bun-i

View documentation for the original command

$ tldr bun install

bun i [package...] [options]

-d, --dev
    Install only devDependencies

-g, --global
    Install packages globally

--production
    Skip devDependencies

--frozen-lockfile, -F
    Don't update lockfile

--ignore-scripts
    Skip package scripts

--hoist
    Symlink deps to parent node_modules

--no-dedupe
    Disable dependency deduplication

--no-optional
    Skip optional dependencies

--no-summary
    Suppress install summary

--dry-run
    Simulate without installing

--save, -S
    Save to dependencies (default for named pkgs)

--save-dev
    Save to devDependencies

--save-optional
    Save to optionalDependencies

--save-peer
    Save to peerDependencies

--registry <url>
    Custom npm registry

--store-dir <path>
    Custom global store path

bun i (alias for bun install) installs Node.js-compatible packages using the Bun runtime, which is designed for speed and simplicity. Bun leverages JavaScriptCore for 10-30x faster installations than npm or Yarn, with full compatibility for package.json, npm registry, and most npm scripts.

It reads dependencies from package.json, installs them into a virtual store (default, no node_modules), and generates a binary bun.lockb lockfile for reproducible builds. Use bun add for adding new packages with auto-saving to package.json. Supports workspaces, TypeScript out-of-the-box, and optional node_modules hoisting.

Key advantages: minimal disk I/O, automatic deduplication, cross-platform binaries. Ideal for modern JS/TS projects seeking performance without configuration overhead. Installs globally with -g, simulates with --dry-run.

Uses binary bun.lockb (incompatible with npm/yarn/pnpm lockfiles). Default virtual store skips node_modules unless --hoist. Global installs to ~/.bun/install/global. Requires Bun ≥1.0 installed.

bun i lodash # Install lodash
bun add -d typescript # Add TypeScript as dev dep
bun i --global bun # Global Bun install

bun i ≡ bun install
bun add ≡ bun i --save

Developed by Jarred Sumner starting 2022 with Bun 0.1.0 alpha. Reached stable 1.0 in 2023. Focuses on Zig-compiled speed for install/package management, outperforming legacy tools via efficient caching and JavaScriptCore.

npm(1), yarn(1), pnpm(1)