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  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
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  4. Front End Package Manager
  5. npm vs nvm

npm vs nvm

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

npm
npm
Stacks137.4K
Followers82.2K
Votes1.6K
GitHub Stars17.6K
Forks3.0K
nvm
nvm
Stacks34
Followers6
Votes0

npm vs nvm: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will discuss the key differences between npm and nvm. Both npm and nvm are important tools in the JavaScript ecosystem, but they serve different purposes and have distinct features.

  1. Package Manager vs Version Manager: The most significant difference between npm and nvm lies in their functionality. npm, which stands for Node Package Manager, is a package manager that helps developers manage the dependencies for their Node.js projects. On the other hand, nvm, which stands for Node Version Manager, is a version manager that allows developers to easily switch between different versions of Node.js on their machines.

  2. Dependency Management vs Version Control: While npm is primarily focused on dependency management, allowing developers to install, update, and remove packages easily, nvm is specifically designed for managing Node.js versions. With nvm, developers can install, switch, and manage multiple versions of Node.js on the same machine, ensuring compatibility with different projects.

  3. Project-Specific vs System-Wide: npm manages dependencies on a per-project basis. This means that when a project is created, the dependencies are installed locally within the project directory. This allows for better isolation and version control within different projects. Conversely, nvm manages Node.js versions at a system-wide level, enabling developers to have different versions of Node.js installed globally on their machines.

  4. Integration with Build Tools and CI/CD: npm is commonly used in build tools and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. It provides a straightforward way to define and manage project dependencies, making it easier to automate builds and deployments. On the other hand, nvm is not directly involved in build tools and CI/CD workflows as its primary focus is on managing Node.js versions.

  5. Ease of Installation: npm is automatically installed when you install Node.js, making it readily available. However, nvm requires a separate installation as it is not bundled with Node.js. This means that if you want to use nvm, you need to install it separately before being able to manage Node.js versions.

  6. Platform Compatibility: npm works across different platforms like Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is widely supported by various IDEs and text editors. nvm, on the other hand, is primarily used in macOS and Linux environments. Its usage on Windows may require additional setup and configuration.

In summary, npm is a package manager focused on dependency management, while nvm is a version manager for Node.js. npm is project-specific and integrates well with build tools and CI/CD workflows, while nvm is system-wide and allows for easy switching between different Node.js versions.

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Detailed Comparison

npm
npm
nvm
nvm

npm is the command-line interface to the npm ecosystem. It is battle-tested, surprisingly flexible, and used by hundreds of thousands of JavaScript developers every day.

It is a tool that allows you to manage multiple versions of Node.js on the same machine. Each version runs in its own isolated environment, so you can safely switch versions without affecting the whole system. It is the Node.js equivalent of Ruby's rvm and rbenv.

Statistics
GitHub Stars
17.6K
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Forks
3.0K
GitHub Forks
-
Stacks
137.4K
Stacks
34
Followers
82.2K
Followers
6
Votes
1.6K
Votes
0
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 648
    Best package management system for javascript
  • 382
    Open-source
  • 327
    Great community
  • 148
    More packages than rubygems, pypi, or packagist
  • 112
    Nice people matter
Cons
  • 5
    Bad at package versioning and being deterministic
  • 5
    Problems with lockfiles
  • 3
    Node-gyp takes forever
  • 1
    Super slow
No community feedback yet

What are some alternatives to npm, nvm?

RequireJS

RequireJS

RequireJS loads plain JavaScript files as well as more defined modules. It is optimized for in-browser use, including in a Web Worker, but it can be used in other JavaScript environments, like Rhino and Node. It implements the Asynchronous Module API. Using a modular script loader like RequireJS will improve the speed and quality of your code.

Browserify

Browserify

Browserify lets you require('modules') in the browser by bundling up all of your dependencies.

Yarn

Yarn

Yarn caches every package it downloads so it never needs to again. It also parallelizes operations to maximize resource utilization so install times are faster than ever.

Component

Component

Component's philosophy is the UNIX philosophy of the web - to create a platform for small, reusable components that consist of JS, CSS, HTML, images, fonts, etc. With its well-defined specs, using Component means not worrying about most frontend problems such as package management, publishing components to a registry, or creating a custom build process for every single app.

Verdaccio

Verdaccio

A simple, zero-config-required local private npm registry. Comes out of the box with its own tiny database, and the ability to proxy other registries (eg. npmjs.org), caching the downloaded modules along the way.

pip

pip

It is the package installer for Python. You can use pip to install packages from the Python Package Index and other indexes.

Duo

Duo

Duo is a next-generation package manager that blends the best ideas from Component, Browserify and Go to make organizing and writing front-end code quick and painless.

Pika.dev

Pika.dev

It is a new kind of package registry for the modern web. It handles formatting, configuring, building and publishing every package on the registry, so that individual authors don't have to.

Bundler

Bundler

It provides a consistent environment for Ruby projects by tracking and installing the exact gems and versions that are needed. It is an exit from dependency hell, and ensures that the gems you need are present in development, staging, and production.

Browserify-CDN

Browserify-CDN

Browsers don't have the require method defined, but Node.js does. With Browserify you can write code that uses require in the same way that you would use it in Node.

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