I’ve been experimenting with different package managers lately and I’m confused about which initialization command to use. When I run npm init, it walks me through all the setup questions and lets me configure everything step by step. But when I try pnpm init, it just creates a basic package.json file without asking me anything.
One thing I noticed is that pnpm init doesn’t automatically add the “type” field to the package.json file. Does this actually matter for my project? I’m asking because even without that field, I can still use both import statements and require() calls in the same codebase without any issues.
Should I stick with the traditional npm init approach, or is it safe to use pnpm init for starting new projects? What are the practical differences I should know about?
i kinda feel the same way. npm init’s slower, but that step-by-step helps to avoid those nasty issues later on. pnpm init’s great for quick tests, but when you forget the ‘type’ field, things can get messy in production. better safe than sorry, right?
I stick with pnpm init for most stuff - it’s just faster. npm init’s interactive prompts get annoying when you’re spinning up multiple projects or testing different ideas. You can always throw in description and keywords later once the project actually goes somewhere.
About that type field issue - yeah, it matters when you start mixing ES modules and CommonJS in bigger codebases. Your setup might work now, but you’ll hit module resolution headaches once you add build tools or try publishing packages. I’ve watched devs waste hours on import/export bugs that proper type declaration would’ve prevented.
My workflow: pnpm init, then manually add the type field and whatever config I need. Gets me pnpm’s speed while keeping modules set up right. Most modern projects need explicit type declaration anyway, especially if you’re planning TypeScript or modern bundlers later.
Both do the same thing but handle the developer experience differently. npm init’s interactive setup is actually useful for real projects - it makes you think about description, keywords, and license upfront. I’ve found this saves headaches later when publishing or working with teams. About pnpm init missing the type field - your code won’t break right away, but you’ll hit weird issues later. Without “type”: “module” or “type”: “commonjs”, Node.js assumes CommonJS, which might not match how you’re actually using imports/exports. Mixed syntax works fine in development but breaks during bundling or deployment. I use pnpm init for quick prototypes when I just need a basic package.json. For production stuff, I stick with npm init even if I’m using pnpm for packages later. You can always run npm init first, then switch to pnpm for installing dependencies.