Package Management with PNPM

In ZenAdmin’s development ecosystem, package management is a critical aspect of maintaining efficient and reliable workflows. We have chosen PNPM as our primary tool for package management across all our repositories.

The Importance of Package Management

Effective package management is key to:

Consistency: Ensuring that all developers work with the same set of dependencies.
Efficiency: Streamlining the installation and updating of packages, saving time and reducing errors.
Security: Keeping dependencies secure and up-to-date, mitigating vulnerabilities.

Why Choose PNPM Over NPM?

While NPM is widely used, PNPM offers several advantages that make it more suitable for our needs:

Efficient Storage

Disk Space Saving: PNPM uses a content-addressable filesystem to store all files. It keeps a single copy of each version of a module and a symlink to it. This approach significantly reduces storage space.

Improved Performance

Faster Installation: PNPM is known for its speed. It performs faster installations as compared to NPM, especially in larger projects with many dependencies.

Enhanced Security

Strict Dependency Handling: PNPM creates a non-flat node_modules, which prevents access to packages that are not declared in package.json. This adds an extra layer of security and reliability.

Better Linking Strategy

Workspace Support: PNPM’s powerful linking strategy works excellently with monorepos and helps in managing interdependencies effectively.

Integrating PNPM in Our Workflows

Installation: To start using PNPM, it needs to be installed globally on your machine.
Terminal window
```
npm install -g pnpm
```
Using in Projects: Replace npm or yarn commands with pnpm in your daily workflow.
Terminal window
```
# Instead of npm install or yarn install
pnpm install
```
Handling Workspaces: Use PNPM’s workspace features to manage monorepos or multiple related projects.

General Practices

Regular Updates: Keep your PNPM version updated to leverage the latest features and improvements.
Version Control: Use pnpm-lock.yaml to lock dependencies, ensuring consistency across environments.
Audit and Update Dependencies: Regularly audit and update dependencies to maintain security and efficiency.