Faster npm

By  on  

Good news! npm was updated in January and this is no longer an issue!

npm is the premier package repository on the web and we all use it a ton, obviously.  npm has started using basic progress bar graphics to notify users of download progress, which is nice, but appears to slow down the entire process.  This tweet blew my mind:

Executing the following before an npm install dramatically speeds up the process:

npm set progress=false

You wont see a beautiful progress bar but you will get faster installs which, in my opinion, is an excellent trade off!

Recent Features

  • By
    JavaScript Promise API

    While synchronous code is easier to follow and debug, async is generally better for performance and flexibility. Why "hold up the show" when you can trigger numerous requests at once and then handle them when each is ready?  Promises are becoming a big part of the JavaScript world...

  • By
    fetch API

    One of the worst kept secrets about AJAX on the web is that the underlying API for it, XMLHttpRequest, wasn't really made for what we've been using it for.  We've done well to create elegant APIs around XHR but we know we can do better.  Our effort to...

Incredible Demos

Discussion

  1. I think it’s worth mentioning that these settings are saved in a dotfile ~/.npmrc that can be backed up easily. Automating the machine setup ftw! :D

Wrap your code in <pre class="{language}"></pre> tags, link to a GitHub gist, JSFiddle fiddle, or CodePen pen to embed!