npm-gui-next

npm-gui-next is the resurrection of the original npm-gui project after roughly three years of inactivity. It keeps the original idea intact, then modernizes the stack, restores maintenance, and continues development as a fork maintained by Apostol Apostolov.

npm-gui-next is a desktop-local web UI for managing JavaScript dependencies in real projects. It can inspect, install, remove, reinstall, and update packages using the package manager already used by the project: npm, pnpm, yarn, or bun.

Repository: https://github.com/apoapostolov/npm-gui-next Package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/npm-gui-next

What It Does

• Opens a local web UI for the current project
• Detects and manages local project dependencies
• Supports global package view
• Shows installed, wanted, latest, score, size, and package metadata
• Updates packages one by one with visible progress
• Works with npm, pnpm, yarn, and bun

Quick Start

Run the latest published version without a permanent install:

npx npm-gui-next@latest

Or install it globally:

npm install -g npm-gui-next
npm-gui-next

By default the app starts a local server and opens the UI in your browser.

Requirements

• Node.js 20+
• npm 10+ recommended
• One of:
  • bun
  • npm
  • pnpm
  • yarn

For best results, run the tool on the native filesystem of the operating system you are using. On Windows, prefer a normal Windows path instead of a WSL /mnt/c/... path.

Install And Run

Linux

Install Node.js 20+ first. On Debian/Ubuntu, using NodeSource is a straightforward option:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Then run:

npx npm-gui-next@latest

Or:

sudo npm install -g npm-gui-next
npm-gui-next

macOS

Install Node.js 20+ with Homebrew:

brew install node

Then run:

npx npm-gui-next@latest

Or:

npm install -g npm-gui-next
npm-gui-next

Windows

Install Node.js 20+ from the official installer or with winget:

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

Then run from PowerShell or Windows Terminal:

npx npm-gui-next@latest

Or:

npm install -g npm-gui-next
npm-gui-next

For Windows, prefer a native path such as:

C:\work\npm-gui-next

instead of a WSL-mounted path.

Run From Source

Clone the repository and install dependencies:

npm install

Run the API server:

npm run dev:server

Run the client in another terminal:

npm run dev:client

Current development ports in this fork:

• API server: http://localhost:3002
• Client UI: http://localhost:1234

Open the UI in the browser at:

http://localhost:1234

Run As A Linux Service

For unattended local hosting on Linux, use systemd.

1. Install npm-gui-next globally:

sudo npm install -g npm-gui-next

2. Find the binary path:

which npm-gui-next

3. Create /etc/systemd/system/npm-gui-next.service:

[Unit]
Description=npm-gui-next
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=youruser
WorkingDirectory=/home/youruser
ExecStart=/usr/bin/env npm-gui-next
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=3
Environment=NODE_ENV=production

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

4. Enable and start it:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable npm-gui-next
sudo systemctl start npm-gui-next

5. Check status:

systemctl status npm-gui-next
journalctl -u npm-gui-next -f

If you want it bound to a specific working directory, set WorkingDirectory accordingly.

Run As A Windows Service With NSSM

For unattended Windows use, nssm is the practical option.

1. Install npm-gui-next globally:

npm install -g npm-gui-next

2. Install NSSM:

winget install NSSM.NSSM

3. Find the executable path:

where npm-gui-next

4. Create the service:

nssm install npm-gui-next

Then configure:

• Path: the full path returned by where npm-gui-next
• Startup directory: the directory you want the tool to open from
• Arguments: leave empty unless you have a specific startup target

5. Start the service:

nssm start npm-gui-next

6. Inspect it:

nssm status npm-gui-next

To remove it later:

nssm stop npm-gui-next
nssm remove npm-gui-next confirm

Operational Notes

• Use native Windows paths on Windows.
• Use a real project directory containing package.json.
• yarn support requires yarn.lock in the project.
• Global package management depends on the package manager being installed and available on PATH.

Project Status

This fork is actively maintained and is intended to continue the original project rather than merely mirror it. The current work includes UI fixes, modern dependency updates, dark mode support, and improved package update workflows.

Authors

• Original project: q-nick
• Resurrection and maintenance: Apostol Apostolov

Development Docs

Internal maintainer documentation lives in:

• dev/README.md

License

MIT