Bun - Node.js Without the 45-Minute Install Times

JavaScript tooling is 47 tools that hate each other. npm takes forever. Webpack config is 200 lines of pure suffering. Jest needs another config file. TypeScript needs its own config. Your package.json looks like a phone book and dependency hell is real.

Jarred Sumner got tired of waiting for npm installs and built Bun. Written in Zig using Safari's JavaScriptCore engine, it's Node.js if Node.js actually worked.

npm Install Times Are Insane

Node.js tooling is 15 years of duct tape. npm downloads packages one at a time like it's 2009. Meanwhile your build waits while npm parses the same JSON files over and over.

Bun downloads everything in parallel, uses binary lockfiles, and actually caches correctly. Install Express once, it copies to new projects instantly. npm install takes forever on our API project - like 3+ minutes. Bun finishes before I can alt-tab away.

TypeScript That Just Works

TypeScript used to mean 20 minutes of config files and build pipelines. Bun just runs .ts files. No tsc, no build step, no wondering why your watch mode died again.

bun run server.ts    # It just works

Same for JSX. No Babel, no SWC, no wondering why your React components aren't updating. Native TypeScript and JSX support means you write code and it runs.

Unlike Node.js Where Everything's Broken

Node.js is 20 different tools fighting each other. Bun bundles everything and it works. HTTP server doesn't crash. Test runner runs fast enough to use. Package installs finish before you can blink.

Swapped Node for Bun in our API, response times went from like 340ms to 120-ish ms. Didn't touch the code. Package installs went from "time to get coffee" to "wait, it's done?". Tests run fast enough that people actually run them now.

Node.js Compatibility (Mostly)

Node.js compatibility is solid for normal shit. fs, http, crypto all work. Change "node server.js" to "bun server.js" in package.json and you're done.

Native modules break. Packages that do filesystem magic break. If you're using experimental Node features, expect pain. But most projects use Express, React, and database drivers - all fine.

When to Actually Use It

Use Bun for new projects. Fast installs, TypeScript works, fewer things break.

Existing projects depend on how normal your dependencies are. Express and React? Fine. Sharp, node-canvas, or custom webpack? You'll hate your life.

Installation That Doesn't Suck

Installing Bun is one curl command. No NVM bullshit, no "which Node version?" Just this:

curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

Windows people get PowerShell:

powershell -c \"irm bun.sh/install.ps1 | iex\"

Runs on anything from the last few years - Linux kernel 5.6+, modern x64/ARM processors. If your machine runs Node.js, it'll run Bun.

Development Without Config Hell

Bun skips the 2-hour project setup:

bun init                  # Creates basic project
bun add express           # Installs in seconds, not minutes
bun run index.ts          # TypeScript works immediately

No tsconfig.json unless you need custom settings. No build pipeline. No file watchers that die randomly. Hot reload with --hot keeps WebSocket connections alive (when it doesn't crash).

Built-in APIs (Finally)

Bun includes shit you always install separately. HTTP servers with Bun.serve(). File operations that work. Password hashing without bcrypt compilation failures.

Database drivers are built-in - PostgreSQL, SQLite, Redis. No more guessing which pg driver isn't abandoned this year.

File handling uses Bun.file() instead of Node's callback nightmare. MIME types work automatically. Streaming doesn't require a PhD in backpressure theory.

Package Management That Doesn't Hate You

Bun's package manager fixes npm's problems:

• Installs finish before you can tab to another window
• Global cache copies packages instead of downloading again
• Binary lockfiles instead of JSON parsing hell
• Workspaces work without 47 config lines

postinstall scripts need explicit trust. No more malware during npm install. Popular packages like lodash auto-approve so builds don't break.

What Breaks and When

Hot reload crashes randomly in v1.0.x - just restart and keep going. Native modules are fucked. Windows has the usual filesystem bullshit - file locks, PATH nonsense, Windows Defender treating everything like malware. Docker containers die with exit 143 unless you use the --init flag - signal forwarding is broken as usual.

"Illegal instruction" errors mean your CPU is too old. Bun uses AVX2 instructions that older processors don't have. Our staging server from 2018 just shit the bed with:

Illegal instruction (core dumped)

No context, no explanation, just dead. Either upgrade hardware or stay with Node.

Production deployment works. Twitter uses it for some services. Test everything first - when Bun breaks, it breaks weird.