A faster, smarter package manager for Node.js — built on a pure Rust core.

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Performance

Benchmarked on a real project with 15 dependencies (145 resolved packages):

Tool	Warm Install	Cold Install	vs better
better	75ms	~400ms	-
bun	198ms	~500ms	2.6x slower
npm	1,749ms	~8,000ms	23x slower

How it works

Layer	Technique	Impact
Binary	Pure Rust — zero Node.js startup	saves ~265ms vs JS tools
I/O	macOS clonefile() — APFS copy-on-write	near-instant materialization
Concurrency	rayon-powered parallel everything	resolution, fetch, extract, link
Storage	SHA-512 package cache + SHA-256 file CAS	dedup across projects
Fallback	3-tier: clonefile > CAS hardlinks > copy	works on all filesystems

Cross-project dedup (--dedup)

Share node_modules files across projects via hardlinks from a global store:

better install --dedup

Projects	Without dedup	With --dedup	Savings
2	28MB	~16MB	43%
5	70MB	~18MB	74%
10	140MB	~20MB	86%

Files share the same inode — editing one won't affect others (copy-on-write at the filesystem level).

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Install

# Quick install (recommended)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/EfeDurmaz16/better-npm/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

# Via npm
npm install -g better

# Via Homebrew
brew install EfeDurmaz16/tap/better

# From source
cd crates && cargo build --release -p better-core

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Commands

Install & Analyze

better install                  # Install dependencies (auto-selects fastest strategy)
better install --dedup          # Install with cross-project file dedup
better install --no-scripts     # Skip lifecycle scripts
better analyze                  # Dependency attribution, duplicates, depth analysis
better scan                     # Low-level lockfile scan

Script Runner

better run <script>             # Run package.json scripts (node_modules/.bin on PATH)
better run lint test build      # Run multiple scripts in parallel
better run dev --watch          # Run with file watching (auto-restart on changes)
better test                     # Alias: better run test
better lint                     # Alias: better run lint
better dev                      # Alias: better run dev (watch mode by default)
better build                    # Alias: better run build
better start                    # Alias: better run start

Scripts automatically load .env and .env.local files from the project root.

Dependency Intelligence

better why <package>            # Trace why a package is installed (dependency paths)
better outdated                 # Check for newer versions on npm registry
better dedupe                   # Detect duplicate packages with dedup analysis
better license                  # Scan all package licenses
better license --allow MIT,ISC  # Allow only specific licenses
better license --deny GPL-3.0   # Deny specific licenses
better audit                    # Security vulnerability scan via OSV.dev
better audit --min-severity high # Filter by severity

Health & Diagnostics

better doctor                   # Health score (0-100) with actionable findings
better doctor --threshold 80    # Fail if score below threshold
better benchmark                # Comparative install timing across package managers
better benchmark --rounds 5     # Number of benchmark rounds
better benchmark --pm npm,bun   # Select package managers to compare
better env                      # Show Node.js version, platform, project info
better env check                # Validate engines constraints from package.json

Cache Management

better cache stats              # Cache size, package count, storage breakdown
better cache gc                 # Garbage collect old entries
better cache gc --max-age 30    # Remove entries older than N days
better cache gc --dry-run       # Preview what would be removed

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Enterprise Features

Script Sandboxing

Control which packages can run lifecycle scripts (preinstall, install, postinstall, prepare):

better scripts scan             # Scan node_modules for lifecycle scripts
better scripts allow <package>  # Whitelist a package
better scripts block <package>  # Blacklist a package

Policy stored in .better-scripts.json — configure trusted scopes, allowed/blocked packages, and permitted script types.

Policy Engine

Automated dependency health scoring with configurable rules:

better policy check             # Run rules → score 0-100
better policy init              # Generate .betterrc.json with defaults

Rule	Default	Severity
no-deprecated	enabled	warning (-5)
max-duplicates	3 instances	warning (-5)
max-depth	15 levels	warning (-5)

Fails CI if score < threshold (default: 70). Supports waivers per-package.

Lock Fingerprint

Deterministic lockfile verification for CI:

better lock generate            # Hash lockfile + platform → better.lock.json
better lock verify              # Verify nothing changed (exit 1 on drift)

Cache key = SHA-256(lockfile_hash + platform + arch + node_major).

Workspace Support

Monorepo-native with topological ordering:

better workspace list           # List packages with inter-dependencies
better workspace graph          # Topological sort + parallelizable levels
better workspace changed --since HEAD~1  # Git-aware change detection
better workspace run "npm test" # Execute in dependency order

Reads package.json#workspaces globs. Uses Kahn's algorithm with cycle detection.

SBOM Export

Software Bill of Materials for supply chain compliance:

better sbom                     # CycloneDX 1.5 JSON (default)
better sbom --format spdx       # SPDX 2.3 JSON

Includes PURL identifiers (pkg:npm/name@version), license data, and integrity hashes.

Private Registry Support

Zero-config .npmrc integration:

# .npmrc
@myorg:registry=https://npm.myorg.com/
//npm.myorg.com/:_authToken=${NPM_TOKEN}

Automatically detected during better install — scoped registries, auth tokens, and NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY env var.

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Developer Tools

better hooks install            # Install git hooks (from package.json#better.hooks)
better exec <script.ts>         # Run TS/JS (tsx > esbuild-runner > swc-node > ts-node > node)
better init                     # Initialize a new project
better init --template react    # Scaffold React + Vite + TypeScript
better init --template next     # Scaffold Next.js + TypeScript
better init --template express  # Scaffold Express + TypeScript

Git Hooks — configure in package.json:

{
  "better": {
    "hooks": {
      "pre-commit": "better-core run lint",
      "pre-push": "better-core run test",
      "commit-msg": "conventional-commit"
    }
  }
}

Aliases

Alias	Expands to
better i	better install
better t	better run test
better x	better exec
better ws	better workspace
better dedup	better dedupe
better bench	better benchmark

All commands output structured JSON for piping and automation.

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Architecture

graph TB
    subgraph "CLI Layer"
        A["bin/better.js<br><sub>Node.js entry</sub>"] --> B["src/cli.js<br><sub>Command router</sub>"]
        B --> C["src/lib/core.js<br><sub>Rust bridge</sub>"]
    end

    subgraph "Rust Core (25 commands)"
        D["main.rs<br><sub>CLI parser + dispatch</sub>"]
        E["lib.rs<br><sub>Core engine</sub>"]
        D --> E
    end

    subgraph "Engine"
        E --> F["Resolve<br><sub>lockfile parser</sub>"]
        E --> G["Fetch<br><sub>parallel downloads</sub>"]
        E --> H["Materialize<br><sub>clonefile/CAS/copy</sub>"]
        E --> I["Analysis<br><sub>license, audit, dedupe</sub>"]
        E --> J["Enterprise<br><sub>policy, SBOM, workspace</sub>"]
    end

    C --> D
    B --> K["JS Engine<br><sub>fallback</sub>"]

    style D fill:#0f0f23,stroke:#00d4aa,color:#fff
    style E fill:#0f0f23,stroke:#00d4aa,color:#fff
    style F fill:#1a1a3e,stroke:#00b4d8,color:#fff
    style G fill:#1a1a3e,stroke:#00b4d8,color:#fff
    style H fill:#1a1a3e,stroke:#00b4d8,color:#fff
    style I fill:#1a1a3e,stroke:#00b4d8,color:#fff
    style J fill:#1a1a3e,stroke:#00b4d8,color:#fff

Loading

crates/
  better-core/              Pure Rust binary
    src/lib.rs               Core library (resolve, fetch, materialize, CAS, bin links,
                             license scan, audit, outdated, doctor, benchmark,
                             scripts policy, workspace, SBOM, lock fingerprint, ...)
    src/main.rs              CLI binary (25 commands + aliases, watch mode, templates)
  better-napi/              Node.js native addon (NAPI bridge)
apps/
  landing/                  Next.js landing page

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Development

# Build Rust core
cd crates && cargo build --release -p better-core

# Run tests
node --test test/better-engine.test.js

# Lint & format
npm run lint
npm run format:check

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_{MIT License}