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Package manager › fnpx, fnpmx and package execution

fnpx, fnpmx and package execution

Run a package executable from your project or fnpm's execution cache.

fnpx and fnpmx are aliases for fnpm x. The dlx spelling is also accepted. These entry points ship in the fnpm npm package; there is no separate fnpx package to install.

Terminal window
fnpx --help
fnpmx --help
fnpm x --help

Run a project tool

When you expect an installed local tool, require it without triggering a download:

Terminal window
fnpx --no-install tsc --noEmit

Without --no-install, fnpx can resolve and install a package into its execution cache. This example adapts Bun’s bunx guide to fnpm:

Terminal window
fnpx cowsay 'Hello from fnpm'
fnpmx cowsay 'Hello from fnpm'
fnpm x cowsay 'Hello from fnpm'

On a terminal, the install into the execution cache shows the same live progress as fnpm install: resolution, downloads, extraction, linking, registry traffic and workers. The progress region is erased before the executable starts and leaves one line:

✓ cowsay@1.6.0 installed · 33 packages · 1.2 MiB downloaded · 2.69s
✓ cowsay@1.6.0 (cached)

When another fnpx process is installing the same package, fnpx says it is waiting for that install. With output piped or in CI, fnpx prints Bun’s status lines instead (Resolving dependencies, Resolved, downloaded and extracted [N], Saved lockfile); a cached run prints nothing. --silent keeps all install output off the terminal. fnpm create shows the same progress while it downloads a GitHub template and installs the template’s dependencies.

A package spec can pin a version. Package installation and executable resolution use the configured registry and policy; a cached executable is still third-party code.

Package name differs from binary name

Terminal window
fnpx --package typescript tsc --version

Place execution flags before the package or binary name. Arguments after it are passed to the program.

Scripts, runtime and scaffolding

--ignore-scripts skips lifecycle scripts for a newly fetched executable package. --trust permits that package’s scripts; review them before using it. Tools that require generated or native artifacts may not work after a script-free install.

Terminal window
fnpm create --help
fnpm run --help
fnpm exec --help

create resolves a create-template package. run executes an existing project script, while exec runs a shell command with local binaries on PATH. fnpm manages and launches these tools; keep the runtime required by the tool installed.