Yarn vs NPM: Which One is Better?

Yarn and NPM are two excellent tools used for Package Management in JavaScript. They help in managing the project by automating the tedious processes and making the process seamless and more efficient. To understand which one among the two, Yarn vs NPM is better for managing your packages in JavaScript. You need to learn about some of their features, components and use cases.   

The main function of Yarn and NPM is to automate the process of installing, configuring and managing the packages and libraries used in a JavaScript project. In this blog, you will understand the difference between Yarn vs NPM, which will help you select the best-suited Package Manager for you. 

Table of Contents 

1) What is NPM? 

2) What is Yarn? 

3) Difference between Yarn and NPM 

4) Conclusion 

What is NPM? 

NPM is an abbreviated name for Node Package Manager, which is an open-source Package Manager for the JavaScript programming language. NPM comes with a default bundle with Node.js when you install it. It consists of the largest repository of JavaScript packages, which is more than 500,000 packages. NPM also allows developers to easily manage and share JavaScript libraries and tools with others.   

In every Node.js project, there is a ‘package.json’ file, which serves as a blueprint and has important information like dependencies, metadata, and scripts. Some of the other commands in the NPM are ‘npm install’, ‘npm update’, and ‘npm uninstall’. The ‘package-lock.json’ file is automatically generated to ensure seamless installation across different environments and apply semantic versioning to maintain compatibility.  

Furthermore, NPM enables both local and global installations with flexibility in managing packages. It also plays a crucial role in streamlining the development process and helping developers to manage their project dependencies effectively.   

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What is Yarn? 

Yarn was developed by Facebook in collaboration with other technology companies to overcome the shortcomings of NPM. Yarn is a powerful Package Manager tool for JavaScript, which is designed as an alternative to NPM. It is helpful to streamline the process of managing dependencies in software projects. Some of its key features focus on speed, reliability and consistency required for project installation.   

To ensure that the exact version of packages is being consistently installed in different environments, Yarn includes a lock file mechanism which generates a ‘yarn.lock’ file. Yarn is more effective and primarily used in team-based projects where uniform results are crucial. One of its key features is parallel package installation, which is very useful while working on large-scale projects.   

Yarn also has access to the vast libraries and tools in open-source JavaScript. The main reason for choosing Yarn to be a Package Manager of JavaScript projects by developers is its focus on performance and reliability. 

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Difference between Yarn and NPM 

To make a better choice to select the best Package Manager in JavaScript, you need to understand the key differences between Yarn vs NPM.


 

Package installation 

As we learned earlier, NPM is a default Package Manager for Node.js. To install a package using NPM, the command ‘npm install ’, is used. This command fetches and installs the specific package with its dependencies. NPM installs projects automatically one after the other, which can be a time-consuming process as some of the packages contain a number of dependencies.   

Yarn offers a more efficient method to install a package. The command ‘yard add’ is used to install the specific package with all its dependencies. Unlike NPM, Yarn uses parallel installation, which allows it to install multiple packages simultaneously. This makes the process time efficient, mainly if the package consists of various dependencies.     

The lock files 

The NPM lock files ‘npm-lock.json’, are used to lock the specific version of the installed package. While NPM ensures consistent installation across different environments, it does not offer a good speed to install the packages.   

Yarn’s ‘yarn-lock’ file is used to serve the same purpose as ‘package-lock.json’. One main advantage of Yarn lock files over NPM lock files is the improved speed it offers to install specific packages and lock the versions.   

Offline mode 

Although the offline mode of NPM is not completely reliable, it allows users to install the package without an Internet connection. There can be additional glitches and issues while working in offline mode in NPM because it is not fully functional without a stable internet connection.   

On the other hand, Yarn is popular for its offline mode. It allows developers to install packages and their dependencies in entirely offline mode. Yarn’s interactive and reliable offline mode is one of the major reasons making it a preferred choice of developers. 



 

Performance  

NPM was launched in 2010, and since then, it has improved various versions and improved overall performance. NPM installs the dependencies in sequence, which makes it slow to install large packages with multiple dependencies. It also does not offer an offline feature, which makes it challenging for teams operating in low-connectivity areas.  

Yarn was launched to meet the performance limitations of the NPM. The main performance aspects of Yarn are high speed and reliability. It installs the dependencies in parallel, which allows it to install large projects simultaneously. With its zero-install features, developers can install the package in complete offline mode, making it popular among developers. 

Caching system 

A caching system is a storage repository which stores files and templates from a server. NPM’s caching system helps in improving the speed of the system by storing the already installed packages locally. The NPM caching system is not as advanced as the Yarn caching system.  

Yarn has an advanced caching system, which is highly optimised and faster as compared to NPM. It is particularly helpful for projects which include CI/CD pipelines or while setting up a new development environment.   

Ownership and maintenance 

NPM was built by npm. Inc, which was acquired by GitHub in 2020. NPM is now managed and maintained by GitHub, which is responsible for its development and launching of better versions.   

Yarn is an open-source project maintained by a community of active contributors from various industries and fields. This model helps Yarn to keep the tools interactive and upgraded based on the feedback and requirements of an engaging community and users.   

Yarn vs NPM commands 

Yarn and NPM are both popular Package Managers used in JavaScript development. Although both of these managers have common operations, some of the crucial commands differ in both NPM and Yarn. These commands will help you use these Package Manager tools efficiently.
 

Conclusion 

Yarn and NPM are both excellent Package Management tools with good features and capabilities. Yarn being developed as an advanced Package Manager after NPM has some benefits over the latter in terms of performance and reliability. Yarn vs NPM is an ongoing debate which can only be settled once you use these tools for Package Management using JavaScript language yourself.   

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