# Package manager

Concept · [Technical basics](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/technical)

Also called: package managers, dependency manager, packages, dependencies

A tool that downloads and updates the pieces of shared code, called packages, that a project depends on. It keeps a list so every [developer](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/software-engineer) installs the same versions.

**For example:** A new [developer](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/software-engineer) runs one package manager command and gets every library the project needs.

## Connects to (6)

- [Code](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/code): Exact written instructions that tell a computer what to do, step by step.
- [Open source](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/open-source): Software whose code is published for anyone to read, use and build on, under a license that sets the rules for doing so.
- [npm](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/npm): The standard package manager for JavaScript, and the public registry that holds millions of shared JavaScript packages.
- [pnpm](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/pnpm): A JavaScript package manager that works like npm but saves disk space and installs faster by sharing packages between projects.
- [Repository](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/repository): The folder where a project's code lives, together with the full history of every change made to it.
- [npx](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/npx): A command that comes with npm and runs a JavaScript package's tool without installing it permanently first.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/package-manager