cookie vs js-cookie vs universal-cookie vs react-cookie vs cookies-next vs next-cookies
Cookie Management Libraries for Web Development Comparison
1 Year
cookiejs-cookieuniversal-cookiereact-cookiecookies-nextnext-cookies
What's Cookie Management Libraries for Web Development?

Cookie management libraries in web development provide developers with tools to create, read, and manipulate cookies in a web application. These libraries simplify the process of handling cookies, which are essential for maintaining user sessions, preferences, and tracking user behavior. Each library has its unique features and use cases, catering to different frameworks and environments, making it crucial for developers to choose the right one based on their specific needs and the context of their application.

Package Weekly Downloads Trend
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Package
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License
cookie64,313,7101,38546.5 kB83 months agoMIT
js-cookie11,497,87722,16726.2 kB32 years agoMIT
universal-cookie1,613,92117352.9 kB144 months agoMIT
react-cookie647,89217371.2 kB144 months agoMIT
cookies-next536,89067986.6 kB17a month agoMIT
next-cookies42,8713684.94 kB8-MIT
Feature Comparison: cookie vs js-cookie vs universal-cookie vs react-cookie vs cookies-next vs next-cookies

Environment Compatibility

  • cookie:

    Designed primarily for Node.js, 'cookie' is a server-side library that focuses on parsing and serializing cookies without any client-side capabilities.

  • js-cookie:

    A client-side library, 'js-cookie' is designed to work seamlessly in the browser, providing a simple API for cookie manipulation without server-side support.

  • universal-cookie:

    A universal library that works in both client and server environments, 'universal-cookie' provides a consistent API for cookie management regardless of where the code is executed.

  • react-cookie:

    A React-specific library, 'react-cookie' integrates cookie management into React components, providing hooks and context for easy access and manipulation of cookies.

  • cookies-next:

    Built specifically for Next.js, 'cookies-next' provides both server-side and client-side cookie management, making it ideal for applications that utilize Next.js's features.

  • next-cookies:

    Tailored for Next.js applications, 'next-cookies' allows cookie access during server-side rendering, ensuring that cookies can be read before the page is rendered.

Ease of Use

  • cookie:

    With a minimalistic API, 'cookie' is straightforward to use for developers familiar with Node.js, but it lacks advanced features for cookie management.

  • js-cookie:

    Known for its simplicity, 'js-cookie' provides an easy-to-use API for cookie operations, making it accessible for developers of all skill levels.

  • universal-cookie:

    Offers a straightforward API that is easy to understand and use, 'universal-cookie' allows developers to manage cookies seamlessly across different environments.

  • react-cookie:

    'react-cookie' provides a user-friendly API that leverages React's context and hooks, making cookie management intuitive for React developers.

  • cookies-next:

    'cookies-next' offers a simple and intuitive API that integrates well with Next.js, making it easy to manage cookies without extensive boilerplate code.

  • next-cookies:

    Designed for ease of use within Next.js, 'next-cookies' simplifies cookie access during server-side rendering, making it easy to implement in your application.

SSR Support

  • cookie:

    Does not provide server-side rendering support as it is focused on Node.js environments for cookie parsing and serialization.

  • js-cookie:

    No server-side rendering support; it is strictly a client-side library meant for browser environments only.

  • universal-cookie:

    Provides full support for both client and server-side rendering, making it a versatile option for applications that require cookie access in both contexts.

  • react-cookie:

    Does not inherently support SSR; however, it can be used in conjunction with other libraries to manage cookies in server-rendered React applications.

  • cookies-next:

    Fully supports server-side rendering in Next.js, allowing cookies to be accessed during the initial render, which is crucial for SSR applications.

  • next-cookies:

    Specifically designed for Next.js, 'next-cookies' allows for cookie access during server-side rendering, making it essential for SSR use cases.

Advanced Features

  • cookie:

    Focuses on basic cookie parsing and serialization without additional features like expiration or path management.

  • js-cookie:

    Offers features like cookie expiration, path, and secure flags, making it a robust choice for client-side cookie management.

  • universal-cookie:

    Supports advanced cookie management features, including expiration, path, and domain settings, making it a comprehensive solution for cookie handling.

  • react-cookie:

    Includes hooks and higher-order components for managing cookies in React, but does not provide advanced cookie features like expiration management.

  • cookies-next:

    Includes features tailored for Next.js, such as automatic cookie parsing in API routes and integration with Next.js's data fetching methods.

  • next-cookies:

    Provides straightforward cookie access in Next.js, but lacks advanced features beyond basic cookie management.

Community and Maintenance

  • cookie:

    A well-established library with a stable API, but it may not receive frequent updates due to its simplicity and focused use case.

  • js-cookie:

    Has a large user base and community support, making it a reliable choice with frequent updates and improvements.

  • universal-cookie:

    Well-maintained with a solid community, providing regular updates and support for both client and server-side cookie management.

  • react-cookie:

    Has a supportive community and is regularly updated, ensuring it stays relevant with React's evolving ecosystem.

  • cookies-next:

    Relatively new but actively maintained, with a growing community around Next.js, ensuring ongoing support and updates.

  • next-cookies:

    Maintained actively within the Next.js ecosystem, ensuring compatibility and updates aligned with Next.js developments.

How to Choose: cookie vs js-cookie vs universal-cookie vs react-cookie vs cookies-next vs next-cookies
  • cookie:

    Choose 'cookie' if you need a lightweight, straightforward solution for parsing and serializing cookies on the server-side, especially in Node.js applications. It is ideal for backend usage where you want to handle cookies without additional dependencies.

  • js-cookie:

    Select 'js-cookie' if you require a client-side library that is easy to use for creating, reading, and deleting cookies in the browser. It is lightweight and has a simple API, making it great for front-end applications where cookie management is needed without server-side support.

  • universal-cookie:

    Select 'universal-cookie' if you need a universal solution that works both on the client and server side. It provides a consistent API for cookie management across different environments, making it suitable for applications that require cookie access in both contexts.

  • react-cookie:

    Choose 'react-cookie' if you are developing a React application and need a way to manage cookies with React's component lifecycle. It provides hooks and higher-order components, making it easy to integrate cookie management into your React components.

  • cookies-next:

    Opt for 'cookies-next' if you are working with Next.js and need a seamless way to manage cookies both on the server and client side. It provides a simple API that integrates well with Next.js's data fetching methods, making it suitable for SSR applications.

  • next-cookies:

    Use 'next-cookies' if you need to access cookies in a Next.js application during server-side rendering. It simplifies cookie access in getInitialProps and getServerSideProps, making it a good choice for SSR scenarios where you want to read cookies before rendering the page.

README for cookie

cookie

NPM Version NPM Downloads Build Status Coverage Status

Basic HTTP cookie parser and serializer for HTTP servers.

Installation

$ npm install cookie

API

const cookie = require("cookie");
// import * as cookie from 'cookie';

cookie.parse(str, options)

Parse a HTTP Cookie header string and returning an object of all cookie name-value pairs. The str argument is the string representing a Cookie header value and options is an optional object containing additional parsing options.

const cookies = cookie.parse("foo=bar; equation=E%3Dmc%5E2");
// { foo: 'bar', equation: 'E=mc^2' }

Options

cookie.parse accepts these properties in the options object.

decode

Specifies a function that will be used to decode a cookie-value. Since the value of a cookie has a limited character set (and must be a simple string), this function can be used to decode a previously-encoded cookie value into a JavaScript string.

The default function is the global decodeURIComponent, wrapped in a try..catch. If an error is thrown it will return the cookie's original value. If you provide your own encode/decode scheme you must ensure errors are appropriately handled.

cookie.serialize(name, value, options)

Serialize a cookie name-value pair into a Set-Cookie header string. The name argument is the name for the cookie, the value argument is the value to set the cookie to, and the options argument is an optional object containing additional serialization options.

const setCookie = cookie.serialize("foo", "bar");
// foo=bar

Options

cookie.serialize accepts these properties in the options object.

encode

Specifies a function that will be used to encode a cookie-value. Since value of a cookie has a limited character set (and must be a simple string), this function can be used to encode a value into a string suited for a cookie's value, and should mirror decode when parsing.

The default function is the global encodeURIComponent.

maxAge

Specifies the number (in seconds) to be the value for the Max-Age Set-Cookie attribute.

The cookie storage model specification states that if both expires and maxAge are set, then maxAge takes precedence, but it is possible not all clients by obey this, so if both are set, they should point to the same date and time.

expires

Specifies the Date object to be the value for the Expires Set-Cookie attribute. When no expiration is set clients consider this a "non-persistent cookie" and delete it the current session is over.

The cookie storage model specification states that if both expires and maxAge are set, then maxAge takes precedence, but it is possible not all clients by obey this, so if both are set, they should point to the same date and time.

domain

Specifies the value for the Domain Set-Cookie attribute. When no domain is set clients consider the cookie to apply to the current domain only.

path

Specifies the value for the Path Set-Cookie attribute. When no path is set, the path is considered the "default path".

httpOnly

Enables the HttpOnly Set-Cookie attribute. When enabled, clients will not allow client-side JavaScript to see the cookie in document.cookie.

secure

Enables the Secure Set-Cookie attribute. When enabled, clients will only send the cookie back if the browser has a HTTPS connection.

partitioned

Enables the Partitioned Set-Cookie attribute. When enabled, clients will only send the cookie back when the current domain and top-level domain matches.

This is an attribute that has not yet been fully standardized, and may change in the future. This also means clients may ignore this attribute until they understand it. More information about can be found in the proposal.

priority

Specifies the value for the Priority Set-Cookie attribute.

  • 'low' will set the Priority attribute to Low.
  • 'medium' will set the Priority attribute to Medium, the default priority when not set.
  • 'high' will set the Priority attribute to High.

More information about priority levels can be found in the specification.

sameSite

Specifies the value for the SameSite Set-Cookie attribute.

  • true will set the SameSite attribute to Strict for strict same site enforcement.
  • 'lax' will set the SameSite attribute to Lax for lax same site enforcement.
  • 'none' will set the SameSite attribute to None for an explicit cross-site cookie.
  • 'strict' will set the SameSite attribute to Strict for strict same site enforcement.

More information about enforcement levels can be found in the specification.

Example

The following example uses this module in conjunction with the Node.js core HTTP server to prompt a user for their name and display it back on future visits.

var cookie = require("cookie");
var escapeHtml = require("escape-html");
var http = require("http");
var url = require("url");

function onRequest(req, res) {
  // Parse the query string
  var query = url.parse(req.url, true, true).query;

  if (query && query.name) {
    // Set a new cookie with the name
    res.setHeader(
      "Set-Cookie",
      cookie.serialize("name", String(query.name), {
        httpOnly: true,
        maxAge: 60 * 60 * 24 * 7, // 1 week
      }),
    );

    // Redirect back after setting cookie
    res.statusCode = 302;
    res.setHeader("Location", req.headers.referer || "/");
    res.end();
    return;
  }

  // Parse the cookies on the request
  var cookies = cookie.parse(req.headers.cookie || "");

  // Get the visitor name set in the cookie
  var name = cookies.name;

  res.setHeader("Content-Type", "text/html; charset=UTF-8");

  if (name) {
    res.write("<p>Welcome back, <b>" + escapeHtml(name) + "</b>!</p>");
  } else {
    res.write("<p>Hello, new visitor!</p>");
  }

  res.write('<form method="GET">');
  res.write(
    '<input placeholder="enter your name" name="name"> <input type="submit" value="Set Name">',
  );
  res.end("</form>");
}

http.createServer(onRequest).listen(3000);

Testing

npm test

Benchmark

npm run bench
     name                   hz     min     max    mean     p75     p99    p995    p999     rme  samples
   · simple       8,566,313.09  0.0000  0.3694  0.0001  0.0001  0.0002  0.0002  0.0003  ±0.64%  4283157   fastest
   · decode       3,834,348.85  0.0001  0.2465  0.0003  0.0003  0.0003  0.0004  0.0006  ±0.38%  1917175
   · unquote      8,315,355.96  0.0000  0.3824  0.0001  0.0001  0.0002  0.0002  0.0003  ±0.72%  4157880
   · duplicates   1,944,765.97  0.0004  0.2959  0.0005  0.0005  0.0006  0.0006  0.0008  ±0.24%   972384
   · 10 cookies     675,345.67  0.0012  0.4328  0.0015  0.0015  0.0019  0.0020  0.0058  ±0.75%   337673
   · 100 cookies     61,040.71  0.0152  0.4092  0.0164  0.0160  0.0196  0.0228  0.2260  ±0.71%    30521   slowest
   ✓ parse top-sites (15) 22945ms
     name                                  hz     min     max    mean     p75     p99    p995    p999     rme   samples
   · parse accounts.google.com   7,164,349.17  0.0000  0.0929  0.0001  0.0002  0.0002  0.0002  0.0003  ±0.09%   3582184
   · parse apple.com             7,817,686.84  0.0000  0.6048  0.0001  0.0001  0.0002  0.0002  0.0003  ±1.05%   3908844
   · parse cloudflare.com        7,189,841.70  0.0000  0.0390  0.0001  0.0002  0.0002  0.0002  0.0003  ±0.06%   3594921
   · parse docs.google.com       7,051,765.61  0.0000  0.0296  0.0001  0.0002  0.0002  0.0002  0.0003  ±0.06%   3525883
   · parse drive.google.com      7,349,104.77  0.0000  0.0368  0.0001  0.0001  0.0002  0.0002  0.0003  ±0.05%   3674553
   · parse en.wikipedia.org      1,929,909.49  0.0004  0.3598  0.0005  0.0005  0.0007  0.0007  0.0012  ±0.16%    964955
   · parse linkedin.com          2,225,658.01  0.0003  0.0595  0.0004  0.0005  0.0005  0.0005  0.0006  ±0.06%   1112830
   · parse maps.google.com       4,423,511.68  0.0001  0.0942  0.0002  0.0003  0.0003  0.0003  0.0005  ±0.08%   2211756
   · parse microsoft.com         3,387,601.88  0.0002  0.0725  0.0003  0.0003  0.0004  0.0004  0.0005  ±0.09%   1693801
   · parse play.google.com       7,375,980.86  0.0000  0.1994  0.0001  0.0001  0.0002  0.0002  0.0003  ±0.12%   3687991
   · parse support.google.com    4,912,267.94  0.0001  2.8958  0.0002  0.0002  0.0003  0.0003  0.0005  ±1.28%   2456134
   · parse www.google.com        3,443,035.87  0.0002  0.2783  0.0003  0.0003  0.0004  0.0004  0.0007  ±0.51%   1721518
   · parse youtu.be              1,910,492.87  0.0004  0.3490  0.0005  0.0005  0.0007  0.0007  0.0011  ±0.46%    955247
   · parse youtube.com           1,895,082.62  0.0004  0.7454  0.0005  0.0005  0.0006  0.0007  0.0013  ±0.64%    947542   slowest
   · parse example.com          21,582,835.27  0.0000  0.1095  0.0000  0.0000  0.0001  0.0001  0.0001  ±0.13%  10791418

References

License

MIT