npmx package browser released as alpha to fix pain of using npmjs

The npmx package browser for the npm registry has been released in alpha, following a groundswell of support for this alternative to the official npmjs browser.

The open source project was started by Daniel Roe, who leads the Nuxt project team at Vercel, with the first code published in late January. Roe also started a thread on Bluesky, about frustrations with npmjs, to which the responses indicated a high level of dissatisfaction.

Many complaints focused on the publishing process – a user commented that "I've published one package to npm and no other experience in tech has made me feel more scared and stupid" – but since npmx is only an alternative browser for the existing npmjs registry, it does not address this.

Other comments though are in scope. For example, npmjs has a code tab (marked beta) that allows browsing the package code, but it does not support browser history so the back button does not work as expected.

Other issues mentioned were no dark mode; stars awarded by users not displayed anywhere; poor display of dependencies; lack of information on TypeScript and ESM (EcmaScript module) support; link to GitHub source not supporting directories within a repository, and more.

Roe revealed that he was building an alternative browser, using Nuxt, and this is what has now reached alpha. "npmx is about speed and simplicity" said the introductory post, co-authored by Roe, software engineer Salma Alam-Naylor, and Vite core team member Matias Capeletto. "It gives you useful data like install size, module format and outdated dependencies … we're also building social features into npmx because open source is better when it's easier to connect with the people behind the packages."

According to the post, the project attracted 1000 issues and contributions within two weeks of its publication on GitHub.

The npm (node package manager) registry is the largest in the world thanks to the popularity of JavaScript and TypeScript development. Originally operated by a separate company, npm was acquired by Microsoft-owned GitHub in March 2020. Since then GitHub has focused its efforts on countering malware in the registry, and introduced mandatory security requirements, though with added friction and complexity for package publishers.

The npmx Alpha launch is backed by hosting company Netlify, whose CEO Mathias Biilmann said that the company is sponsoring the project which should "massively improve the discovery and management of JavaScript and TypeScript packages."

Another sponsor is Bluesky. Bluesky developed the AT Protocol (Atproto), a protocol for open social networking using JSON (JavaScript object notation) records. The npmx project is using Atproto, prompting a post from the Atproto team declaring a $6000 grant and expressing hope that the project will boost adoption.

The unanswered question: why has the official GitHub-owned npmjs browser been allowed to slip so far behind that a quick open source start-up can so easily improve on it?