The evolution of package managers
npm was the standard for years. Yarn Classic improved speed and security. Today, Yarn Berry and pnpm represent the new generation with radically different approaches.
Yarn Berry (v4+)
Introduces Plug'n'Play (PnP): instead of node_modules, it generates a zip file with dependencies and a .pnp.cjs file that resolves imports without reading the filesystem.
yarn set version berry
Advantages: instant installations, less disk space, higher speed, and zero node_modules.
pnpm
Uses a different approach: symlinks with a global cache. Each project links to files in the global cache, saving space.
npm install -g pnpm
Advantages: highly space-efficient, strict (no undeclared dependency imports), and npm-compatible.
Comparison
| Aspect | Yarn Berry | pnpm |
|--------|-----------|------|
| node_modules | No (PnP) | Yes (symlinks) |
| Global cache | Zip | Store |
| Disk space | Very low | Very low |
| npm compatibility | Good | Excellent |
| Strict | No | Yes |
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