A nuisance that often crops up when working on JavaScript projects pertains to managing the different versions of the tools needed to build or run a p

A Comparison of Node.js Environment Managers

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2022-06-23 17:30:27

A nuisance that often crops up when working on JavaScript projects pertains to managing the different versions of the tools needed to build or run a project. This essentially boils down to the fact that different projects have different version requirements for their dependencies. For example, one greenfield project might require the latest version of Node.js due to its use of an experimental feature, while a legacy project might depend on deprecated features that make it unable to run on newer releases.

Installing different versions of Node.js or some other package typically involves uninstalling the current version, followed by installing the version that is needed, and then repeating this process over and over as you switch between projects. This is where the value proposition for virtual environment managers becomes apparent. They provide an isolated environment that allows the installation of several versions of a software package so that it's easy to use a specific version of a package for a project without affecting other applications that depend on different versions of the same package.

In this article, we will examine some of the most common virtual environment managers for Node.js and describe their features, as well as the pros and cons of each one. After reading this piece, you'll have enough context to choose the right environment manager that best suits your needs!