await time.sleep(ms) in Node.js — Finally!

Ashish Kadam — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 06:32:49 +0000

Sleep like Python in Node.js — Introducing `node-time-sleep` 💤

Ever wished you could write this in Node.js?

time.sleep(1)  // Python-style pause for 1 second

Well, now you can — with my tiny npm package: node-time-sleep

💡 What is it?

node-time-sleep is a lightweight utility that lets you pause execution in Node.js without blocking the event loop, just like Python’s time.sleep() — but async-friendly.

📦 Install

npm install node-time-sleep

✅ Usage

const time = require('node-time-sleep');

(async () => {
  console.log("Sleeping for 1 second...");
  await time.sleep(1000); // sleep for 1000ms
  console.log("Done!");
})();

No more awkward setTimeout()s or bulky delay wrappers.

⚙️ How it works

Under the hood, it's just a promise-based wrapper around setTimeout:

function sleep(ms) {
  return new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
}

But now it's packaged, documented, and ready to go. You can just drop it in and get going — especially handy for CLI tools, testing, mock APIs, or even fun scripting projects.

🚀 Why use this?

Familiar syntax for Python devs
Clean, readable async/await delays
Zero dependencies
Non-blocking (unlike busy-wait loops)
TypeScript support out of the box

🧪 Example: Rate-limited API calls

const time = require('node-time-sleep');

async function crawlPages(urls) {
  for (let url of urls) {
    console.log(`Fetching ${url}...`);
    await fetch(url);
    await time.sleep(1000); // wait 1 sec before next
  }
}

🔗 Links

🔗 npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-time-sleep
💻 GitHub: https://github.com/zegulas/node-time-sleep

🙌 Feedback Welcome!

This is my first published package. If you have suggestions, PRs, or issues — I’d love to hear from you!

Drop a ⭐ on the GitHub repo if you like it!

✨ Final Thoughts

This package is intentionally simple — but elegant and useful for devs who want something clean, intuitive, and Pythonic.

Let me know how you use it — or what features you'd love to see next!

DEV Community: Ashish Kadam