Node Bloat Scanner

A Node.js CLI tool that scans your node_modules directory and ranks packages by their size (bloat), helping you identify which dependencies are taking up the most disk space.

Features

• 🔍 Scans all packages in node_modules (including scoped packages)
• 📊 Ranks packages by disk size (largest = most bloated)
• 📈 Shows file count, version, and formatted sizes
• 💾 Optional JSON export for further analysis
• ⚡ Fast recursive directory scanning
• 📦 Installable as npm package - use with npx

Installation

As npm package (Recommended)

# Run directly with npx (no installation needed)
npx node-bloat-scanner

# Or install globally
npm install -g node-bloat-scanner
node-bloat-scanner

Local Development

# Clone or download the repository
npm install

# Run locally
npm start
# or
node scanner.js

Usage

Basic Usage

# Scan node_modules in current directory
npx node-bloat-scanner

Options

# Limit number of results shown
npx node-bloat-scanner --limit 20
# or
npx node-bloat-scanner -l 20

# Export results to JSON
npx node-bloat-scanner --json
# or
npx node-bloat-scanner -j

# Scan a specific path
npx node-bloat-scanner /path/to/project

# Show help
npx node-bloat-scanner --help

Output Example

🔍 Scanning node_modules...

Found 245 items in node_modules

📊 Analyzing package sizes...

Processed: 245 packages...

✅ Scan complete!

====================================================================================================
📦 TOP 50 MOST BLOATED PACKAGES (by size)
====================================================================================================

Rank   Package Name            Size         Files     Version        
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1      webpack                45.2 MB      1,234     5.88.0         
2      @types/node            12.5 MB      456       18.15.0        
3      typescript             8.3 MB       234       5.0.0          
...

====================================================================================================
📊 Summary:
   Total packages scanned: 245
   Total size: 156.7 MB
   Average package size: 639.2 KB
   Top 50 packages account for: 142.3 MB
====================================================================================================

How It Works

1. Scans the node_modules directory recursively
2. Calculates the total size of each package (excluding nested node_modules)
3. Counts the number of files in each package
4. Extracts package metadata from package.json (name, version, description)
5. Ranks packages by size (largest first)
6. Displays results in a formatted table

Notes

• The script skips nested node_modules directories to avoid double-counting
• Scoped packages (e.g., @types/node) are handled correctly
• Permission errors are handled gracefully
• The .bin directory is excluded from the scan

License

MIT