pm2

Pros of Forever

• Simpler and more lightweight, with fewer dependencies
• Easier to set up and use for basic process management needs
• Better suited for smaller projects or simpler deployment scenarios

Cons of Forever

• Less feature-rich compared to PM2
• Lacks advanced monitoring and clustering capabilities
• Not actively maintained, with fewer updates and community contributions

Code Comparison

Forever:

forever start app.js
forever stop app.js
forever restart app.js

PM2:

pm2 start app.js
pm2 stop app.js
pm2 restart app.js
pm2 monit
pm2 ecosystem

Key Differences

• PM2 offers more advanced features like load balancing, clustering, and monitoring
• Forever is simpler and more straightforward for basic process management
• PM2 has better documentation and a more active community
• Forever is lighter on resources but lacks some of the robustness of PM2
• PM2 provides a web-based dashboard for monitoring, while Forever relies on command-line tools

Both tools serve the purpose of keeping Node.js applications running, but PM2 is generally considered more powerful and feature-rich, while Forever is simpler and easier to use for basic needs.

Pros of nodemon

• Lightweight and simple to use, ideal for development environments
• Automatically restarts the application when file changes are detected
• Supports various file types beyond just JavaScript

Cons of nodemon

• Limited production-level features compared to PM2
• Lacks advanced process management and monitoring capabilities
• No built-in load balancing or clustering support

Code Comparison

nodemon:

// package.json
{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "nodemon app.js"
  }
}

PM2:

// ecosystem.config.js
module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: "app",
    script: "app.js",
    instances: "max",
    exec_mode: "cluster"
  }]
}

Key Differences

• nodemon is primarily focused on development, while PM2 is designed for both development and production environments
• PM2 offers more advanced features like process management, monitoring, and load balancing
• nodemon is simpler to set up and use, making it ideal for smaller projects or quick prototyping
• PM2 provides a more robust solution for deploying and managing Node.js applications at scale

Both tools serve different purposes and can be used complementarily in a Node.js project lifecycle, with nodemon for development and PM2 for production deployment and management.

Pros of pkg

• Creates standalone executables, simplifying distribution
• Supports multiple platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• No runtime dependencies required for packaged applications

Cons of pkg

• Limited to Node.js applications
• Larger file sizes due to bundling Node.js runtime
• May encounter issues with native modules or dynamic requires

Code Comparison

pm2:

const pm2 = require('pm2');

pm2.connect((err) => {
  pm2.start({ script: 'app.js', name: 'myapp' }, (err) => {
    pm2.disconnect();
  });
});

pkg:

// No special code required for pkg
// Simply package your app with:
// pkg app.js

pm2 is a process manager for Node.js applications, focusing on runtime management and monitoring. It excels in production environments, offering features like load balancing, logging, and automatic restarts.

pkg, on the other hand, is a tool for packaging Node.js applications into standalone executables. It's ideal for distributing applications to end-users without requiring Node.js installation.

While pm2 is better suited for server-side deployments and managing long-running processes, pkg is more appropriate for creating distributable applications, especially for desktop or command-line tools.

Pros of nexe

• Creates standalone executable files, simplifying distribution
• No runtime dependencies required on target systems
• Supports cross-platform compilation

Cons of nexe

• Limited to bundling Node.js applications
• May result in larger file sizes compared to source code
• Less suitable for applications requiring frequent updates

Code comparison

nexe:

const nexe = require('nexe');

nexe.compile({
  input: './app.js',
  output: './app.exe',
  targets: ['windows-x64-12.18.2']
}).then(() => console.log('success'));

pm2:

const pm2 = require('pm2');

pm2.connect((err) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  pm2.start({ script: 'app.js', name: 'myapp' }, (err) => {
    if (err) console.error(err);
    pm2.disconnect();
  });
});

Key differences

• nexe focuses on creating standalone executables, while pm2 is a process manager for Node.js applications
• pm2 offers advanced features like load balancing, monitoring, and log management
• nexe is better suited for distributing applications to end-users, while pm2 is ideal for server-side deployment and management
• pm2 provides more flexibility for updating and scaling applications in production environments