Why Is NPM So Shitty: Criticisms and Better Alternatives

Introduction

Node Package Manager (NPM) has faced considerable criticism over the years, leading to a perception that it is 'shitty.' This article explores the reasons behind these criticisms, evaluates the effectiveness of alternatives, and highlights the benefits of using alternatives like yarn and pnpm.

Dependency Management

One major criticism of NPM is its complexity in dependency management. The extensive ecosystem of packages can create intricate dependency trees, which may lead to issues such as conflicts and unexpected behavior. While NPM provides tools to manage these dependencies, the complexity often overshadows the simplicity it aims to provide.

Security Vulnerabilities

The abundance of packages available in NPM can pose significant security risks. Developers frequently include packages in their projects that have known vulnerabilities. The lack of stringent vetting processes for these packages exacerbates the risk. In some cases, vulnerabilities can be introduced into projects through indirect dependencies, making it difficult to track and mitigate threats.

Performance Issues

Performance has also been a contentious issue for NPM. Large-scale projects with numerous dependencies can experience prolonged installation and update processes, which can significantly impact development workflows. The slowness is especially noticeable when multiple developers are working on the same project or when frequent updates are required.

Package Quality and Semantic Versioning

The open nature of NPM allows anyone to publish packages, which can result in a wide range of quality and maintenance levels. Some packages may be outdated or poorly maintained, leading to compatibility issues and lack of updates. Additionally, not all packages adhere to semantic versioning, which can cause confusion and frustration when updating dependencies.

Better Alternatives

Several alternatives to NPM have emerged, each offering unique advantages. Two prominent contenders are yarn and pnpm.

Yarn

Yarn, developed by Facebook, has been praised for its performance. It addresses some of the issues present in NPM by utilizing more efficient algorithms for package installation and providing deterministic builds. However, while Yarn is generally considered better than NPM, it still falls short in comparison to package managers used in other languages like Composer and Gradle.

Pnpm

Pnpm, a relatively lesser-known package manager, stands out due to its innovative approach to dependency management. Pnpm stores all new packages in a single registry on your disk and uses symlinks to reference these packages. This method eliminates the need to reinstall packages every time, leading to substantial space savings and significantly faster installation and update times. The performance improvement is particularly noticeable in large-scale projects.

Comparison of Package Managers

Here is a comparison of the three package managers, highlighting the speed and efficiency of pnpm:

Most developers agree that pnpm is the most performant option. According to benchmarks, pnpm can install packages up to 12.5x faster than Npm and 3.3x faster than Yarn. This efficiency is due to the way pnpm stores and references packages, as well as its ability to handle updates without reinstalling dependencies.

The Future of Package Management

While NPM has its drawbacks, it remains widely used due to its extensive ecosystem and its role in the broader JavaScript and Node.js development landscape. However, as more developers face the challenges associated with NPM, alternative solutions like pnpm and Yarn are gaining popularity. As these tools continue to evolve, it is likely that they will offer even greater improvements in performance and usability.

As a conclusion, if you are looking for a more reliable and efficient package manager, pnpm or Yarn might be worth exploring. Pnpm's unique approach to dependency management offers significant advantages in terms of performance, space-saving, and ease of use. While NPM continues to be a popular choice, its limitations, as highlighted in this article, may prompt developers to seek better alternatives.