Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

Bower

6.4K
4.5K
+ 1
927
Yeoman

1.7K
1.3K
+ 1
396
Add tool

Bower vs Yeoman: What are the differences?

## Key Differences between Bower and Yeoman

Bower is a package manager primarily used for managing front-end dependencies, while Yeoman is a scaffolding tool that helps generate the basic structure for web applications.
Bower focuses on installing client-side packages and managing their versions, making it more suitable for managing dependencies such as JavaScript libraries and frameworks. On the other hand, Yeoman helps developers kickstart projects by providing generators for various project structures and configurations. 
Bower requires manual configuration and installation of packages, whereas Yeoman automates the setup process by generating code and configurations based on predefined templates and settings. 
Bower operates on a per-package basis and does not include additional functionality like code generation or build processes, which are core features of Yeoman.
Yeoman includes a wide range of generators for different types of applications like web, mobile, and even full-stack projects, making it versatile for various development needs. In contrast, Bower is focused solely on package management and does not provide scaffolding capabilities for project initialization.
Bower is a lightweight tool designed for simple package management tasks, while Yeoman is more comprehensive and incorporates additional functionalities like build tools, testing frameworks, and project structuring capabilities.

In Summary, Bower is a package manager for front-end dependencies, whereas Yeoman is a scaffolding tool that facilitates project initialization and code generation for web applications. Yeoman offers a broader set of features beyond package management, making it a more comprehensive development tool. 
Get Advice from developers at your company using StackShare Enterprise. Sign up for StackShare Enterprise.
Learn More
Pros of Bower
Pros of Yeoman
  • 483
    Package management
  • 214
    Open source
  • 142
    Simple
  • 53
    Great for for project dependencies injection
  • 27
    Web components with Meteor
  • 8
    Portable dependencies Management
  • 121
    Lightning-fast scaffolding
  • 83
    Automation
  • 78
    Great build process
  • 57
    Open source
  • 49
    Yo
  • 8
    Unit Testing

Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

Cons of Bower
Cons of Yeoman
  • 2
    Deprecated
  • 1
    Front end only
  • 1
    Even harder to debug than Javascript

Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

What is Bower?

Bower is a package manager for the web. It offers a generic, unopinionated solution to the problem of front-end package management, while exposing the package dependency model via an API that can be consumed by a more opinionated build stack. There are no system wide dependencies, no dependencies are shared between different apps, and the dependency tree is flat.

What is Yeoman?

Yeoman is a robust and opinionated set of tools, libraries, and a workflow that can help developers quickly build beautiful, compelling web apps. It is comprised of yo - a scaffolding tool using our generator system, grunt - a task runner for your build process and bower for dependency management.

Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

What companies use Bower?
What companies use Yeoman?
See which teams inside your own company are using Bower or Yeoman.
Sign up for StackShare EnterpriseLearn More

Sign up to get full access to all the companiesMake informed product decisions

What tools integrate with Bower?
What tools integrate with Yeoman?

Sign up to get full access to all the tool integrationsMake informed product decisions

What are some alternatives to Bower and Yeoman?
npm
npm is the command-line interface to the npm ecosystem. It is battle-tested, surprisingly flexible, and used by hundreds of thousands of JavaScript developers every day.
Yarn
Yarn caches every package it downloads so it never needs to again. It also parallelizes operations to maximize resource utilization so install times are faster than ever.
Webpack
A bundler for javascript and friends. Packs many modules into a few bundled assets. Code Splitting allows to load parts for the application on demand. Through "loaders" modules can be CommonJs, AMD, ES6 modules, CSS, Images, JSON, Coffeescript, LESS, ... and your custom stuff.
gulp
Build system automating tasks: minification and copying of all JavaScript files, static images. More capable of watching files to automatically rerun the task when a file changes.
NuGet
A free and open-source package manager designed for the Microsoft development platform. It is also distributed as a Visual Studio extension.
See all alternatives