The NPM Orgs tool previously was only for paid, private package developers Credit: opensource.com NPM Inc.’s NPM Orgs tool, which has been available as a paid service for JavaScript and Node.js development teams collaborating on private code, is now available for free use by teams working on open source code. The SaaS-based tool, which features capabilities like role-based access control, semantic versioning, and package discovery, now can be used on public code on the NPM registry, NPM Inc. said on Wednesday. Developers can transition between solo projects, public group projects, and commercial projects, and users with private registries can use Orgs to combine code from public and private packages into a single project. “The only difference in functionality [between private and open source use] is that you can mark packages as private if you’re a paid organization,” NPM Inc. CEO Isaac Schlueter, said. For developers collaborating with a team of people on private packages, Orgs costs $7 per user. Initially made available in 2010, the NPM registry began as a repository of Node.js packages, or modules, for capabilities like database access and software tooling. In addition to packages that work with the Node.js server-side JavaScript platform, today NPM is also a source of JavaScript packages for front-end development. NPM recently surpassed 100 billion packages downloaded, with most occurring in the last year, Schlueter said. Third-party Node services provider NodeSource recently began a curating service for NPM modules to ensure factors such as security and licensing. JavaScriptOpen SourceSoftware Development