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Dragos Barbuta
Dragos Barbuta

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Say Goodbye to Package Manager Confusion with swpm 👋🧠

Hello World! As a frontend developer, one of the most exciting parts of my job is keeping up with the ever-evolving JavaScript ecosystem. With that in mind, I'd like to introduce you to a package I recently tested and has made switching between JavaScript projects easier and more seamless: swpm.

So, what is swpm?

Swpm, also known as "Switch Package Manager", is a tool you can use directly from your CLI. Its purpose? To make your work with JavaScript easier and more efficient.

The problem it aims to address is a common one in our development world: we often find ourselves switching between different JavaScript projects, which might utilize different package managers like npm, yarn, pnpm or even bun.

If you've been in this situation, you know the drill. You have to remember which package manager you used for each project. Otherwise, you might end with an annoying error or accidentally installing a package with the wrong manager. This could cause your project to break, since each package manager resolves dependencies differently. Annoying, right?

This is where swpm comes into play.

It unifies the most used commands for the most common Node Package Managers into one

With swpm, you can say goodbye to the days of breaking a project because you've forgotten which package manager to use. Swpm recognizes the package manager used in your project and automatically translates your commands to the appropriate ones.

How does swpm work?

The beauty of swpm lies in its simplicity. With swpm, you only need to remember one command, and it takes care of the rest, no matter which package manager your project is using.

An perfect example would be:

$ swpm install
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This command will install all the necessary packages for your project. If your project uses npm, swpm translates it to npm install. If your project uses yarn, swpm translates it to yarn install, and so on.

How to get started with swpm?

You can easily install swpm globally on your machine using npm:

$ npm install -g swpm
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Once installed, you can start using swpm commands in your projects.

If you're interested in installing swpm with other package managers, I've got you covered! Here's an example of how to do that: click here.

Final Thoughts

To me, swpm is not just for preventing errors. It's about making your work process easier. It's a tool that helps you work faster and better by helping manage commands for different package managers. It's less about not remembering things, and more about making things simpler and easier for you.

Give swpm a try and experience the ease it brings to your coding routine. For more details, check out the package here.

Stay curious, keep coding, and see you next time!

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