Resolve version ranges when using bun add with an alias

[jordanbtucker]

What is the problem this feature would solve?

According to Install a package under a different name with Bun it's possible to add a dependency like this:

bun add format@npm:prettier

This results in a the following dependency being added to package.json as well as a format directory being added to node_modules containing the prettier package.

"format": "npm:prettier",

Compare this to how npm handles aliases.

npm install format@npm:prettier

// package.json
"format": "npm:prettier@^3.3.2",

Note that npm resolves the latest version and adds a caret range. Bun does not do this, so you'd need to do that manually:

bun add format@npm:prettier@^3.3.2

What is the feature you are proposing to solve the problem?

bun add should resolve the latest version of a package when using an alias. This would stay consistent with how npm installs aliased packages as well as how npm install and bun add work in general.

What alternatives have you considered?

The alternative is to add the version or range yourself, which is tedious and error prone.

bun add format@npm:prettier@^3.3.2