Deno adds tool to run NPM and JSR binaries

Deno 2.6, the latest version of the TypeScript, JavaScript, and WebAssembly runtime, adds a tool, called dx, to run binaries from NPM and JSR (JavaScript Registry) packages.

The update to the Node.js rival was announced December 10; installation instructions can be found at docs.deno.com. Current users can upgrade by running the deno upgrade command in their terminal.

In Deno 2.6, dx is an equivalent to the npx command. With dx, users should find it easier to run package binaries in a familiar fashion, according to Deno producer Deno Land. Developers can enjoy the convenience of npxwhile leveraging Deno’s robust security model and performance optimizations, Deno Land said.

Also featured in Deno 2.6 is more granular control over permissions, with --ignore-read and --ignore-env flags for selectively ignoring certain file reads or environment variable access. Instead of throwing a NotCapable error, users can direct Deno to return a NotFounderror and undefined respectively.

Deno 2.6 also integrates tsgo, an experimental type checker for TypeScript written in Go. This type checker is billed as being significantly faster than the previous implementation, which was written in TypeScript.

Other new capabilities and improvements in Deno 2.6:

• For dependency management, developers can control the minimum age of dependencies, ensuring that a project only uses dependencies that have been vetted. This helps reduce the risk of using newly published packages that may contain malware or breaking changes shortly after release.
• A deno audit subcommand helps identify security vulnerabilities in dependencies by checking the GitHub CVE database. This command scans and generates a report for both JSR and NPM packages.
• The--lockfile-onlyflag for deno install allows developers to update a lockfile without downloading or installing the actual packages. This is particularly useful in continuous integration environments where users want to verify dependency changes without modifying their node_modules or cache.
• The deno approve-scripts flag replaces the deno install --allow-scripts flag, enabling more ergonomic and granular control over which packages can run these scripts.
• Deno’s Node.js compatibility layer continues to mature in Deno 2.6, with improvements across file operations, cryptography, process management, and database APIs, according to Deno Land.