Difference between npm and npx| Comparision of npm and npx with exmaple

In Nodejs, We have two commands to manage and run libraries

• npm: Node Package Manager
• npx: Node package executable runner

The above two come with default nodejs installation.

What is npm?

npm is an easy command-line tool to manage(install, uninstall) node javascript packages in Nodejs.

It is not easy to run and execute the installed packages with this.

What is npx?

npx is the command-line tool to run the packages locally without the installation of packages.

Difference between npm and npx

For example, We need to create a brand new react application. For this, we have to use create-react-app cli.

Let’s do create an application with npm.

First, install the create-react app using the npm command.

We can install locally(without -g) or globally(-g option)

npm install create-react-app -g

It installs create-react-app from remote repo into local developer machine. Globally installation process

• use -g option for globally
• It creates an node_modules folder t global npm directory - /usr/local/ folder in Linux and %AppData%/npm in windows.
• Also, Creates links for the bin folder of on global npm directory.

Local installation process

• use without -g option for locally
• It creates a node_modules folder at the application directory
• Also, Creates links for the bin folder of on application/node_modules/.bin folder.
• This path is available and installed packages command are accessible from the application folder

Once, the create-react-app is installed, It creates a link and the create-react-app command works globally.

Run the below command to create a react application

create-react-app app1

It creates a scaffolding react application app1with all required files and scripts and also installs dependencies.

Let’s create a react application with npx.

npx create-react-app my-app

With a single command, It does the following things

• It installs create-react-app from the npm repository
• Copy the package executable to a local path
• Run the command directly with all required parameters

Both approaches(npm, npx) are used to create a react application using create-react-app.

create-react-app is a one-time process to create a react application, It is not required to install globally, So npx avoids downloading locally for command-line execution.

Hence, It is always a good idea to choose npx over the npm tool.