Difference between NPM and YARN

Introduction

Whether you have just started developing React or Node projects or have been building them for quite some time, it is almost certain that you have used NPM or YARN to maintain the packages and dependencies your project uses. Do not panic if you do not know what packages or dependencies are; we will look at these aspects as this blog progresses.

Before diving right into learning more about NPM and YARN, and their differences, let us look at some terms that we need to be familiar with first. 

What is NPM?

NPM stands for Node Package Manager. It is a Javascript package manager and the default for the runtime environment NodeJS. NPM is installed when NodeJS is installed on a machine. It comes with a command line interface (CLI) which is used to interact with the online database of NPM. This database is called the NPM Registry, and it hosts public and private 'packages'. To add or update packages, we use the NPM CLI to interact with this database. 

To know more about NodeJs, check out the blog What is Node.js? Where, When & How To Use It?

What is Yarn?

YARN stands for Yet Another Resource Negotiator. Just like NPM, YARN is also a package manager for public or private packages hosted on online databases. YARNwas initially developed by developers at Facebook but now is open source (YARN repository). 

Essentially, both these package managers do the same job for you, i.e., help you manage your project dependencies. 

This raises a very basic question, if we already had NPM, why would we need YARN?

YARN was developed to overcome the performance and security issues that NPM had at that time. Since then, even NPM developers have raised the game and both the package managers have almost reached feature parity. Even then, there are some core differences between them in terms of installation, locking, and usage. We will now look at all of them.

Differences Between Yarn and NPM

Let’s discuss the difference between yarn and npm in detail below:

Yarn and npm are package managers commonly used in JavaScript and Node.js development, but they have some differences:

Package Locking:

• Yarn: Uses a yarn.lock file for deterministic and consistent package installations.
• npm: Uses a package-lock.json or npm-shrinkwrap.json file for similar purposes.
   

Speed:

• Yarn: Generally faster in package installation due to parallel downloading.
• npm: Slower due to sequential downloading, although npm7 introduced some improvements.
   

Concurrency:

• Yarn: Offers better parallel and network-constrained performance.
• npm: Limited parallelism by default, but npm7 improves this.
   

Security:

• Yarn: Provides a robust audit feature for vulnerability checking.
• npm: Also offers security audits to identify and fix vulnerabilities.
   

License:

• Yarn: MIT license.
• npm: Artistic License 2.0, a bit more restrictive.
   

Workspaces:

• Yarn: Supports workspaces for managing multiple packages in a monorepo.
• npm: Introduced workspaces in npm7, allowing similar monorepo management.
   

User Interface:

• Yarn: Has a more user-friendly CLI with features like interactive mode.
• npm: Provides a basic command-line interface but is improving with newer versions.
   

Ecosystem:

• Yarn: Compatible with the npm registry and can be used interchangeably with npm.
• npm: The default package manager for Node.js with a vast ecosystem.

Your choice between Yarn and npm may depend on factors like project requirements, familiarity, and specific features offered by each package manager.

Packages and Dependencies

Learning about package managers is only productive if, first, we establish what packages and dependencies mean. 

Packages and Dependencies are, as the name suggests, files or bundles of files that your project needs to run. For example, if you start a new react-app, you would find a folder called node_modules. This folder contains all the node modules that are required for your project to run.

The file structure of a new “create-react-app” project showing node_modules

If you look inside this folder, there are many files that are just the ones that are included when the project is set up for the first time. As you continue working on the project, the number of package dependencies will increase. Hence, managing them gets exceedingly complicated. This is why we need package managers. By managing dependencies, we mean installing, deleting, or updating them.

Installation 

While NPM is installed when you install NodeJS, we need to manually install YARN.

Installing YARN:

// The --global flag ensures that yarn is installed globally so that we can use it in all projects.
npm install yarn --global 

YARN can be installed using the npm CLI as shown above. 

Locking Mechanism

Before discussing how these package managers are different regarding their file locking mechanism, let us first understand what locking is. Locking in this context refers to making a file with entries of all packages and dependencies installed in the project and their versions. This is important because when multiple people work on the same project, complications may arise if different people use different versions of the dependencies. 

NPM makes a package-lock.json file. This file contains entries of all dependencies used along with their versions. This file ensures that the directory and file structure in the node_modules folder are the same across all project versions.

An example of a package-lock.json file

YARN has a yarn.lock file, which is auto-generated when the project is initialized. This file also, just like the package-lock.json file, keeps track of the dependencies and “locks” their versions to a project. The yarn.lock file helps in the easy merge of packages and dependencies in the required folders.

An example of a yarn.lock file 

If you notice carefully, you will notice how the architecture of both the files differs from each other. While the package-lock file has a stricter architecture, the yarn.lock file uses the easy merge approach to increase simplicity, speed, and ease of access.

Fetching Packages

Whenever we use the CLI to add new packages to our project, there is a difference between how NPM and YARN act on it. While NPM fetches packages from the online npm registry for every ‘install’ command, YARN stores dependencies locally in most cases and fetches packages from a local disk, given that dependency has been installed earlier. This makes YARN considerably faster than NPM when it comes to fetching packages.

Security and Licencing 

Security becomes an important parameter when we compare YARN and NPM. Initially, Facebook introduced YARN because it covered the security lapses in NPM, but since then, NPM has had strong security updates.

If we add or install packages with security vulnerabilities in both the package managers, we are automatically given warnings for the same.

YARN does have some extra edge, though. This comes with the feature of licensing. We can use YARN to check the licenses of the various packages installed as:

yarn licenses list

This produces a neat output listing all licenses like:

Output log for “yarn licenses list”

Output Log

Another important factor that differentiates NPM from YARN is the output log. NPM has a very raw output log, while on the other hand, YARN's output log is extremely neat and readable. While NPM's logs are nothing but stacks of NPM commands, YARN's output logs are brief and given out tree form. Given below are examples of the output logs of both the package managers for the same command.

NPM

YARN

Table of Commands

The following table enlists some commonly used commands syntax in both NPM and YARN.

Common Commands

The following table enlists the commands which are common to both NPM and YARN.

Also see, Difference Between Controller and Restcontroller

Similarities Between Yarn and NPM

Package Management: Both Yarn and npm serve as package managers for JavaScript and Node.js projects, allowing developers to handle dependencies efficiently.

Registry Access: They can access the npm registry, offering a wide selection of open-source packages for use in projects.

Lock Files: Yarn and npm create lock files (yarn.lock and package-lock.json, respectively) to ensure consistent and deterministic package installations.

Security Audits: Both tools provide built-in security audit features to identify and address vulnerabilities in project dependencies.

Configuration: Yarn and npm allow developers to configure project settings and package manager behavior through configuration files.

NPM vs Yarn - Which One is Better?

The choice between NPM and Yarn depends on your project's needs. NPM, as the default package manager for Node.js, has a vast ecosystem and improved performance in npm 7. Yarn, known for its speed and deterministic installs, suits projects demanding performance and consistency. Its workspaces support monorepos, making it attractive for large-scale applications. Yarn offers a more user-friendly experience, including interactive CLI and strong security auditing. While Yarn excels in performance and determinism, NPM's larger community and default status make it a solid choice for many projects.

NPM vs Yarn - Which one to choose?

Choosing between NPM and Yarn depends on your specific project needs. NPM, the default package manager for Node.js, offers a massive package ecosystem, improved parallelism in npm 7, and seamless integration with Node. Yarn is preferred for its speed, deterministic installs, and support for monorepos using workspaces. Its user-friendly CLI and robust security auditing are appealing. If speed, determinism, and monorepo support are crucial, Yarn is a solid choice. However, NPM's larger community, default status, and frequent updates make it a dependable choice for many projects. Consider your project's requirements, team familiarity, and priorities when making a decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between yarn and npm?

Yarn and npm are package managers for JavaScript. Yarn is known for faster installs, deterministic lock files, and workspaces. npm has a vast ecosystem and improved parallelism in npm 7.

What is the difference between yarn and brew and npm?

• Yarn: A JavaScript package manager known for speed and deterministic installs.
• Homebrew (Brew): A package manager for macOS for installing Unix-like software.
• npm: The default Node.js package manager for JavaScript.

Is yarn better than npm?

The choice between Yarn and npm depends on project requirements. Yarn offers faster installs and determinism, while npm has a larger ecosystem and default status. Choose based on your specific needs.

Can I replace npm with yarn?

Yes, you can replace npm with Yarn for managing JavaScript dependencies. Yarn is compatible with the npm registry and can be used as a drop-in replacement.

Conclusion

Both NPM and YARN are useful package managers with powerful CLIs and great functionalities. While NPM was initially the only option and dominated the swarm of Javascript developers, YARN has quickly gained popularity among developers of today.

Now that you have a thorough understanding of the two best package managers out there, you are on your way to becoming great Javascript developers. You can start your Javascript journey here or MERN stack journey here!

Recommended Readings:

NPX vs NPM