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Comparison

@inquirer/core vs enquirer

CLI tools and terminal utilitiesPackage data 25 Sept 2026
@inquirer/corev12.0.3, 7 Sept 2026

Core Inquirer prompt API

$ npm install @inquirer/core
enquirerv2.4.1, 28 Jul 2023

Stylish, intuitive and user-friendly prompt system. Fast and lightweight enough for small projects, powerful and extensible enough for the most advanced use cases.

$ npm install enquirer
Metric@inquirer/coreenquirerDifference
Weekly downloads46,723,08825,172,536@inquirer/core 1.9x higher
12-month download growth+212%+45%@inquirer/core +168 pts
Gzip size---
Minified size---
Dependencies72@inquirer/core 5 more
Unpacked size59 kB184 kB@inquirer/core 3.1x smaller
Latest release12.0.3, 7 Sept 20262.4.1, 28 Jul 2023@inquirer/core 3.1 years more recent
Releases, last 12 months230@inquirer/core 23 more
First published20 Jun 201921 Aug 2016enquirer 2.8 years earlier
GitHub stars21,6277,950@inquirer/core 2.7x higher
Open issues8169enquirer 161 more
Open pull requests738enquirer 31 more
Contributors258--
Commits, last 52 weeks4230@inquirer/core higher
TypeScript typesBundledBundledSame
Module formatESM onlyCommonJSDiffers
Runtimes---
LicenseMITMITSame

Green marks the smaller size or the more recent release. Bold marks the higher count, with no judgement implied. Sizes are for the whole package per Bundlephobia. Growth compares the average of the last 4 weeks with the first 4 weeks of the 52-week series.

@inquirer/core46.7m latest weekenquirer25.2m latest week
Week of 23 Sept 2025Week of 15 Sept 2026
Weekly npm downloads, 52 weeks. Y axis starts at zero. Values are not smoothed.

@inquirer/core

Major versions
  1. 1.0.018 Mar 2023
  2. 2.0.03 Jun 2023
  3. 3.0.014 Jul 2023
  4. 4.0.027 Aug 2023
  5. 5.0.010 Sept 2023
  6. 6.0.027 Jan 2024
  7. 7.0.04 Feb 2024
  8. 8.0.012 Apr 2024
  9. 9.0.030 Jun 2024
  10. 10.0.06 Oct 2024
  11. 11.0.016 Nov 2025
  12. 12.0.019 Aug 2026
Last 5 releases
  1. 12.0.37 Sept 2026
  2. 12.0.22 Sept 2026
  3. 12.0.126 Aug 2026
  4. 12.0.019 Aug 2026
  5. 11.2.129 May 2026
102 releases in total, 23 in the last 12 months

enquirer

Major versions
  1. 0.1.021 Aug 2016
  2. 1.0.022 May 2017
  3. 2.0.030 Oct 2018
Last 5 releases
  1. 2.4.128 Jul 2023
  2. 2.4.026 Jul 2023
  3. 2.3.62 Jul 2020
  4. 2.3.57 Apr 2020
  5. 2.3.413 Jan 2020
37 releases in total, 0 in the last 12 months
@inquirer/core

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enquirer

-

@inquirer/core

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enquirer

-

  • Need both ESM and CommonJS entry pointsNeither (@inquirer/core: ESM only; enquirer: CommonJS)
  • Need to load it with require()enquirer
  • Need TypeScript types in the package itselfBoth
  • Node.js version requirement@inquirer/core: >=23.5.0 || ^22.13.0 || ^20.17.0; enquirer: >=8.6 (engines field in package.json)
  • Need the more recent release@inquirer/core (12.0.3 on 7 Sept 2026 vs 2.4.1 on 28 Jul 2023)
  • Higher weekly npm downloads@inquirer/core (46.7m vs 25.2m)

Each line is generated from the data above.

enquirer: enquirer npm registry, enquirer npm downloads, enquirer GitHub. Data fetched 25 Sept 2026.

Indexability: Indexed.