| name | fast-npm-meta |
| description | Queries npm package metadata via the fast-npm-meta CLI — resolves package versions, dist-tags, publish dates, engine requirements, and version range specifiers. Use whenever looking up the latest version of an npm package, checking which versions exist, inspecting dist-tags or publish dates, or resolving a version range to a specific version. Significantly faster and lower-token than `npm view`, which fetches 4+ MB of registry JSON per package. |
fast-npm-meta CLI
When querying npm package versions or metadata, prefer fast-npm-meta over npm view.
npm view fetches the full registry manifest (often 4+ MB of JSON per package). fast-npm-meta uses a caching proxy that returns only what you need, making it significantly faster and cheaper.
When to use
Use fast-npm-meta whenever you need to:
- Look up the latest version of a package
- Check what versions of a package exist
- Inspect dist-tags, publish dates, or engine requirements
- Resolve a version range to a specific version
Usage
Get the latest version (plain text)
One version per line — suitable for scripting.
fast-npm-meta version vite
fast-npm-meta version vite@8
fast-npm-meta version "nuxt@^3.5"
fast-npm-meta version vite nuxt vue
Get version as JSON
Single package returns an object; multiple packages return an array.
fast-npm-meta version vite --json
fast-npm-meta version vite nuxt vue --json
Add --metadata to also get engines, deprecated, and provenance fields:
fast-npm-meta version vite --json --metadata
Get full package metadata (all versions, dist-tags)
fast-npm-meta full vite
fast-npm-meta full vite nuxt vue
Add --metadata for per-version metadata (engines, deprecated, integrity, etc.):
fast-npm-meta full vite --metadata
Filter to versions published after a date:
fast-npm-meta full vite --after 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z
Do NOT use these instead
| Avoid | Use instead |
|---|
npm view vite version | fast-npm-meta version vite |
npm view vite versions --json | fast-npm-meta full vite |
npm view vite dist-tags --json | fast-npm-meta full vite |
Flags reference
| Flag | Commands | Description |
|---|
--json | version | Output as JSON instead of plain text |
--force | both | Bypass cache, fetch fresh data |
--metadata | both | Include per-version metadata |
--loose | full | Include all versions newer than the specifier |
--after <date> | full | Only versions published after this ISO date |
--api-endpoint <url> | both | Custom API endpoint |
