n VS HomeBrew

Compare n vs HomeBrew and see what are their differences.

n

Node version management (by tj)

HomeBrew

🍺 The missing package manager for macOS (or Linux) (by Homebrew)
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n HomeBrew
50 1278
18,433 38,997
- 1.6%
6.5 10.0
about 1 month ago 7 days ago
Shell Ruby
MIT License BSD 2-clause "Simplified" License
The number of mentions indicates the total number of mentions that we've tracked plus the number of user suggested alternatives.
Stars - the number of stars that a project has on GitHub. Growth - month over month growth in stars.
Activity is a relative number indicating how actively a project is being developed. Recent commits have higher weight than older ones.
For example, an activity of 9.0 indicates that a project is amongst the top 10% of the most actively developed projects that we are tracking.

n

Posts with mentions or reviews of n. We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives and similar projects. The last one was on 2023-07-12.
  • Looks like npm is installed but does not work.
    2 projects | /r/archlinux | 12 Jul 2023
    use n or nvm to manage installed node/npm versions.
  • How To manage Different Versions of Node in Your system
    2 projects | dev.to | 28 Apr 2023
    1 - n is a tool that allows you to easily switch between different versions of Node.js. Follow the official guide in case this does not work for you due to an update or need a command not highlighted below. Here's how you can use n to switch between Node.js versions:
  • Nvm or homebrew for Node install
    5 projects | /r/webdev | 11 Apr 2023
    Listing people's recommendations with links below. I'm glad I asked this question. I received a lot of good recommendations. Thanks All! * nvm (https://nvm.sh) - Simple to use and easy to follow instructions with more in-depth configuration for those that need it. Some experienced a slightly slower terminal. Supports nodjs, iojs, and node version per project/directory. * fnm (https://github.com/Schniz/fnm) - Built with speed in mind. It is like nvm, but faster. Also supports node version per project/directory. * Volta (https://volta.sh/) - Looks easy to use and has good documentation. * asdf (https://asdf-vm.com/) - Supports multiple runtimes and tools by adding plugins. Admittedly, is a bit confusing and more than I need right now (Node, Rust, Python, Ruby, etc.) * Homebrew (https://brew.sh/) - Not a version manager but can act like one by installing nvm, fnm, asdf, or others. Some additional configuration may be needed. * Proto (https://moonrepo.dev/proto) - Supports Bun, Deno, Node.js (npm, pnpm, yarn), Rust, and Go. Also good documentation. Setup looks a bit complex to me :/. * n (https://github.com/tj/n) - Supports Node and npm per project. Simple and to the point.
  • Flatpaks 🥰
    3 projects | /r/linuxmemes | 21 Dec 2022
    I used n. It was pretty good. I still hated every time I had to change versions and the idea of making dockers for this came with a friend. Thankfully, I don't have that.project anymore
  • Linux: Best way to install node & npm
    4 projects | /r/node | 8 Dec 2022
    https://github.com/tj/n to install node and manage versions
  • What do use to manage your nodejs installation?
    2 projects | /r/reactjs | 29 Nov 2022
    N package since I found it out. Happy for both local pc and servers.
  • Show HN: Nuño's Stupid Node Version Manager
    2 projects | news.ycombinator.com | 17 Nov 2022
    Nice work, and good on you for taking matters into your own hands.

    I did the same thing as you a few years ago, and then shortly afterwards discovered n [0], which really ought to be the go-to for managing multiple versions of Node.js in my opinion.

    0: https://github.com/tj/n

  • Language Version Managers - the Developer Parachutes
    10 projects | dev.to | 29 Sep 2022
    In the Node world, there are a few options like NVM, N, FNM, Volta, and more. I've been a longtime user of NVM, so we'll detail those instructions for use here:
  • 3 Useful Node.js Version Managers
    5 projects | dev.to | 7 Aug 2022
    Simple as that! ## 2. n ⭐ *Github stars: 16.7K+* [n](https://github.com/tj/n) is an interactive Node.js version manager: no subshells, no profile setup, no convoluted API, just simple. ![](https://images.pingan8787.com/images/20220807/image3.gif) `n` is supported on macOS, Linux, including with Windows Subsystem for Linux, and various other unix-like systems. It is written as a BASH script but does not require you to use BASH as your command shell. ### Installation If you already have Node.js installed, an easy way to install `n` is using npm:
  • fnm: Fast and simple Node.js version manager, built in Rust
    3 projects | /r/node | 24 Jul 2022
    What's the benefit over something more established, like https://www.npmjs.com/package/n ?

HomeBrew

Posts with mentions or reviews of HomeBrew. We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives and similar projects. The last one was on 2024-03-27.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing n and HomeBrew you can also consider the following projects:

spack - A flexible package manager that supports multiple versions, configurations, platforms, and compilers.

asdf - Extendable version manager with support for Ruby, Node.js, Elixir, Erlang & more

Visual Studio Code - Visual Studio Code

nvm for Windows - A node.js version management utility for Windows. Ironically written in Go.

winget-cli - WinGet is the Windows Package Manager. This project includes a CLI (Command Line Interface), PowerShell modules, and a COM (Component Object Model) API (Application Programming Interface).

osxfuse - FUSE extends macOS by adding support for user space file systems

Chocolatey - Chocolatey - the package manager for Windows

fnm - 🚀 Fast and simple Node.js version manager, built in Rust

nodenv - Manage multiple NodeJS versions.

Docker-OSX - Run macOS VM in a Docker! Run near native OSX-KVM in Docker! X11 Forwarding! CI/CD for OS X Security Research! Docker mac Containers.

ohmyzsh - 🙃 A delightful community-driven (with 2,200+ contributors) framework for managing your zsh configuration. Includes 300+ optional plugins (rails, git, macOS, hub, docker, homebrew, node, php, python, etc), 140+ themes to spice up your morning, and an auto-update tool so that makes it easy to keep up with the latest updates from the community.

volta - Volta: JS Toolchains as Code. ⚡