Managing Packages with Bun

📦 Introduction

In the evolving world of JavaScript runtimes, Bun is quickly becoming a go-to tool for developers looking for speed, simplicity, and efficiency. One of its standout features is how it handles package management.

Whether you're working on a personal project or a large-scale monorepo, managing packages with Bun is refreshingly fast and intuitive.

⚡ Why Bun for Package Management?

Bun isn’t just a runtime—it comes bundled with a native package manager that outpaces traditional tools like npm and yarn.

Here’s what makes it shine:

• Ultra-fast dependency installation
• Zero-config setup
• Built-in support for monorepos
• Lightweight binary lockfile (bun.lockb)

🔧 Installing Packages

To install packages in Bun, you use the bun add command. It works just like npm install but executes significantly faster.

# Install a single package
bun add axios

# Install multiple packages
bun add express cors dotenv

Bun will automatically update your package.json and generate the bun.lockb lockfile for consistent installs.

🧹 Removing Packages

Cleaning up unused dependencies is simple with bun remove.

# Remove a package
bun remove axios

This removes the package from your project and cleans up all references in the lockfile.

📁 Understanding the bun.lockb File

Bun uses a unique binary lockfile named bun.lockb instead of package-lock.json or yarn.lock. It’s optimized for speed and size, ensuring:

• Deterministic builds
• Quick dependency resolution
• Smaller file footprint

Although it's a binary file and not human-readable, it's safe to version control and essential for reproducibility.

🔄 Updating Dependencies

As of now, Bun doesn't have a dedicated update command like npm update, but you can reinstall packages or manually change versions in your package.json and run:

# Reinstall dependencies
bun install

🛠️ Managing Dev Dependencies

You can mark packages as development-only using the --dev flag:

# Add a package as a dev dependency
bun add typescript --dev

This helps separate runtime and build-time dependencies, keeping your production builds lean.

📂 Working with Local Packages

Bun supports referencing local packages in a monorepo setup or shared components structure.

You can use relative paths in package.json:

"dependencies": {
  "my-shared-utils": "file:../shared/utils"
}

Bun links the local module automatically during installation.

📜 Managing Scripts

Bun allows you to define and run custom scripts from your package.json, just like npm:

"scripts": {
  "start": "bun run index.ts",
  "test": "bun test"
}

To execute a script, simply run:

bun run start

📌 Best Practices for Managing Packages

• Commit your bun.lockb file to version control for consistent environments.
• Use --dev wisely to separate build-time dependencies.
• Keep your package.json clean by removing unused packages.
• Group related packages and install them in bulk for better organization.

✅ Final Thoughts

Managing packages with Bun is not just faster—it's smarter. With minimal commands, binary-optimized lockfiles, and first-class monorepo support, Bun is redefining what a modern JavaScript toolchain should look like.

If you’re tired of waiting for npm install to finish, give Bun a try and experience a truly optimized developer workflow.