Swift Package Manager vs Yarn
Swift Package Manager
swift.org
Yarn
yarnpkg.comSide by side
| Figure | Swift Package Manager | Yarn |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Package Managers | 8.6 (#15) | 8.7 (#10) |
| Dependency resolution | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Lockfile support | Yes | Yes |
| Offline installation | Yes | Yes |
| Package formats | source packages,system libraries,binary targets,package registry archives | npm packages; tarballs; local,Git,link,patch,portal,and workspace references |
| Plugins | Plugins can add build capabilities or package commands, including generating source files and resources as part of a build. | Plugins can add resolvers, fetchers, linkers, CLI commands, and lifecycle hooks. |
| Private registry auth | Yes | Yes |
| Purpose | Swift Package Manager lets developers share code as packages, use other shared packages, and build, test, document, and run code. | Yarn is a package manager that also describes itself as a project manager. |
| Supported platforms | macOS,Linux,Windows; packages can target Apple platforms | Linux,macOS,Windows |
Plans
In their own words
Swift Package Manager
Swift Package Manager is a free tool for sharing Swift code as packages, using dependencies, and building, testing, documenting, and running code. A package uses a Package.swift manifest alongside source files, resources, and other assets. Packages can provide library, executable, or plugin products, and can depend on other Swift packages, system libraries, or binary dependencies. Commands such as swift build and swift test support builds and tests; package dependencies are resolved automatically when swift build or swift run is invoked. Plugins can add build capabilities or commands, including generating source files and resources, and run in a sandbox that blocks network and most file-system access unless the user approves additional permissions. Swift Package Manager works from the command line and is integrated into Xcode. It supports macOS, Linux distributions including Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and Amazon Linux, as well as Windows; tools on macOS can build for Apple platforms including iOS. Swift 6.4 made Swift Build the default build system in Swift Package Manager.
Yarn
Yarn is a package manager and project manager for JavaScript projects, serving uses from simple projects to industry monorepos. It resolves dependencies, maintains lockfiles and provides workspaces that install and link packages within a project. Modern Yarn uses Plug'n'Play by default, generating a Node.js loader file instead of a typical node_modules folder; users can choose node_modules or pnpm-style symlink installs instead. Yarn caches installed packages and shares them among projects on the same machine. Its offline mirror and zero-installs workflow can keep cached packages in a repository and reduce reliance on the npm registry. Plugins can extend resolvers, fetchers, linkers, commands and lifecycle hooks. Generated editor SDKs and settings support VSCode, Vim, Emacs and Neovim. Yarn runs on Linux, macOS and Windows and is free, with no paid plans or usage limits stated. Its documentation notes that React Native and Expo require typical node_modules installs. Yarn does not run audits during installation by default; users can run yarn npm audit separately.