Difference between npx and npm

In this article, we're going to discuss the differences between the npm and npx. The difference between npm and npx is that npm is a package manager for managing dependencies and npx is a tool that allows you to run Node.js packages directly without installing them. Both are related to node.js but they are used for different purposes. First, let's understand what npm is.

npm

The npm stands for Node Package Manager. It is a default Javascript package manager for Node.js that allows developers to install, share and manage dependencies. NPM is installed when NodeJS is installed on system.

Here is the command to check the version of node.

npm -v

Key Features of npm

• Initialize Project: The npm can inititalize the package using 'npm init' command which creates package.json file. package.json file maintains the dependency on which project depends.

npm init

Installation Of Packages: It allows packages to be installed either locally within a project or globally on the system. To install packages globally, you can use -g flag. Here is the command to install the packages.

npm install <package-name>

Script Execution: In package.json file, we can manually write the script. Each script should be written in a key-value pair format, where the key is always a string. Here is the command to run the script.

{
    "name": "Project-name",
    "version":  "1.0.0",
    "description": "",
    "keywords": [],
    "scripts":  {
            "start":  "nodemon <file-name>"
     }
}

Use the following command to run the script

npm run <script-name>

npx

The npm stands for Node Package Execute. It allows developers to execute any Javascript Package without installing it. If you have installed npm below 5.2.0 then npx is not installed in your system.

Here is the command to check the version of npx.

npx -v

Key Features of npx

• Handles versioning issues: It automatically installs packages of the specified version without issues. If you want to install a specific version, use the following command.

npx -p <package-name>@<version> <command>

Execution of Packages: It allows you to execute packages without installing them. It fetches the package directly from the registry or cache. To run a package, use the following command.

npx <package-name>

Command Execution: The npx can also be used to run general commands along with executing packages. It is useful for running scripts that you want to run temporarily to maintain efficiency.

npx <command>

Differences between npm and npx