# npm/tink

a dependency unwinder for javascript

Repository: https://github.com/npm/tink
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/npm-tink
Language: JavaScript
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: npm, javascript, package-manager, tink
Archived: true
Last push: 2021-05-09T18:17:05+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2959, "days_push": 1942, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, archived, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2135, forks 55 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:17.542650+00:00)

## What it is
Tink is an experimental next-generation package manager and runtime for JavaScript developed by the npm team. It installs dependencies into a centralized content-addressable cache and virtually loads node_modules by overriding Node's fs API, without extracting files to disk.

## Use cases
- install npm dependencies without creating a node_modules folder
- run JavaScript with dependencies loaded from a shared cache
- experiment with a next-generation npm package manager
- avoid reinstalling the same packages across projects
- generate a package map describing expected dependency files

## When to choose
- you want to experiment with cache-based, node_modules-free dependency loading
- you're contributing to or evaluating next-generation npm tooling

## When to avoid
- you need a stable package manager for production projects
- you need npm/yarn/pnpm feature parity
- you expect ongoing maintenance - the project has been inactive since 2021

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: abandoned
- function: package-manager, cli, caching
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: cli, cross-platform
- tags: npm, dependency-management, virtual-node-modules, experimental, command-line, javascript, nodejs

## Member repositories
- npm/tink (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:17.542650+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:51:55.122363+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/npm/tink (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:17.542650+00:00, sha 3b1359a1b592)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/tink (fetched 2026-08-29T10:32:13.791749+00:00, sha bc5fe98e253d)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.