
 is_in_stdlib
 ```
diff --git a/src/enduser.jl b/src/enduser.jl
index 1aa99b2..49d2ed8 100644
--- a/src/enduser.jl
+++ b/src/enduser.jl
@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@
 
 Open the browser to an image of `pkgname`'s dependency graph.
 
-The given package must be installed in the currently active project.
-
 See [Settings](@ref) for possible keyword arguments.
 """
 function open(pkgname; dryrun = false, kw...)
@@ -27,8 +25,6 @@ and open it with your default image viewer. Uses the external program
 '`dot`' (see [graphviz.org](https://graphviz.org)), which must be
 available on `PATH`.
 
-The given package must be installed in the currently active project.
-
 `fmt` is an output file format supported by dot, such as `:svg` or `:png`.\\
 If `fmt` is `:svg`, the generated SVG file is post-processed, to add
 light and dark-mode CSS.
diff --git a/src/internals/Internals.jl b/src/internals/Internals.jl
index b48b7e3..ccef58e 100644
--- a/src/internals/Internals.jl
+++ b/src/internals/Internals.jl
@@ -11,10 +11,17 @@ can be accessed as `PkgGraph.depgraph`, e.g.
 module Internals
 
 using TOML
+using UUIDs
+include("stdlib.jl")
+
 using Base: active_project
+include("project.jl")
+
+using Pkg
+include("registry.jl")
+
 include("depgraph.jl")
 export depgraph,
-       packages_in_active_manifest,
        should_be_included,
        is_jll,
        is_in_stdlib,
diff --git a/src/internals/depgraph.jl b/src/internals/depgraph.jl
index 0c6da3c..bf096e7 100644
--- a/src/internals/depgraph.jl
+++ b/src/internals/depgraph.jl
@@ -28,23 +28,20 @@ julia> depgraph(:Test)
              "Test" => "Serialization"
 ```
 """
-depgraph(pkgname; jll = true, stdlib = true) = begin
+depgraph(pkgname; jll = true, stdlib = true, verbose = false) = begin
     rootpkg = string(pkgname)
-    packages = packages_in_active_manifest()
-    include_jll = jll
-    include_stdlib = stdlib
-    if rootpkg ∉ keys(packages)
-        error("""
-        The given package ($pkgname) must be installed in the active project
-        (which is currently `$(active_project())`)""")
+    if is_in_project(rootpkg)
+        verbose && @info "Package `$rootpkg` found in active project. Using Manifest.toml"
+        direct_deps = direct_deps_from_project()
+    else
+        verbose && @info "Package `$rootpkg` not found in active project. Using General registry"
+        direct_deps = direct_deps_from_registry
     end
     deps = Vector{Pair{String, String}}()
-    add_deps_of(name) = begin
-        pkg_info = only(packages[name])  # Two packages with same name not supported.
-        direct_deps = get(pkg_info, "deps", [])
-        for dep in direct_deps
-            if should_be_included(dep; include_jll, include_stdlib)
-                push!(deps, name => dep)
+    add_deps_of(pkg) = begin
+        for dep in direct_deps(pkg)
+            if should_be_included(dep, include_jll=jll, include_stdlib=stdlib)
+                push!(deps, pkg => dep)
                 add_deps_of(dep)
             end
         end
@@ -53,40 +50,6 @@ depgraph(pkgname; jll = true, stdlib = true) = begin
     return unique!(deps)  # Could use a SortedSet instead; but this spares a pkg load.
 end
 
-manifest(proj_path) = replace(proj_path, "Project.toml" => "Manifest.toml")
-
-if VERSION ≥ v"1.7"
-    packages_in(manifest) = TOML.parsefile(manifest)["deps"]
-else
-    packages_in(manifest) = TOML.parsefile(manifest)
-end
-
-"""
-    packages_in_active_manifest()
-
-Read and parse the `Manifest.toml` of the active project, and return its
-'deps' table (as a dictionary indexed by package names).
-
-Every entry in this dictionary is a list. This is for when multiple
-packages would share the same name.
-
-## Example:
-
-```jldoctest; filter = r" => .*\$"m
-julia> using PkgGraph.Internals
-
-julia> packages = packages_in_active_manifest();
-
-julia> only(packages["PkgGraph"])
-Dict{String, Any} with 4 entries:
-  "deps"    => ["DefaultApplication", "TOML", "URIs"]
-  "uuid"    => "f9c1b9e4-72e8-4a14-ade5-14f45fc35f11"
-  "version" => "0.1.0"
-  "path"    => "C:\\Users\\tfiers\\.julia\\dev\\PkgGraph"
-```
-"""
-packages_in_active_manifest() = packages_in(manifest(active_project()))
-
 
 should_be_included(pkg; include_jll = true, include_stdlib = true) =
     if !include_jll && is_jll(pkg)
@@ -102,26 +65,7 @@ should_be_included(pkg; include_jll = true, include_stdlib = true) =
 """
 is_jll(pkg) = endswith(pkg, "_jll")
 
-
 """
     is_in_stdlib(pkg)::Bool
 """
-is_in_stdlib(pkg) = pkg in STDLIB
-
-stdlib_packages() = begin
-    packages = Set{String}()
-    for path in readdir(Sys.STDLIB; join = true)
-        # ↪ `join` gets us complete paths
-        if isdir(path)
-            push!(packages, pkgname(path))
-        end
-    end
-    packages
-end
-pkgname(pkgdir) = begin
-    proj_file = joinpath(pkgdir, "Project.toml")
-    toml_dict = TOML.parsefile(proj_file)
-    pkgname = toml_dict["name"]
-end
-
-const STDLIB = stdlib_packages()
+is_in_stdlib(pkg) = pkg in STDLIB_NAMES
diff --git a/src/internals/project.jl b/src/internals/project.jl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eec92f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/internals/project.jl
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+
+using TOML
+using Base: active_project
+
+is_in_project(pkg, proj = active_project()) =
+    isfile(proj) && (name(proj) == pkg || pkg in keys(all_deps(proj)))
+
+name(proj_path) = name(dict(proj_path))
+dict(proj_path) = TOML.parsefile(proj_path)
+name(toml::Dict) = get(toml, "name", nothing)
+
+all_deps(project) = begin
+    mani = manifest(project)
+    if !isfile(mani)
+        return Dict()
+    end
+    @static if VERSION ≥ v"1.7"
+        deps = TOML.parsefile(mani)["deps"]
+    else
+        deps = TOML.parsefile(mani)
+    end
+end
+manifest(project) = replace(project, "Project.toml" => "Manifest.toml")
+
+direct_deps_from_project(proj = active_project()) = begin
+    proj_dict = dict(proj)
+    proj_name = name(proj_dict)
+    all_deps_ = all_deps(proj)
+    direct_deps(pkgname) =
+        if pkgname == proj_name
+            get(proj_dict, "deps", []) |> keys
+        else
+            deps_with_name = all_deps_[pkgname]
+            check_only(deps_with_name)
+            dep_dict = only(deps_with_name)
+            get(dep_dict, "deps", [])
+        end
+    direct_deps
+end
+check_only(packages_with_same_name) = @assert(
+    length(packages_with_same_name) == 1,
+    """
+    Different packages with same name not supported
+    (The offending packages:)
+    $packages_with_same_name
+    """
+)
+
+# The above is poop: we want dep tree of entire thing, also if no top specified
+# no name. then there's multiple roots, sure (or take as name, the directory)
+#
+
+
+"""
+    packages_in_active_manifest()
+
+Read and parse the `Manifest.toml` of the given project, and return its
+'deps' table (as a dictionary indexed by package names).
+
+Every entry in this dictionary is a list. This is for when multiple
+packages would share the same name.
+
+## Example:
+
+```jldoctest; filter = r" => .*\$"m
+julia> using PkgGraph.Internals
+
+julia> packages = packages_in_active_manifest();
+
+julia> only(packages["PkgGraph"])
+Dict{String, Any} with 4 entries:
+  "deps"    => ["DefaultApplication", "TOML", "URIs"]
+  "uuid"    => "f9c1b9e4-72e8-4a14-ade5-14f45fc35f11"
+  "version" => "0.1.0"
+  "path"    => "C:\\Users\\tfiers\\.julia\\dev\\PkgGraph"
+```
+"""
+packages_in_active_manifest() = all_deps(active_project())
diff --git a/src/internals/registry.jl b/src/internals/registry.jl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d1d3f56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/internals/registry.jl
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+using Pkg.Registry: reachable_registries,
+                    uuids_from_name,
+                    init_package_info!,
+                    initialize_uncompressed!,
+                    JULIA_UUID
+
+
+const reg = first(reachable_registries())
+@assert reg.name == "General"
+
+name(uuid::UUID) =
+    if uuid in STDLIB_UUIDS
+        STDLIB[uuid]
+    elseif uuid in keys(reg.pkgs)
+        reg.pkgs[uuid].name
+    else
+        error()
+    end
+
+uuid(name::AbstractString) =
+    if name in STDLIB_NAMES
+        findfirst(==(name), STDLIB)
+    else
+        uuids = uuids_from_name(reg, name)
+        if isempty(uuids)
+            error("Package `$name` not found")
+        elseif length(uuids) > 1
+            error("Multiple packages with the same name (`$name`) not supported")
+        else
+            return only(uuids)
+        end
+    end
+
+direct_deps_from_registry(pkg) = begin
+    if pkg in STDLIB_NAMES
+        return direct_deps_of_stdlib_pkg(pkg)
+    end
+    pkgentry = reg.pkgs[uuid(pkg)]
+    p = init_package_info!(pkgentry)
+    versions = keys(p.version_info)
+    v = maximum(versions)
+    initialize_uncompressed!(p, [v])
+    vinfo = p.version_info[v]
+    compat_info = vinfo.uncompressed_compat
+    # ↪ All direct deps will be here, even if author didn't them
+    #   [compat] (their versionspec will just be "*").
+    direct_dep_uuids = collect(keys(compat_info))
+    filter!(!=(JULIA_UUID), direct_dep_uuids)
+    return name.(direct_dep_uuids)
+end
diff --git a/src/internals/stdlib.jl b/src/internals/stdlib.jl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ceeecf9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/internals/stdlib.jl
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+using UUIDs
+using TOML
+
+stdlib() = begin
+    packages = Dict{UUID,String}()
+    for path in readdir(Sys.STDLIB; join = true)
+        # ↪ `join` gets us complete paths
+        if isdir(path)
+            toml = proj_dict(path)
+            push!(packages, UUID(toml["uuid"]) => toml["name"])
+        end
+    end
+    packages
+end
+proj_dict(pkgdir) = TOML.parsefile(proj_file(pkgdir))
+proj_file(pkgdir) = joinpath(pkgdir, "Project.toml")
+
+const STDLIB = stdlib()
+const STDLIB_UUIDS = keys(STDLIB)
+const STDLIB_NAMES = values(STDLIB)
+
+direct_deps_of_stdlib_pkg(name) = begin
+    pkgdir = joinpath(Sys.STDLIB, name)
+    d = proj_dict(pkgdir)
+    keys(get(d, "deps", []))
+end
diff --git a/test/integration.jl b/test/integration.jl
index 278703b..bd60773 100644
--- a/test/integration.jl
+++ b/test/integration.jl
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ using Test
 
     @test isnothing(PkgGraph.open("Test", dryrun = true))
     @test isnothing(PkgGraph.create("Test", dryrun = true))
+    @test isnothing(PkgGraph.create("PyPlot", dryrun = true))
 end
 
 
diff --git a/test/unit.jl b/test/unit.jl
index 0ac0fc7..9a85c74 100644
--- a/test/unit.jl
+++ b/test/unit.jl
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ using Test
 
     if VERSION ≥ v"1.8"  # Julia v1.7 does not support error string matching
         @test_throws(
-            "The given package (DinnaeExist) must be installed in the active project",
+            "Package `DinnaeExist` not found",
             depgraph("DinnaeExist")
         )
     end