Why pnpm is a fantastic package manager

pnpm (performant npm) has become the go-to choice for developers who want better performance, disk efficiency, and stricter dependency management compared to traditional npm. Here’s why making the switch is worth considering and how to do it seamlessly.

Why pnpm Outperforms npm

Disk Space Efficiency

pnpm’s most compelling advantage is its smart approach to storing packages. Instead of duplicating packages across projects like npm does, pnpm uses a content-addressed storage system that stores each package version only once globally. If multiple projects share the same dependency, pnpm creates hard links to a single copy rather than duplicating it. This can save gigabytes of disk space in development environments with numerous projects.

Faster Installation Speeds

Because pnpm leverages its global store and efficient caching, installation times are significantly faster than npm. For large projects or CI/CD pipelines, this speed improvement can be substantial.

Stricter Dependency Management

pnpm prevents “phantom dependencies”—accessing packages not explicitly declared in your package.json. This forces better dependency practices and reduces implicit access issues that plague npm.

Better Monorepo Support

pnpm has built-in workspace features for managing multiple packages seamlessly, making it ideal for large-scale monorepo projects.

How to Migrate from npm to pnpm

Step 1: Use the Migrate Command

The easiest way to switch is by running the pnpm import command:

pnpm import package-lock.json

This command reads your existing package-lock.json and generates a pnpm-lock.yaml file with the same dependency information.

Step 2: Clean Up and Install

Delete the old lockfile and install with pnpm:

rm package-lock.json
pnpm install

Using Interactive Upgrade

To selectively update your dependencies, use the --interactive (or -i) flag:

pnpm update -i

This command displays all outdated dependencies and lets you choose which ones to upgrade interactively, giving you fine-grained control over your updates. Use -L —latest to upgrade to latest.

pnpm update -i -L

The Bottom Line

pnpm delivers faster installations, better disk usage, and stricter dependency management—making it an excellent choice for modern JavaScript projects. The migration is straightforward, and the benefits are immediate. Try it out!