Infrastructure

npm

The default JavaScript package manager. Ships with Node, hosts the largest software registry in the world, and remains the safest compatibility default.

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npm is the package manager that ships with Node and the registry that hosts the JavaScript ecosystem. It is universally supported, has the broadest compatibility with tooling and CI, and recent versions narrowed the speed gap with pnpm and Bun. The downsides are flat-by-default node_modules (which masks dependency mistakes) and slower installs on cold caches. For solo projects and teams who prioritize zero-friction defaults over speed, npm remains a fine choice.

package-manager javascript node registry

npm at a glance

Last verified October 17, 2026

Pricing: npm CLI - free, ships with Node.js (Artistic-2.0)
Free - $0: unlimited public packages
Pro - $7/mo: unlimited public and private packages, package-based permissions
Teams - $7/user/mo: unlimited public and private packages, team-based permissions
Install: npm install -g npm
Models: Not an AI tool. npm is the CLI bundled with Node.js plus the public registry it talks to. npm 12 supports Node ^22.22.2 || ^24.15.0 || >=26.0.0 and blocks dependency lifecycle scripts by default unless the root package's allowScripts policy allows them.
Recent changes: Oct 1412.2.1 writes registry allowScripts keys correctly under install-strategy=linked and updates bundled dependencies.
Sep 3012.2.0 adds OIDC authentication to npm dist-tag.
Sep 2112.1.0 adds read-write-stage-only granular access tokens, shows staged package status in npm stage, and stops printing the funding message for global installs.

Sources: npm pricing, Downloading and installing Node.js and npm, npm CLI changelog, npm package registry entry

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The default JavaScript package manager. Ships with Node, hosts the largest software registry in the world, and remains the safest compatibility default.

Try npm

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