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npm vs Verdaccio

npm scores higher on the AgentReady, 57/100 against 39/100. They differ on 10 of the 41 signals. Which ones decides whether an agent can adopt them without a person watching.

What each one is

npm. npm is the package manager for JavaScript and the world's largest software registry, owned by GitHub.

Verdaccio. Verdaccio is a simple, zero-config-required local private NPM registry.

Where npm is ahead

npm passes public docs discoverable, and Verdaccio does not. That is discover, whether an agent can find the product at all without being told it exists.

It also holds understand: structured api reference. Verdaccio misses it.

And on adopt, self-service signup, no mandatory sales call, fast time to first request, copyable quickstart and official python sdk. Verdaccio misses those.

Finally, on operate, agent compatibility verified. Verdaccio misses it.

Where Verdaccio is ahead

Verdaccio passes clear canonical domain and clear product positioning, and npm does not. That is discover, whether an agent can find the product at all without being told it exists.

What neither does

Both fail llms.txt published, llms-full.txt / full agent docs, openapi / spec quality, authentication documented, request examples provided, response examples provided, errors and status codes documented, limits / constraints documented, agent-compatible signup flow, programmatic credential creation, structured, predictable output, machine-readable errors, retry behavior documented, idempotency support, rate-limit behavior predictable, observable execution. If your agent needs any of those, you will be building it yourself either way.

Score, pillar by pillar

The AgentReady splits into four pillars, scored separately, because a product can be easy to find and still impossible to adopt.

Discover. Verdaccio leads 73 to 67. npm misses clear canonical domain, clear product positioning, llms.txt published, llms-full.txt / full agent docs; Verdaccio misses public docs discoverable, llms.txt published, llms-full.txt / full agent docs.

Understand. npm leads 38 to 23. npm misses openapi / spec quality, authentication documented, request examples provided, response examples provided, errors and status codes documented, limits / constraints documented; Verdaccio misses structured api reference, openapi / spec quality, authentication documented, request examples provided, response examples provided, errors and status codes documented, limits / constraints documented.

Adopt is whether an agent can get a key and make its first successful call without a human in the loop. npm leads 80 to 35. npm misses agent-compatible signup flow, programmatic credential creation; Verdaccio misses self-service signup, no mandatory sales call, agent-compatible signup flow, programmatic credential creation, fast time to first request, copyable quickstart, official python sdk.

Operate. npm leads 41 to 24. npm misses structured, predictable output, machine-readable errors, retry behavior documented, idempotency support, rate-limit behavior predictable, observable execution; Verdaccio misses structured, predictable output, machine-readable errors, retry behavior documented, idempotency support, rate-limit behavior predictable, observable execution, agent compatibility verified.

Pricing

npm starts at $7/mo and has a free tier. Verdaccio does not publish one and has a free tier.

Signal by signal

Which to pick

npm clears more of the signals an agent needs, so it is the safer default for unattended use. Full profiles: npm and Verdaccio. Alternatives to each: npm, Verdaccio.

An agent can fetch this as data: POST /v1/compare {"slugs": ["npmjs", "verdaccio"]}