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Alternatives

should alternatives

8 packages that do the same job as should: chai, jasmine-core, @nightwatch/chai, tap, tap-parser, tap-yaml, mocha, pactum. Figures below are from npm, GitHub and Bundlephobia.

Data as of 25 Sept 2026
PackageWeekly downloads12-month changeGzipDependenciesLast releaseModuleTypesRuntimes
should
This package
3.4m+37%-58 years agoESM + CommonJSBundled-
chai85.9m+273%-09 months agoESM onlyNone-
jasmine-core5m-9%-01 month agoCommonJSNone-
@nightwatch/chai41.9k--62 years agoESM + CommonJSNone-
tap284k-48%-2021 days agoESM + CommonJSBundled-
tap-parser645k-29%-24 months agoESM + CommonJSBundled-
tap-yaml280k-8%-24 months agoESM + CommonJSBundled-
mocha10.8m+4%-167 days agoESM onlyNone-
pactum80k-34%-126 months agoCommonJSBundled-

12-month change compares the average of the last 4 weeks of downloads with the first 4 weeks of the 52-week series. Gzip size is for the whole package (Bundlephobia). Runtimes are taken from each package's own documentation; "-" means not recorded.

BDD/TDD assertion library for node.js and the browser. Test framework agnostic.

Compared with should

  • 25x more weekly downloads (85.9m vs 3.4m)
  • 0 dependencies vs 5
  • ESM only vs ESM + CommonJS
  • No types vs bundled types
  • Declares Node.js >=18 vs none declared
  • Last release 22 Dec 2025 vs 30 Jul 2018
  • 4.4x more GitHub stars (8.3k vs 1.9k)

Simple JavaScript testing framework for browsers and node.js

Compared with should

  • 1.5x more weekly downloads (5m vs 3.4m)
  • 0 dependencies vs 5
  • CommonJS vs ESM + CommonJS
  • No types vs bundled types
  • Last release 20 Aug 2026 vs 30 Jul 2018
  • 8.4x more GitHub stars (15.8k vs 1.9k)

A forked of Chai 5 which adds Promise support in order to work with Nightwatch commands.

Compared with should

  • 81x fewer weekly downloads (41.9k vs 3.4m)
  • 6 dependencies vs 5
  • No types vs bundled types
  • Declares Node.js >=12 vs none declared
  • Last release 10 Jan 2024 vs 30 Jul 2018
  • 4.4x more GitHub stars (8.3k vs 1.9k)

A Test-Anything-Protocol library for JavaScript

Compared with should

  • 12x fewer weekly downloads (284k vs 3.4m)
  • 20 dependencies vs 5
  • Declares Node.js 20 || >=22 vs none declared
  • Last release 3 Sept 2026 vs 30 Jul 2018
  • 1.3x more GitHub stars (2.4k vs 1.9k)

parse the test anything protocol

Compared with should

  • 5.2x fewer weekly downloads (645k vs 3.4m)
  • 2 dependencies vs 5
  • Declares Node.js 20 || >=22 vs none declared
  • Last release 1 May 2026 vs 30 Jul 2018
  • 1.3x more GitHub stars (2.4k vs 1.9k)

Yaml handling for TAP parsers and generators

Compared with should

  • 12x fewer weekly downloads (280k vs 3.4m)
  • 2 dependencies vs 5
  • Declares Node.js 20 || >=22 vs none declared
  • Last release 1 May 2026 vs 30 Jul 2018
  • 1.3x more GitHub stars (2.4k vs 1.9k)

Classic, reliable, trusted test framework for Node.js and the browser

Compared with should

  • 3.2x more weekly downloads (10.8m vs 3.4m)
  • 16 dependencies vs 5
  • ESM only vs ESM + CommonJS
  • No types vs bundled types
  • Declares Node.js ^20.19.0 || >=22.12.0 vs none declared
  • Last release 17 Sept 2026 vs 30 Jul 2018
  • 12x more GitHub stars (22.9k vs 1.9k)

REST API Testing Tool for all levels in a Test Pyramid

Compared with should

  • 42x fewer weekly downloads (80k vs 3.4m)
  • 12 dependencies vs 5
  • CommonJS vs ESM + CommonJS
  • Declares Node.js >=10 vs none declared
  • Last release 27 Feb 2026 vs 30 Jul 2018
  • 3.0x fewer GitHub stars (620 vs 1.9k)
Sources: npm registry, npm downloads API, GitHub API, Bundlephobia. Data fetched 25 Sept 2026.

Indexability: Indexed.