docs: add Deno to the package manager tabs by bartlomieju · Pull Request #2395 · expressjs/expressjs.com

bartlomieju · 2026-06-18T09:43:09Z

👋 Bartek from the Deno team here.

This adds Deno as a fifth option to the <PackageManagerCommand> tabs, alongside npm / yarn / pnpm / bun. Since the equivalents are derived at build time from the authored npm command (via convertPackageManagerCommand), Deno now appears on every install snippet across the site and in every language, with no per-page changes.

Mappings added (Deno is a drop-in package manager for the npm ecosystem):

npm install <pkg> → deno add <pkg> (e.g. deno add express)
npm install (no packages) → deno install
npm uninstall <pkg> → deno remove <pkg>
npm init → deno init
npm create <starter> → deno create --npm <starter>
npm run <script> → deno task <script>
npm exec <pkg> / npx <pkg> → deno x <pkg>

Following the existing pattern, commands with no clean Deno equivalent return null, so the Deno tab is simply omitted there (e.g. npm install <pkg> --no-save, global installs).

I verified locally with astro dev: the install page renders a Deno tab showing deno add express (and deno init for npm init), the --no-save snippet correctly omits Deno, and prettier --check passes. Every Deno command was checked against the Deno 2.8 CLI.

Two files changed: the converter (src/utils/package-manager.ts) and the MANAGERS list in the component's tab-switching script.

Totally fine to close this if you'd prefer not to add another tab. Happy to adjust any of the mappings.

Disclosure: I work on Deno, so I have an interest here. The goal is parity with the package managers you already list, not promotion. This PR was prepared with AI assistance under human supervision: I review every change myself and personally respond to any comments or review feedback.

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- npx <pkg> -> deno x <pkg> (was deno run -A npm:<pkg>) - npm create <starter> -> deno create --npm <starter> (was omitted)

krzysdz · 2026-06-18T10:58:19Z

+        // Deno adds to deno.json/package.json; it has no `--no-save`, and global
+        // tool installs use a different verb (`deno install -g`), so skip those.
+        deno: hasNoSave || isGlobal ? null : join('deno add', isDev && '--dev', pkgs, extras),


If deno has no --no-save then why do you return true instead of null (like you wrote in the description)¹? For consistency it would be better to change this to chained ternary operators to match the structure used for other package managers (it would also fix the problem described in the previous sentence).

According to your docs deno add is an alias to deno install - using deno install would allow you to use this way of "assembling" the command using join to include global installs. And nothing prevents you from using deno install when isGlobal is true and deno add when it's false.

Footnotes

LLMs generating code frequently write one thing in description and something completely else in code. ↩

Thanks for the review, I did another pass on this one and corrected the mistake here and in deno x invocation. I also removed the comment here since it's not really needed.

- Use chained ternary like pnpm/bun; global installs -> deno install -g <pkg> (deno add is an alias of deno install), instead of returning null - Drop the unnecessary exec ? ... : null conditional on the deno x mapping

krzysdz · 2026-06-18T14:49:36Z

        yarn: isGlobal ? join('yarn global remove', pkgs) : join('yarn remove', pkgs),
        pnpm: join('pnpm remove', isGlobal && '--global', pkgs),
        bun: join('bun remove', isGlobal && '--global', pkgs),
+        deno: isGlobal ? null : join('deno remove', pkgs),


I'm pretty sure that Deno allows uninstalling packages installed globally.

BTW Deno docs say that add is an alias of install and remove is an alias of uninstall, but aliases usually accept the same parameters.

Thanks for the catch, actually it looks like deno remove doesn't accept --global. I'll fix it for Deno v2.9 and can open a follow up PR once it lands if that works for you.

Good catch, thanks! Fixed — global removals now map to deno uninstall --global <pkg> (mirroring the yarn global remove branch) instead of being dropped. You're right that remove/uninstall are aliases, but only uninstall takes --global, so I used that for the global case.

bjohansebas

Does Deno now actually install the package into node_modules so it can be executed with Node? I'm asking because Bun does, and that's why it's listed there. I wasn't sure about Deno because I didn't know whether it does that now, and officially Express doesn't support it (even though we all know it runs fine).

bartlomieju · 2026-06-18T15:42:52Z

Does Deno now actually install the package into node_modules so it can be executed with Node? I'm asking because Bun does, and that's why it's listed there. I wasn't sure about Deno because I didn't know whether it does that now, and officially Express doesn't support it (even though we all know it runs fine).

@bjohansebas yes! You can use deno as a standalone package manager, it can set up node_modules/ that is compatible with npm output, it's pretty fast too: https://deno.com/blog/v2.8#deno-now-defaults-to-npm.

krzysdz · 2026-06-18T15:48:16Z

it can set up node_modules/ that is compatible with npm output

If I'm reading this correctly it can, but doesn't by default:

By default, Deno instead resolves npm packages from a central global cache and does not create a node_modules directory.

https://docs.deno.com/runtime/fundamentals/node/#control-node_modules

bartlomieju · 2026-06-18T16:04:08Z

it can set up node_modules/ that is compatible with npm output

If I'm reading this correctly it can, but doesn't by default:

By default, Deno instead resolves npm packages from a central global cache and does not create a node_modules directory.

https://docs.deno.com/runtime/fundamentals/node/#control-node_modules

Yes I wasn't precise. Currently node_modules/ is set up automatically if you have package.json (which Deno understands and can add it), or if you use deno.json for dependencies then you need nodeModulesDir: "auto" (or "manual"). These options are just causing confusion and will be phased out in Deno 3 to always create node_modules/ by default.

bjohansebas

LGTM. An Express project naturally has a package.json, and if that automatically installs node_modules and can be run with Node, I'm more than happy with that.

I'll wait a bit to see if @expressjs/express-tc @expressjs/docs-wg has any thoughts on this, because right now I feel like I probably shouldn't have added Bun in the first place. That said, Bun is also a package manager, which is why I added it, and Deno is a package manager as well, so I feel comfortable adding it too.

krzysdz · 2026-06-24T14:17:59Z

An Express project naturally has a package.json, and if that automatically installs node_modules and can be run with Node, I'm more than happy with that.

If someone uses deno init to initialise a project, then there will be no package.json, so no node_modules/ and the project won't be able to run with Node. I don't see any option in deno init docs that would create package.json instead of/in addition to deno.json.

It works as a package manager only in already existing projects and can't be used to initialise one.

bartlomieju · 2026-06-25T08:03:12Z

Good distinction. The Deno tab here is the equivalent of the npm install express step, not npm init — and in a project that has a package.json (which any Express app does), deno install express writes to package.json and produces an npm-compatible node_modules/, so node app.js runs exactly like the npm/yarn/pnpm/bun tabs. You're right that deno init scaffolds a Deno-native project instead, but that's the init step, which this tab doesn't replace. Happy to add a one-line note that Deno users in a fresh dir should start from a package.json (or just deno run it) if you think that's clearer.

docs: add Deno to the package manager tabs

185e83a

bartlomieju requested a review from a team as a code owner June 18, 2026 09:43

Use deno x and deno create --npm for exec/create mappings

4c753ee

- npx <pkg> -> deno x <pkg> (was deno run -A npm:<pkg>) - npm create <starter> -> deno create --npm <starter> (was omitted)

krzysdz suggested changes Jun 18, 2026

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bartlomieju added 2 commits June 18, 2026 13:06

Address review: deno install -g for global, simplify npx mapping

70945e5

- Use chained ternary like pnpm/bun; global installs -> deno install -g <pkg> (deno add is an alias of deno install), instead of returning null - Drop the unnecessary exec ? ... : null conditional on the deno x mapping

Drop comment on deno install case for consistency with other managers

aa20426

krzysdz suggested changes Jun 18, 2026

View reviewed changes

bjohansebas requested changes Jun 18, 2026

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Address review: map global uninstall to deno uninstall --global

5a60f34

Use deno uninstall for removals (handles --global)

6d9e576

bartlomieju mentioned this pull request Jun 18, 2026

feat(cli): deno remove --global as alias for deno uninstall --global denoland/deno#35327

Merged

bjohansebas approved these changes Jun 21, 2026

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Merge branch 'main' into add-deno-package-manager

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