DEV Community: michelebitetto

Delete unused node modules and improves performance in a minute 🚀

michelebitetto — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 16:00:53 +0000

Table of content

1. Introduction
2. Impact of node modules files
3. Use "npm-check"
4. Ongoing monitoring and maintenance
5. Improving performance and environmental impact
6. My Vision

1. Introduction 🌐

When it comes to software development, managing storage space can be a critical issue. A common problem that many developers face is the accumulation of unused "node modules" files in projects. These files can take up significant amounts of disk space and adversely affect system performance.

However, manually deleting them can be tedious and time-consuming. In this article, we will explore how you can quickly delete unused "node modules" files and free up valuable disk space.

Importance of cleaning up node modules files

Over time, the "node modules" directory can grow significantly due to the installation of new packages and their dependencies.

Many of these dependencies may no longer be needed in the project, but they still remain in the directory, taking up valuable space. This accumulation of unused modules can make the project unwieldy and affect performance.

Objective

The main objective of this article is to provide practical guidance on how to identify and delete unused "node modules" files efficiently and safely. We will explore best practices for dealing with this common problem. You will learn how to:

Identify unused modules in your project.
Perform the cleanup in a safe manner to avoid loss of important data.
Automate the cleaning process to save time and effort.
Constantly monitor your development environment to maintain a clean and optimized workspace.

2. Impact of node modules files 💥

The size of the "node modules" directory can vary greatly depending on the project. In smaller projects, it may not pose a significant problem, but in complex applications or long-running projects, this directory can grow exponentially. The consequences of uncontrolled accumulation of "node modules" files include:

Disk space occupancy: As new dependencies are installed, the overall size of the "node modules" directory increases, consuming disk space. This can become problematic, especially on systems with limited storage space.
Performance: Projects with a large "node modules" directory may experience performance slowdowns. Loading all these dependencies can take more time and resources, affecting startup speed and application execution.
Difficulties in maintenance: Managing a bulky "node modules" directory can make project maintenance more complex. Searching for specific packages or resolving conflicts between dependencies may require more effort.

3. Use npm-check 🎩

To identify and remove unused "node modules" files in your js project, you can use a tool called npm-check. "npm-check" is a command-line tool that allows you to scan your project and identify unused dependencies. Here's how you can do it:

Step 1: Install npm-check

Before you start, make sure you have "npm-check" installed on your system. You can easily do this using npm, with the following command:



npm install -g npm-check

Step 2: Run npm-check

Once installed, you can run "npm-check" from any directory in your js project. Use the following bash command to start the scan:



npm-check

Step 3: Identify unused dependencies

Npm-check will highlight unused dependencies in the list with a specific marking. They will be marked as "unused" next to their name.

Step 4: Remove unused node modules.

After unused dependencies are identified, you will have two options:

Remove them directly from the "npm-check" interface. You can select the dependencies you want to remove, and the tool will handle the removal safely.
Remove them manually with:



npm uninstall 'package-name'

Make sure you are sure you want to remove these dependencies, as this operation is not reversible.

Using "npm-check," you can greatly simplify the process of identifying and removing unused dependencies, saving disk space and improving the performance of your js project.

Before performing significant removal operations, it is always a good practice to back up your project or use a version control system. This way, you can maintain a clean and optimized development environment.

4. Ongoing monitoring and maintenance 📈

Once you have eliminated unused "node modules" files in your js project, it is critical to establish an ongoing monitoring and maintenance practice to ensure that your development environment remains clean and efficient over time.

In this section, we will explore the importance of keeping a constant eye on dependencies and suggest some best practices for effective maintenance.

Importance of periodic maintenance

Periodic maintenance of your js project is crucial to avoid the accumulation of unused "node modules" files in the future.

As your project evolves and new dependencies are added, new unused modules may emerge. This is why it is essential to establish a regular cleanup routine to keep your workspace in order.

Continuous monitoring

To simplify continuous monitoring of your project's dependencies, you can take advantage of tools and practices such as constant monitoring with npm-check.

Continuous maintenance and dependency monitoring of your project ensures that your development environment remains efficient and free of unused files. They also reduce the chance of accumulating unnecessary dependencies again and improve the overall management of your project's libraries and modules.

5. Improving performance and environmental impact 😁

In the process of identifying and removing unused "node modules" files, you are not only freeing up disk space, but you are also helping to reduce digital pollution and improve the overall performance of your project.

In this section, we will examine how optimizing your development environment can reduce environmental impact and improve efficiency.

Application performance benefits

In addition to taking up disk space, the accumulation of unused dependencies can adversely affect the performance of your applications.

Loading unnecessary modules takes time and system resources, slowing down the startup and execution of applications. By keeping your development environment clean, you can ensure that your applications are faster and more responsive.

Reduce environmental impact

As developers, we have a responsibility to use computing resources responsibly. Cleaning up unused dependencies not only improves the performance of your project, but also demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility in software development.

This conscious behavior can be an integral part of an ethical and sustainable development practice.

Saving disk space, improving performance, and reducing digital pollution are important goals for modern developers. By maintaining a clean and efficient development environment, you contribute to a more sustainable technology industry and the optimization of computing resources.

6. My Vision 🌱

My name is Michele, I'm a frontend developer concerned about the environment, and I have embarked on an important journey to share awareness about the environmental impact of website performance.

This series of articles not only provides practical guidance on how to optimize web projects, but also demonstrates the importance of reducing digital pollution, an aspect often overlooked in the development world.

Responsibility in resource use and adopting sustainable development practices have become an essential part of your approach to frontend development.

These articles are a valuable contribution to educating developers and the technology community on how to reduce digital pollution and preserve the environment. By continuing on this path, you will help build a cleaner, more efficient and sustainable digital world.

If you are interested, follow me and join in this journey to a more sustainable and efficient web 😊

Thank you 🍋

🌱 How I realized my website was affecting climate change 🌡️

michelebitetto — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 16:04:13 +0000

In the fast-paced world of web development, we often focus on aspects such as attractive design, cutting-edge functionality and intuitive user interfaces. But how often do we stop to think about the environmental impact of our digital creations? I confess that, for a long time, this aspect escaped my attention. That all changed when I decided to explore the environmental impact of my own website. And what I discovered left me shocked.

🔥 The call to attention

The idea of examining the environmental impact of my website came about casually. I was involved in a discussion about climate change and it occurred to me that if even large data centers consume huge amounts of energy, how much energy was my modest website consuming? So I decided to do something we rarely do: measure the environmental impact of my web pages.

🌡️ The shocking discovery

To begin with, I used a web performance evaluation tool to analyze my website; it was https://www.websitecarbon.com. What I discovered left me speechless: my site was slow, heavy and required a huge amount of energy to load since it was a very large blog on wordpress (50K visits per month).

🌐 My website's carbon footprint

As I examined the data, I discovered that my website had a considerable carbon footprint. Every time someone visited my site, it emitted more CO2 than I ever thought it would. Unoptimized images, unused scripts and CSS, and a number of plugins were the problem in all of this. My website was polluting far more than I had ever imagined: every year a 99000 km trip of a car, absurd right?

All this for the mere convenience of having a ready-made wordpress website. I knew all along that it was not the best performing choice, but for convenience and the large amount of traffic, I decided to use it anyway.

I realized that if my website was so damaging, who knows how many other websites were having an even greater impact on the environment?

🌱 Rebirth: Toward a sustainable web

My discovery prompted me to embark on a journey toward digital sustainability. I began optimizing my websites more efficiently by reducing page loads, compressing images, and using performance-conscious technologies. I prefer to spend more time on performance rather than using old technologies that only hurt the environment.

In addition, I have decided that I will start sharing my findings with the community and encourage other developers to evaluate and improve the performance of their websites so that we can improve the environmental impact of our applications.

💬 Always communicate 😊

I'm always open to dialogue and knowledge sharing on these topics. Together, we can make the web a better, faster, greener place for everyone. One website at a time.

If you have questions or would like to discuss websites environmental impact and performance, please feel free to contact me! 🚀

Thank you

Coronavirus Web Application in Italy 🇮🇹

michelebitetto — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 11:00:27 +0000

We are in Italy, early March, my friends and I wonder if there is a site to monitor the Italian situation of Covid-19. We find the Italian civil protection website, but the graphics are not what we want, also the service offered is not optimized for mobile devices.

As I surf the web I find that civil protection has provided the national contagion data in a json file. Perfect, I will create my application. I want to do in a short time to monitor the infections through the graphs. This must be available on the web to be able to share it with my friends, it must also be simple and fast.

I am very familiar with React, but I decide to deepen AngularJS since I use it a lot in my work, it's only a small application.

March 12

On the first day I develop a first draft of the application that I improve in the following days

March 16

I release the first version with the features:

Display of national data updated to date.
Graphs of the history of the currently positive, healed, intensive care, deceased, move positive and positive growth percentage.
Dark theme and Lite theme.

March 21

The application begins to be shared by my friends, very well. I continue my developments and integrate new features:

New graphics for updated data to date.
History of regional data.
Share button.

At this point, the application reaches the first views even outside of my friends, 100 unique users per day with only sharing the application on Facebook and Instagram.

March 27

In the meantime, I find an API that provides world data, I immediately get to work and in a few days I release these features:

New world data section.
Search filter on the world cup.

I share the application on Linkedin and with colleagues. It reaches a peak of 400 unique users per day.

In the following days I released bug fixes and improvements. Everyone talks to me about a simple, fast and intuitive application compared to others on the web that provide the same data. I am happy with the result achieved and that I can be useful in this complicated period for everyone.

You can see the application via this link: https://www.daticovid.com

I thank you for reading,
Michele.

Working in Italy in the time of Coronavirus 🇮🇹

michelebitetto — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 22:01:11 +0000

I'm Michele, I'm a computer engineer and I live near Milan. As you well know, Italy is one of the countries most affected by the Corona Virus, so I am here to tell you my work history of the past two weeks.

In Italy remotely working is not adopted by all companies and you can work remotely at most two days a week if you are lucky. For this reason, after the emergency, it was strange for everyone. Milan after the coronavirus was a deserted city because schools and offices are closed, the fear of people was great.

Working for two consecutive weeks from home made me realize that I’m more productive with both my team and my client and this didn’t surprise me. I always thought that remote work was a more productive practice.

I also know that these weeks of remote work are productive for my company's future choices. Many colleagues said they were more productive, and companies are also saving money. When you finish your job you are free, you no longer have to take the train late to go home and this is very important for us.

Unfortunately, my country isn’t having a good time, but I believe that our government, people and health care will be able to fight this virus.
Many companies are losing money and it’s a difficult time for many workers. I thank for having a job that doesn't suffer any blows and I hope that my compatriots in difficulty will recover better than before.

I am convinced that my beautiful country will up, together with China.

Thank you developers,
Michele.
🇮🇹❤️