For years, JavaScript developers have been choosing between npm, Yarn, pnpm, and more recently Bun. Each promised faster installs, better dependency management, or a smoother developer experience.
Now there’s a new contender: Nub.
Unlike Bun, Nub doesn’t try to replace Node.js. Instead, it augments the existing Node ecosystem with a collection of high-performance developer tools, including a package manager, script runner, Node version manager, and TypeScript runtime-all delivered as a single native binary.
What is Nub?
Nub describes itself as:
„The all-in-one JavaScript toolkit that augments Node.js instead of trying to replace it.”
Instead of introducing another JavaScript runtime, Nub executes your code using the real Node.js runtime while providing faster tooling around it.
Its feature set includes:
- ultra-fast package manager
- TypeScript execution without extra configuration
- script runner
npxreplacement (nubx)- Node.js version manager
- package-manager shims
The goal is simple: keep your existing ecosystem while making common development tasks significantly faster.
Package manager comparison
Today the Node ecosystem is dominated by four package managers.
| Package Manager | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| npm | Default, most compatible | Slowest installs |
| Yarn | Mature workspace support | Less popular today |
| pnpm | Excellent monorepo support, minimal disk usage | Slightly steeper learning curve |
| Bun | Extremely fast, integrated runtime | Runtime compatibility differences |
| Nub | Very fast tooling while keeping Node.js | New project, smaller ecosystem |
Unlike Bun, Nub does not replace Node.js.
Instead it runs your application with the stock Node binary while accelerating the surrounding tooling. This significantly reduces compatibility risks compared to adopting an entirely new runtime.
Performance
The official benchmarks published by the Nub team are impressive.
For a warm reinstall of a project containing more than 1,100 packages, Nub reports:
| Tool | Warm reinstall |
|---|---|
| Nub | 346 ms |
| Bun | 1.9 s |
| pnpm | 3.45 s |
| npm | 12.9 s |
These benchmarks measure the case where dependencies are already cached locally and only node_modules must be recreated.
The same project also reports substantial improvements for other developer workflows:
| Command | Claimed improvement |
|---|---|
nub run |
up to 24× faster than pnpm run |
nubx |
up to 19× faster than npx |
nub install |
around 5× faster than pnpm install (warm installs) |
Again, these numbers come from the project’s own benchmarks and should be validated independently for your own workloads.
Should you switch?
That depends on your project.
npm
Still the safest choice for maximum compatibility and the default experience.
pnpm
Probably remains the best choice for large production monorepos thanks to its mature workspace support and excellent ecosystem.
Bun
A great option if you also want to adopt a new JavaScript runtime and benefit from its integrated tooling.
Nub
Very promising if you want:
- dramatically faster developer tooling
- to keep using the official Node.js runtime
- minimal migration effort
- compatibility with existing lockfiles
Final thoughts
The JavaScript tooling ecosystem continues to evolve at an incredible pace.
While Bun challenged the idea that JavaScript tooling had to be slow, Nub takes a different approach: keep Node.js exactly as it is, but optimize everything around it.
If the project delivers on its promises while maintaining compatibility, Nub could become one of the most interesting developer tools to watch in 2026.
Want to explore more? If you’d like to see additional benchmarks, detailed performance comparisons, compatibility information, and installation guides, be sure to visit the official Nub website. The documentation includes comprehensive benchmark results, architecture details, and up-to-date feature comparisons.
