NPM, PNPM & Yarn Commands Cheat Sheet

Side-by-side command reference for Node.js package managers: npm, pnpm, and yarn. Covers installing, scripts, auditing, lockfiles, and workspaces.

Package Installation & Dependencies

Install package as a runtime production dependencynpm i <pkg> | pnpm add <pkg> | yarn add <pkg>

Install package as devDependencynpm i -D <pkg> | pnpm add -D <pkg> | yarn add -D <pkg>

Install package globally on machinenpm i -g <pkg> | pnpm add -g <pkg> | yarn global add <pkg>

Deterministic clean CI install from lockfilenpm ci | pnpm install --frozen-lockfile | yarn --immutable

Uninstall package from dependencies and node_modulesnpm rm <pkg> | pnpm rm <pkg> | yarn remove <pkg>

Execute lifecycle script defined in package.jsonnpm run <script> | pnpm <script> | yarn <script>

Download and execute CLI tool without global installationnpx <bin> | pnpm dlx <bin> | yarn dlx <bin>

Scan dependencies for known security CVE vulnerabilitiesnpm audit | pnpm audit | yarn npm audit

List packages that have newer versions availablenpm outdated | pnpm outdated | yarn outdated

• Why is pnpm faster and more disk-efficient than npm?

pnpm uses a hard-linked, content-addressable global store, preventing duplicate packages across projects on your disk.