Difference between NPM and NPX

What is NPX?

NPX stands for Node Package eXecute. It is simply an NPM package runner. It allows developers to execute any Javascript Package available on the NPM registry without even installing it. NPX is installed automatically with NPM version 5.2.0 and above.

To check whether or not NPX is installed on your machine, you can run the following command on the terminal:

// This command checks for the version of NPX installed on your computer.
npx -v 

Output

In case this throws an error and does not show the version; you can install NPX using NPM like this:

// This command uses NPM to install npx globally.
npm install -g npx  //Output for NPX

The primary use case of NPX  is when we need to use a particular package just once. In such cases, first installing it and then executing it becomes a very redundant task. This is why NPX is a powerful tool. 

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Execution via NPM and NPX

This section will look into how we can execute the various Javascript packages using both NPM and NPX. 

Using NPM:

If we need to execute a package using NPM, we first need to install it, and then we can execute it. 

Installing a Package:

To install a package, we run the following command:

npm install package_name

          We then type out the local path of that package:

./node_modules/.bin/package_name

          Another way of executing the packages would be to enlist them as a script in the package.json file and then execute them.

Enlisting as a script: Your package.json file should look like this:

{
    "name": "Project-Name",
    "version":  "x.y.z",
    "scripts":  {
            "package-name":  "package-name"
    }
}

Then we use the run command to execute this package:

npm run package-name

Using NPX:

This is where you will notice how using NPX is a better option to execute packages. We do not need to install the package or manually make scripts for them. All that needs to be done is run the following command: 

npx your-package-name

Difference between NPM vs NPX

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Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is NPX?

The npx stands for Node Package Execute and is included with npm; if you install npm above 5.2.0, npx will be installed automatically. It's a npm package runner that can execute any package from the npm registry without ever installing it.

What is the advantage of NPX?

NPX allows you to run and use packages without having to install them locally or globally. If a package is installed while using NPX to run NPM executables, NPX will search for the package binaries (locally or globally) and then run the package.

What is the difference between NPX and NPM medium?

NPM is a package management that is used to install, uninstall, and update Javascript packages on your workstation, whereas NPX is a package executer that is used to directly execute Javascript packages without installing them.

Does NPX install locally?

No, NPX does not locally install software. It enables you to run packages straight from the npm registry without installing them globally or locally, maintaining a clean and segregated execution environment.

Conclusion

Now you must have gained familiarity with the tools of NPM and NPX. NPM is a package manager used to install, update or remove packages and dependencies your project requires. NPX is an NPM package used to execute any package on the NPM registry directly without installing it. 

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