packrun

packrun.dev

The npm registry for AI agents

Automated package comparisons. Real-time scoring. 50+ categories. MCP server for Cursor & Claude.

Features

• Automated Comparisons - 50+ categories with formula-based scoring
• Real-time Metrics - Downloads, bundle size, maintenance, all live
• Alternative Discovery - Find what to use instead of any package
• MCP Server - Native integration with AI coding assistants
• Sub-50ms Search - Powered by Typesense Cloud

How Scoring Works

Packages are scored automatically (0-100) based on:

Factor	Weight	What it measures
Downloads	20%	Weekly downloads + trend direction
Bundle Size	20%	Smaller gzip = higher score
Freshness	25%	Recent commits and releases
Community	10%	Stars, contributors
Quality	25%	TypeScript, ESM, security, tree-shaking

Project Structure

packrun.dev/
├── apps/
│   ├── web/          # Next.js frontend
│   ├── sync/         # Data sync worker
│   └── mcp-server/   # MCP server for AI agents
├── packages/
│   ├── decisions/    # Scoring, categories, comparison engine
│   ├── agent-utils/  # Conflict detection
│   └── ui/           # Shared components
└── turbo.json

MCP Server

For AI coding assistants (Cursor, Claude, etc.):

Endpoint: https://mcp.packrun.dev/mcp

Configuration (for Cursor, Claude Desktop, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "packrun": {
      "url": "https://mcp.packrun.dev/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Tools:

Tool	Description
search_packages	Search npm packages
get_package	Get package metadata
get_package_health	Check maintenance status
compare_packages	Compare packages with scoring
find_alternatives	Find alternatives to any package
get_comparison_category	Get category comparison (e.g., "date-library")
list_comparison_categories	List all 50+ categories
validate_install	Check compatibility before installing

API

Compare Packages

# Compare specific packages
GET /api/compare?packages=axios,got,ky

# Get category comparison
GET /api/compare?category=date-library

# Find alternatives for a package
GET /api/compare?package=moment

# List all categories
GET /api/compare?list=categories

Response Example

{
  "category": "date-library",
  "recommendation": "date-fns",
  "smallestBundle": "dayjs",
  "mostPopular": "moment",
  "packages": [
    {
      "name": "date-fns",
      "score": 82,
      "badges": ["TypeScript", "ESM", "Trending Up"],
      "metrics": {
        "weeklyDownloads": 20000000,
        "downloadTrend": "growing",
        "bundleSizeKb": "13.2kb",
        "lastCommitDays": 2,
        "hasTypes": true
      }
    },
    ...
  ]
}

Categories

50+ categories including:

• HTTP clients: axios, got, ky, node-fetch
• Date libraries: moment, date-fns, dayjs, luxon
• Validation: zod, yup, joi, ajv, valibot
• State management: redux, zustand, jotai, recoil
• ORM: prisma, drizzle, typeorm, sequelize
• Testing: vitest, jest, mocha, ava
• Bundlers: vite, esbuild, webpack, rollup
• Logging: pino, winston, bunyan
• And 40+ more...

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Bun v1.2+
• Typesense Cloud account
• Redis instance

Installation

git clone https://github.com/your-org/packrun.dev
cd packrun.dev
bun install

Development

bun run dev:web    # Web app on :3000
bun run dev:sync   # Sync worker

Environment Variables

# Typesense
TYPESENSE_HOST=xxx.typesense.net
TYPESENSE_PORT=443
TYPESENSE_PROTOCOL=https
TYPESENSE_API_KEY=xxx

# Optional: GitHub token for higher rate limits
GITHUB_TOKEN=xxx

License

MIT