devtools.fm: Developer Tools, Open Source, Software Development Zoltan Kochan - PNPM and the Future of Package Management
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Sep 21, 2025 Zoltan Kochan, the lead maintainer of PNPM, shares insights into his journey creating a groundbreaking JavaScript package manager. He dives into PNPM's unique architecture, highlighting symlinked layouts and a content-addressable store. The discussion explores how PNPM enhances developer experience by integrating patch tooling and prioritizing security. Zoltan also addresses compatibility challenges and outlines his vision for the future, including ambitions to support more runtimes and optimize CI processes.
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Discovery Through Painful Monorepo Performance
- Zoltan found pnpm while struggling with slow installs and disk pressure at JustAnswer's large monorepo.
- Switching to pnpm cut a 30-minute install to about two minutes and inspired him to contribute full-time.
From Contributor To Maintainer Amid Yarn's Rise
- Zoltan started fixing pnpm as a contributor and got full project privileges after three months.
- He feared Yarn's rapid rise but kept improving pnpm because of its superior speed and different layout.
Peer Dependencies Require Graph Hashing
- Peer dependencies create recursive graph complexity that requires hashing dependency graphs to avoid duplication.
- pnpm solved this by building and hashing peer dependency graphs to produce deterministic directories inside .pnpm.