RARN - Universal Package Manager

🚀 A revolutionary package manager that combines the best features of Yarn and Conda

RARN is a next-generation package manager designed to handle multi-language projects seamlessly. It brings together the speed and reliability of Yarn with the powerful environment management capabilities of Conda.

✨ Features

From Yarn

• Lock files for reproducible installs
• Workspace/Monorepo support for large projects
• Offline mode with intelligent caching
• Parallel installation for blazing fast performance
• Plugin system for extensibility
• Zero-installs capability

From Conda

• Virtual environment management
• Cross-platform binary packages
• Multi-language support (JavaScript, Python, C++, R, etc.)
• Advanced dependency resolver with SAT solving
• Binary relocation for compiled packages
• Channel/repository management

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

npm install -g rarn
# or
yarn global add rarn

Basic Usage

# Initialize a new project
rarn init

# Install packages
rarn install express pandas numpy
rarn add react@18 tensorflow python:scikit-learn

# Create and activate environments
rarn env create ml-project --language python javascript
rarn env activate ml-project

# Workspace management
rarn workspace init
rarn workspace run build

📦 Package Specification

RARN supports multiple package formats:

# JavaScript packages (from npm)
rarn install express react vue

# Python packages (prefix with python:)
rarn install python:numpy python:pandas python:tensorflow

# Language-specific versions
rarn install [email protected] python:[email protected]

# Git repositories
rarn install git+https://github.com/user/repo.git

🌍 Environment Management

RARN provides full environment isolation with shell integration, similar to Conda:

# Create environment with specific languages
rarn env create myapp --language javascript python

# Activate environment (shows activation instructions)
rarn env activate myapp

# Or activate directly in your shell with eval
eval "$(rarn env activate myapp --print)"

# Your prompt will show the active environment
(myapp) $ npm install express  # Installs to myapp environment
(myapp) $ rarn install python:requests  # Uses myapp's Python venv

# Deactivate environment
rarn_deactivate

# List all environments
rarn env list

# Remove environment
rarn env remove myapp

Environment Features (v1.1.0+)

• Shell Integration: Full prompt modification and PATH management
• Package Isolation: Each environment has its own node_modules and Python site-packages
• Python Virtual Environments: Automatic Python venv creation with pip
• Multi-Shell Support: Works with bash, zsh, fish, cmd, and PowerShell
• Auto-detection: Install commands automatically use the active environment

📁 Project Configuration

package.json

{
  "name": "my-universal-project",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.18.0",
    "react": "^18.0.0",
    "numpy": "python:^1.24.0",
    "pandas": "python:^2.0.0"
  },
  "rarn": {
    "environments": {
      "production": {
        "languages": ["javascript", "python"],
        "pythonVersion": "3.10"
      }
    }
  }
}

rarn-workspace.json

{
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "packages": [
    "packages/*",
    "apps/*"
  ],
  "nohoist": [
    "**/react-native"
  ]
}

🔧 Commands

Package Management

• rarn install [packages...] - Install packages
• rarn add <packages...> - Add packages to project
• rarn remove <packages...> - Remove packages
• rarn update [packages...] - Update packages
• rarn list - List installed packages
• rarn info <package> - Show package information

Environment Management

• rarn env create <name> - Create new environment with language support
• rarn env activate <name> - Show activation instructions for environment
• rarn env activate <name> --print - Print activation script for eval
• rarn env list - List all environments
• rarn env remove <name> - Remove environment

Workspace Management

• rarn workspace init - Initialize workspace
• rarn workspace list - List workspace packages
• rarn workspace run <script> - Run script in all packages

Other Commands

• rarn init - Initialize new project
• rarn run <script> - Run project script
• rarn cache clean - Clean cache
• rarn audit - Security audit
• rarn why <package> - Show why a package is installed
• rarn outdated - Check for outdated packages
• rarn doctor - Check system for potential problems
• rarn config get/set - Manage configuration

🔌 Plugin System

RARN supports plugins for extended functionality:

// my-plugin.js
module.exports = {
  name: 'my-plugin',
  version: '1.0.0',
  hooks: {
    beforeInstall: async (packages, context) => {
      console.log('Installing:', packages);
    }
  },
  commands: [{
    name: 'hello',
    description: 'Say hello',
    handler: async (args, context) => {
      console.log('Hello from plugin!');
    }
  }]
};

Install plugins:

rarn plugin add ./my-plugin.js
rarn plugin list

🏗️ Architecture

rarn/
├── src/
│   ├── core/           # Core package manager logic
│   ├── plugins/        # Plugin system
│   └── cli/            # Command-line interface
├── examples/           # Example configurations
├── bin/                # Executable files
└── package.json

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our Contributing Guide for details.

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Inspired by Yarn and Conda
• Built with TypeScript and Node.js
• Special thanks to all contributors

Note: This is a conceptual implementation demonstrating the architecture and features of a universal package manager. Full production implementation would require additional work on registry integration, binary package handling, and platform-specific optimizations.