# victorb/trymodule

➰ It's never been easier to try nodejs modules!

Repository: https://github.com/victorb/trymodule
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/trymodule
Language: JavaScript
License Family: other
Topics: repl, nodejs-modules, nodejs, javascript, developer-tools, developer-experience
Last push: 2017-04-03T21:24:45+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3824, "days_push": 3439, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1133, forks 31 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:42.918276+00:00)

## What it is
trymodule is a command-line tool that downloads npm packages on demand and starts a Node.js REPL with those modules preloaded into scope as ready-to-use variables. It lets developers experiment with JavaScript libraries instantly without scaffolding a project or writing install/require boilerplate.

## Use cases
- try out an npm package without creating a project
- quickly test a nodejs module's API in a repl
- experiment with javascript libraries before adding them to my code
- load multiple npm packages into one repl session with custom variable names
- sandbox node modules for throwaway experiments
- check how a library behaves without polluting my current project

## When to choose
- you want to interactively explore an unfamiliar npm package in a REPL
- you need to test a snippet against a module without scaffolding a package.json
- you want several modules preloaded into one session, each bound to a variable name you pick

## When to avoid
- you need a tool that is actively maintained and verified against recent Node.js versions
- you want to install dependencies for a real project, which npm/yarn/pnpm handle better
- you need to try packages outside the Node.js/npm ecosystem

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: abandoned
- function: cli, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: cli, cross-platform
- tags: repl, nodejs, npm-packages, javascript, interactive-experimentation, sandbox, developer-experience, package-trying, command-line

## Member repositories
- victorb/trymodule (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:42.918276+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 2026-08-30T06:37:54.835740+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/victorb/trymodule (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:42.918276+00:00, sha 153ffe7d928c)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.