# Using other package managers with node has become a whole lot easier

If you still are not aware, node v16.9.0 and v14.19.0 was launched with corepack https://nodejs.org/api/corepack.html. A developer can use Corepack to define alternative package managers like `yarn` and `pnpm`.
Node will then automatically get the required version of the package manger.

> Corepack can also be installed as a global package on earlier node versions.

## Benefits
Using package managers this way has two main benefits
1. Easily synchronize package manager and their versions amongst developers. Though yarn 2+ solves this issue in its own way.
2. No install step required for the package managers.

## Enable
It's much easier to understand with an example.

On a machine with node installed
```sh
corepack enable
```
**and that is it!**. Now the required package manger will be available when executed.

> If corepack is not found in your system, then you can install it as a global package
```sh
npm i -g corepack
```

## Use
For example, now to create a new project with yarn, in a folder just execute
```sh
yarn init -2
```

Similarly you are free to use `pnpm` https://pnpm.io/ as well.

## Update package.json
A new field in `package.json` has been introduced to fix a project to a particular package manager version.
```json
{
  name: 'yarn-test',
  packageManager: 'yarn@3.2.0'
}
```
**This ensures that every developer in your team will use the same version of the package manager.**

In case a developer tries to any other package manager, they will get an error

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1649787910128/NzIMGe_5B.png)

## Running the same version

The major work is all done!

Just run your package manager inside your repo and it should run the version defined in your `package.json`

For example if the `package.json` had
```json
{
    ...
    "packageManager": "pnpm@6.32.2"
}
```
Running pnpm in this project will use the same version.
```sh
pnpm -v
6.32.2
```

## Updating the global version
If you wish to update the package manger version outside of any projects, run
```sh
corepack prepare pnpm@6.32.2 --activate
```

This will update the global pnpm version to 6.32.2.
## Conclusions
I wish I had more to say, but corepack makes switching to other package managers a breeze. What qualities distinguish your preferred package manager?