This page provides a markdown list of native Node.js features and their better alternatives. You can also refer to the README.md file for a table of various JavaScript libraries organized by category. Pull Requests are open, please feel free to add other useful alternatives here.
Currently, this page only includes Node.js features, but in the future, it will also list libraries with potential replacements. You can bookmark this page for easy access or click the arrow next to the star icon to add the repository to your GitHub collection.
| Node.js Feature / Library | Suggested Alternative | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Fetch API | ofetch | Better fetch API. Works on Node, browser, and workers. Provides improved type safety, error handling, and more. |
| Axios | Popular HTTP client with automatic JSON handling, request/response interception, and other convenient features. | |
| File System (fs) | fs-extra | Extension of Node’s native fs module, adding methods like copy, move, remove, and JSON file handling. |
| fse-cli | CLI tool for managing file systems with features like file copying, moving, and manipulation. | |
| Bun File IO | High-performance file operations through Bun’s File API, offering speed and efficiency improvements over Node’s fs. |
|
| Path Utilities (path) | pathe | Drop-in replacement of the Node.js path module, ensuring normalized slashes for cross-platform compatibility. |
| upath | Cross-platform path utilities that automatically adjust to the correct slash based on OS, ideal for Windows support. |
|
| path-to-regexp | Utility for converting paths to regex patterns, useful for routing and matching paths with dynamic segments. | |
| HTTP Server (http) | Fastify | Lightweight, high-performance web framework optimized for speed with JSON-based routes. |
| Koa | Minimalist and expressive HTTP server framework for building APIs with async/await. | |
| Express | Widely used web framework that simplifies routing, middleware, and server management. | |
| Streams (stream) | streamx | Modern alternative to Node’s stream API with high performance and low memory footprint. |
| Readable-stream | Provides a consistent streaming API across versions of Node.js with better cross-version compatibility. | |
| Timers (setTimeout, setInterval) | @reactivex/rxjs | Reactive extensions for building complex, observable-based streams that can handle time-based operations. |
| Buffer | buffer | Full-featured, cross-platform replacement for Node’s Buffer module, compatible with browser environments. |
| URL Parsing (url) | URL Pattern | Modern URL matching API for complex URL parsing and matching needs. |
| qs | Query string parser that supports nested objects and rich data structures for URL query parsing. | |
| Process Environment (process.env) | dotenv | Loads environment variables from a .env file, providing security and configurability for development and production. |
| Crypto (crypto) | crypto-js | Secure cryptographic functions for JavaScript, compatible across Node and browser environments. |
| bcrypt | Enhanced library for hashing passwords with salting, widely used for secure password storage. | |
| Child Processes (child_process) | execa | Higher-level interface for executing child processes, with improved output handling and error reporting. |
| Event Emitter (events) | mitt | Tiny, functional event emitter library for quick, lightweight event handling in Node and browser environments. |
| File Watcher (fs.watch) | chokidar | Efficient file watcher library with recursive watching and native support for cross-platform compatibility. |
| Zlib (zlib) | pako | High-performance zlib alternative, often faster and compatible with browsers. |
| compressing | Compression utility that provides gzip, deflate, and tar compression with better error handling and API design. | |
| Process Manager | pm2 | Advanced process manager for Node.js applications, with clustering, monitoring, and restart on crash capabilities. |
| Testing (assert) | Chai | Assertion library for Node and browser, providing BDD/TDD styles for testing. |
| Jest | Full-featured testing framework with built-in assertion library, mocking, and easy setup. | |
| Worker Threads (worker_threads) | Piscina | High-performance thread pool implementation with optimized handling of concurrent workloads. |
| CLI Parsing (process.argv) | yargs | Feature-rich command-line parser that simplifies argument parsing, validation, and subcommands. |
| commander | Minimalist command-line argument parser with built-in support for options, flags, and commands. | |
| Logging (e.g. console.log) | consola | Elegant Console Wrapper. Easy to use. Fancy output with fallback. Interactive prompt. And more. |
| Winston | Comprehensive logging library with support for different log levels, transports, and formats. | |
| pino | Fast, lightweight logging library with JSON support and extensive configuration options. | |
| URL and Query String Parsing | urlcat | Concatenate URL paths and query parameters safely and easily. |
| qs | A query string parser with rich support for nested data structures and full customization. | |
| Timers and Scheduling | node-cron | Task scheduling for periodic jobs using cron syntax, ideal for Node.js applications. |
| WebSocket Server | Socket.IO | WebSocket library that simplifies real-time communication with built-in support for rooms, namespaces, and more. |
| ws | Lightweight WebSocket library for high-performance, low-level WebSocket management. |