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jsDelivr

Global, free CDN delivering npm and GitHub assets at lightning speed

A production‑grade, free CDN that instantly serves files from npm, GitHub, and other sources with multi‑CDN redundancy, version fallback, and on‑the‑fly minification.

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Overview

Overview

jsDelivr is a production‑grade CDN that delivers files from npm, GitHub, WordPress plugins and custom endpoints worldwide. It is free, has no bandwidth caps, and is built to survive the traffic of the largest sites.

Features

The service stores every requested file in permanent S3 storage, providing version fallback when a newer release removes a file. Multi‑CDN routing through Cloudflare and Fastly, powered by real‑user monitoring, selects the fastest provider per visitor and instantly fails over on outages. On‑the‑fly minification and source‑map generation give developers ready‑to‑use assets without a build step. Dedicated nodes near Chinese urban centers keep latency low for that market.

Getting Started

Integrate by replacing the origin URL with https://cdn.jsdelivr.net followed by the appropriate endpoint (e.g., /npm/package@1.2.3/file.js). No configuration, authentication, or server management is required—just reference the CDN URL in your HTML or build pipeline.

Highlights

Multi‑CDN architecture with Cloudflare and Fastly for optimal uptime
Permanent storage and version fallback to prevent 404s
Real‑user monitoring drives smart load‑balancing per visitor
On‑the‑fly minification with source‑map generation

Pros

  • Free with unlimited bandwidth
  • Zero‑configuration integration
  • Global coverage including low‑latency nodes in China
  • Robust failover across DNS, CDN providers, and origin servers

Considerations

  • Relies on third‑party CDN providers for edge delivery
  • No dedicated SLA or premium support options
  • First‑time minification can add a short delay
  • Cannot serve private or proprietary assets

Managed products teams compare with

When teams consider jsDelivr, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.

Akamai CDN logo

Akamai CDN

Enterprise-grade CDN for app, API, and media delivery at global scale

Amazon CloudFront logo

Amazon CloudFront

Global content delivery network (CDN) for fast, reliable delivery of static and dynamic content

Azure CDN logo

Azure CDN

Global content delivery network service for high-speed delivery of web content to users via Microsoft’s edge network

Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.

Fit guide

Great for

  • High‑traffic public websites needing reliable asset delivery
  • Developers who want instant CDN access to npm and GitHub files
  • Open‑source package authors seeking automatic distribution
  • Projects targeting a global audience, including China

Not ideal when

  • Hosting private or licensed code not publicly available
  • Enterprises requiring contractual uptime guarantees
  • Applications needing custom edge logic or serverless functions
  • Latency‑critical real‑time services preferring self‑hosted CDN

How teams use it

Load JavaScript libraries on a public website

Instant, cached delivery with automatic minification and version stability

Embed CSS from a GitHub repository in documentation

Fast, reliable styling without managing files locally

Serve WordPress plugin assets for a high‑traffic blog

Reduced load on origin servers and consistent global performance

Provide fallback for npm packages that may be removed

Ensures the site remains functional even if the upstream package is deleted

Tech snapshot

JavaScript100%

Tags

distributionesmodulescdn-providerscdntraffichttpnpm-cdnnpmjsdelivresminfrastructurejavascript

Frequently asked questions

How does jsDelivr handle a file that is removed from npm?

It serves the file from permanent storage, ensuring continuity even after removal.

Is there any bandwidth limit?

No, the service is free with unlimited bandwidth.

What CDNs does jsDelivr use?

Traffic is routed through Cloudflare and Fastly, with automatic failover.

Can I request minified versions of assets?

Adding ".min" generates a minified file on first request, then caches it for future use.

How does version fallback work?

If a requested version is missing, jsDelivr serves the most recent previous version automatically.

Project at a glance

Stable
Stars
6,136
Watchers
6,136
Forks
2,114
LicenseMIT
Repo age13 years old
Last commit10 months ago
Primary languageJavaScript

Last synced 3 hours ago