In the ever-evolving world of JavaScript development, the tools developers use can dramatically impact project speed, efficiency, and maintainability. While npm and Yarn have long been the default package managers in the Node.js ecosystem, a newer alternative—PNPM—is quickly gaining traction among developers looking for faster installations, smaller node_modules, and more efficient workflows.
What Is PNPM?
PNPM stands for „Performant NPM”, and as the name suggests, it was built with performance in mind. It’s a fast, disk-efficient package manager for Node.js that installs dependencies using symlinks rather than duplicating files across projects.
This clever approach makes PNPM both faster and more space-efficient than its more widely known counterparts.
Key Features of PNPM:
- Blazing-fast install times
- Less disk space usage via a shared content-addressable store
- Strict dependency resolution
- Compatibility with npm registry and most npm commands
- Works out-of-the-box with monorepos
How Does PNPM Work?
Unlike npm or Yarn, which create deep and often bloated node_modules folders, PNPM saves every installed package in a global store on your machine. It then uses symlinks to link those packages into your project’s node_modules folder.
This offers two key advantages:
- Faster installs – Shared packages don’t need to be downloaded again for every project
- Smaller disk usage – Duplicate files across projects are avoided, saving gigabytes over time
Why Developers Are Switching to PNPM
- It’s significantly faster than npm
- It reduces bloat in projects
- It’s easy to try without completely abandoning existing tooling
Many developers report reduced CI/CD times, smoother monorepo workflows, and better performance in Dockerized environments.
Getting Started with PNPM
# Install PNPM globally
npm install -g pnpm
# Initialize a new project
pnpm init
# Install dependencies
pnpm install
# Add a package
pnpm add <package-name>Should You use PNPM?
Use PNPM if:
- You want faster installs and builds
- You’re tired of massive node_modules folders
- You work on multiple projects or monorepos
- You care about dependency strictness and consistency
In our real-world CI pipeline, switching from npm to PNPM reduced install times from around 20 minutes to just 9 minutes, cutting the process by more than half and significantly speeding up our deployments.
Stick with npm or Yarn if:
- You’re deeply integrated into a Yarn-based monorepo
- Your CI/CD or deployment system depends on specific npm/Yarn behaviors
- You need community tools or plugins not yet fully supported by PNPM (rare, but possible)
Conclusion
PNPM is not just another package manager—it’s a smarter, faster, and more efficient way to handle JavaScript dependencies. Whether you’re managing a large monorepo or just tired of waiting for installs to finish, PNPM offers tangible performance and workflow benefits that are hard to ignore.
With its increasing adoption, strong community backing, and compatibility with the npm ecosystem, now is a great time to give PNPM a try and see the difference for yourself.
