Darcy Clarke - npm, vlt and the Future of JavaScript Package Management
Jan 13, 2025
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Darcy Clarke, CEO and founder of Vault, shares his extensive experience from npm and GitHub. He dives into the future of JavaScript package management, highlighting the innovative VLT package manager designed to enhance developer efficiency. The conversation explores groundbreaking tools for visualizing dependencies, the necessity of security in package management, and the push for community-driven solutions. Clarke emphasizes how VLT aims to disrupt traditional systems, all while fostering a robust and sustainable ecosystem for developers.
VLT aims to innovate JavaScript package management by creating a streamlined dependency graph and enhancing overall developer experience.
The VSR registry prioritizes security by extracting data from securely signed packages, building trust within the JavaScript ecosystem.
Deep dives
The Value of Operationalizing Open Source
Open source projects often fail to unlock their full potential and value, largely due to a reliance on outdated operating models. Many believe that the true value of open source is being drained, with downstream users re-training models on previously published code and repackaging it for sale. The conversation emphasizes a need for innovation in this space by operationalizing open source in distinctive ways, particularly through runtime and service-based offerings. Such a shift could allow for a new value creation model, benefiting both developers and the ecosystems they rely upon.
Introducing VLT: A New Package Management System
The framework of VLT is designed to address the shortcomings observed in existing package management systems, specifically those tied to legacy infrastructures like NPM. VLT positions itself not merely as another client but as a more responsive solution that offers innovative services to fit contemporary development realities. By implementing its own packages, VLT aims to enhance overall package management while simplifying the interaction with the complexity that encapsulates modern JavaScript runtimes like Node, Deno, and Bun. This approach includes creating a new dependency graph model to facilitate streamlined project navigation and improved user experience.
Enhancing Monorepo Support and Dependency Graphs
VLT places a strong emphasis on supporting monorepos, acknowledging the prevalent use of this architecture in contemporary projects. The system introduces a query language akin to CSS that allows developers to interact easily with their dependency graphs, facilitating tasks such as installation and running scripts. By treating the dependency graph like a Document Object Model (DOM), VLT enhances navigation and interaction within package structures, paving the way for a more intuitive developer experience. This innovative querying syntax is designed to streamline dependency management significantly, thereby reducing the complexity traditionally associated with such tasks.
Security and VSR: A Focus on Robust Architecture
In the context of VLT, security is viewed primarily through the lens of its registry service, VSR, which strives for a strong and secure foundation. VSR is positioned as a fair source registry that developers can trust, designed to avoid common pitfalls associated with existing enterprise solutions. By extracting manifest data directly from securely signed packages, VSR seeks to mitigate risks related to malicious code and dependency vulnerabilities. This aspiration for enhanced security is coupled with comprehensive tracking of authorities and contributors, therefore solidifying the trust model that this new architecture intends to establish in the JavaScript ecosystem.
This week we talk to Darcy Clarke, formerly at npm and now at the helm of VSR, a new package manager. VLT aims to be the package manager we all want in the JS ecosystem, while at the same time disrupting the npm registry. See what they're cooking up for the future of JavaScript package management.