ni

npm i in a yarn project, again? F**k!

ni - use the right package manager

npm i -g @antfu/ni

npm · yarn · pnpm · bun

ni - install

ni

# npm install
# yarn install
# pnpm install
# bun install

ni vite

# npm i vite
# yarn add vite
# pnpm add vite
# bun add vite

ni @types/node -D

# npm i @types/node -D
# yarn add @types/node -D
# pnpm add -D @types/node
# bun add -d @types/node

ni --frozen

# npm ci
# yarn install --frozen-lockfile (Yarn 1)
# yarn install --immutable (Yarn Berry)
# pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
# bun install --frozen-lockfile

ni -g eslint

# npm i -g eslint
# yarn global add eslint (Yarn 1)
# pnpm add -g eslint
# bun add -g eslint

# this uses default agent, regardless your current working directory

ni -i

# interactively select the dependency to install
# search for packages by name

nr - run

nr dev --port=3000

# npm run dev -- --port=3000
# yarn run dev --port=3000
# pnpm run dev --port=3000
# bun run dev --port=3000

nr

# interactively select the script to run
# supports https://www.npmjs.com/package/npm-scripts-info convention

nr -

# rerun the last command

nlx - download & execute

nlx vitest

# npx vitest
# yarn dlx vitest
# pnpm dlx vitest
# bunx vitest

nu - upgrade

nu

# npm upgrade
# yarn upgrade (Yarn 1)
# yarn up (Yarn Berry)
# pnpm update
# bun update

nu -i

# (not available for npm & bun)
# yarn upgrade-interactive (Yarn 1)
# yarn up -i (Yarn Berry)
# pnpm update -i

nun - uninstall

nun webpack

# npm uninstall webpack
# yarn remove webpack
# pnpm remove webpack
# bun remove webpack

nun

# interactively select
# the dependency to remove

nun -m

# interactive select,
# but with multiple dependencies

nun -g silent

# npm uninstall -g silent
# yarn global remove silent
# pnpm remove -g silent
# bun remove -g silent

nci - clean install

nci

# npm ci
# yarn install --frozen-lockfile
# pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
# bun install --frozen-lockfile

if the corresponding node manager is not present, this command will install it globally along the way.

na - agent alias

na

# npm
# yarn
# pnpm
# bun

na run foo

# npm run foo
# yarn run foo
# pnpm run foo
# bun run foo

Global Flags

# ?               | Print the command execution depends on the agent
ni vite ?

# -C              | Change directory before running the command
ni -C packages/foo vite
nr -C playground dev

# -v, --version   | Show version number
ni -v

# -h, --help      | Show help
ni -h

Config

; ~/.nirc

; fallback when no lock found
defaultAgent=npm # default "prompt"

; for global installs
globalAgent=npm

# ~/.bashrc

# custom configuration file path
export NI_CONFIG_FILE="$HOME/.config/ni/nirc"

# environment variables have higher priority than config file if presented
export NI_DEFAULT_AGENT="npm" # default "prompt"
export NI_GLOBAL_AGENT="npm"

# for Windows

# custom configuration file path in PowerShell accessible within the `$profile` path
$Env:NI_CONFIG_FILE = 'C:\to\your\config\location'

Integrations

asdf

You can also install ni via the 3rd-party asdf-plugin maintained by CanRau

# first add the plugin
asdf plugin add ni https://github.com/CanRau/asdf-ni.git

# then install the latest version
asdf install ni latest

# and make it globally available
asdf global ni latest

How?

ni assumes that you work with lockfiles (and you should)

Before it runs, it will detect your yarn.lock / pnpm-lock.yaml / package-lock.json / bun.lockb to know current package manager (or packageManager field in your packages.json if specified), and runs the corresponding commands.

Trouble shooting

Conflicts with PowerShell

PowerShell comes with a built-in alias ni for the New-Item cmdlet. To remove the alias in your current PowerShell session in favor of this package, use the following command:

'Remove-Item Alias:ni -Force -ErrorAction Ignore'

If you want to persist the changes, you can add them to your PowerShell profile. The profile path is accessible within the $profile variable. The ps1 profile file can normally be found at

• PowerShell 5 (Windows PowerShell): C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
• PowerShell 7: C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\PowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1
• VSCode: C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\PowerShell\Microsoft.VSCode_profile.ps1

You can use the following script to remove the alias at shell start by adding the above command to your profile:

if (-not (Test-Path $profile)) {
  New-Item -ItemType File -Path (Split-Path $profile) -Force -Name (Split-Path $profile -Leaf)
}

$profileEntry = 'Remove-Item Alias:ni -Force -ErrorAction Ignore'
$profileContent = Get-Content $profile
if ($profileContent -notcontains $profileEntry) {
  ("`n" + $profileEntry) | Out-File $profile -Append -Force -Encoding UTF8
}

nx and nix is no longer available

We renamed nx/nix to nlx to avoid conflicts with the other existing tools - nx and nix. You can always alias them back on your shell configuration file (.zshrc, .bashrc, etc).

alias nx="nlx"
# or
alias nix="nlx"