std-env vs ci-info vs is-ci: Runtime Environment Detection in Node.js (2026)

TL;DR

std-env is the UnJS runtime environment detection library — detects CI, provider, platform, Node.js version, Bun/Deno, production mode, and more in a single zero-dependency package. ci-info detects CI/CD environments — identifies which CI provider (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, etc.) and whether it's a PR build. is-ci is the simplest check — a single boolean: are we running in CI or not? In 2026: std-env for comprehensive environment detection, ci-info for detailed CI provider info, is-ci for a quick boolean check.

Key Takeaways

• std-env: ~15M weekly downloads — UnJS, detects CI + provider + platform + runtime, zero deps
• ci-info: ~20M weekly downloads — CI provider detection, PR detection, supports 50+ CI services
• is-ci: ~15M weekly downloads — single boolean isCI, uses ci-info internally
• Tools use CI detection to: disable interactive prompts, skip colors, adjust verbosity, enable caching
• std-env also detects Bun, Deno, edge runtimes, production mode — more than just CI
• is-ci is just require("ci-info").isCI exported as a module

---

is-ci

is-ci — the simplest check:

Usage

import isCI from "is-ci"

if (isCI) {
  console.log("Running in CI — disabling interactive prompts")
} else {
  console.log("Running locally — full interactive mode")
}

// Common patterns:
const spinner = isCI ? null : createSpinner("Building...")
const colors = isCI ? false : true
const logLevel = isCI ? "info" : "debug"

What it checks

is-ci checks these environment variables:
  CI=true                → Generic CI indicator
  CONTINUOUS_INTEGRATION → Travis CI
  BUILD_NUMBER          → Jenkins
  GITHUB_ACTIONS        → GitHub Actions
  GITLAB_CI             → GitLab CI
  CIRCLECI              → CircleCI
  ... and 50+ more CI providers

---

ci-info

ci-info — detailed CI detection:

Basic usage

import ci from "ci-info"

ci.isCI          // true if running in any CI
ci.isPR          // true if this is a pull request build
ci.name          // "GitHub Actions" | "GitLab CI" | "Jenkins" | null
ci.id            // "GITHUB" | "GITLAB" | "JENKINS" | null

Provider-specific behavior

import ci from "ci-info"

if (ci.isCI) {
  console.log(`Running on ${ci.name}`)

  if (ci.isPR) {
    // PR-specific behavior:
    console.log("This is a pull request build")
    // Skip deployment, run extra checks, post comments
  }

  switch (ci.id) {
    case "GITHUB":
      // GitHub Actions — use GITHUB_TOKEN, set output
      console.log(`Workflow: ${process.env.GITHUB_WORKFLOW}`)
      console.log(`Run ID: ${process.env.GITHUB_RUN_ID}`)
      break

    case "GITLAB":
      // GitLab CI — use CI_JOB_TOKEN
      console.log(`Pipeline: ${process.env.CI_PIPELINE_ID}`)
      break

    case "JENKINS":
      // Jenkins — use BUILD_URL
      console.log(`Build: ${process.env.BUILD_NUMBER}`)
      break
  }
}

Supported CI providers

ci-info supports 50+ CI providers:
  GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, CircleCI,
  Travis CI, Azure Pipelines, Bitbucket Pipelines,
  AWS CodeBuild, Google Cloud Build, Buildkite,
  Drone, Semaphore, TeamCity, Vercel, Netlify,
  Heroku, Railway, Render, Fly.io, and many more

---

std-env

std-env — comprehensive environment detection:

CI detection

import { isCI, provider, providerInfo } from "std-env"

// CI detection (like is-ci):
isCI        // true/false

// Provider name:
provider    // "github_actions" | "gitlab_ci" | "jenkins" | ...

// Full provider info:
providerInfo
// → { name: "github_actions", isCI: true, isPR: true, ... }

Runtime detection

import {
  isNode, isBun, isDeno,
  isWindows, isLinux, isMacOS,
  isEdgeLight, isNetlify, isVercel,
  nodeVersion, nodeMajorVersion,
} from "std-env"

// Runtime:
isNode        // true if Node.js
isBun         // true if Bun
isDeno        // true if Deno

// Platform:
isWindows     // true if Windows
isLinux       // true if Linux
isMacOS       // true if macOS

// Edge runtimes:
isEdgeLight   // true if running in edge runtime
isNetlify     // true if Netlify Functions/Edge
isVercel      // true if Vercel Functions/Edge

// Node.js version:
nodeVersion     // "22.0.0"
nodeMajorVersion // 22

Production/development detection

import { isProduction, isDevelopment, isTest, isDebug } from "std-env"

// Environment mode:
isProduction   // NODE_ENV === "production"
isDevelopment  // NODE_ENV === "development"
isTest         // NODE_ENV === "test"
isDebug        // DEBUG env var is set

// Conditional behavior:
const logLevel = isProduction ? "warn" : isTest ? "silent" : "debug"
const sourceMaps = isProduction ? false : true
const minify = isProduction ? true : false

Process flags

import { hasTTY, isColorSupported, isMinimal } from "std-env"

// Terminal capabilities:
hasTTY            // true if stdout is a TTY
isColorSupported  // true if terminal supports colors

// Minimal mode:
isMinimal         // true if running in a minimal environment

// Useful for CLI tools:
if (!hasTTY) {
  // Non-interactive — no spinners, no prompts
}

if (isColorSupported) {
  // Use colored output
}

Practical example: CLI tool setup

import {
  isCI, provider, hasTTY, isColorSupported,
  isProduction, nodeVersion, isBun
} from "std-env"

function createCLIConfig() {
  return {
    // Disable interactive features in CI:
    interactive: !isCI && hasTTY,

    // Colors based on terminal support:
    colors: isColorSupported && !isCI,

    // Verbose in dev, quiet in CI:
    logLevel: isCI ? "info" : "debug",

    // Show provider info in CI:
    ciProvider: isCI ? provider : null,

    // Runtime info:
    runtime: isBun ? `Bun` : `Node.js ${nodeVersion}`,

    // Production optimizations:
    cache: isProduction,
    sourceMaps: !isProduction,
  }
}

---

Feature Comparison

Feature	std-env	ci-info	is-ci
CI detection	✅	✅	✅
CI provider name	✅	✅	❌
PR detection	✅	✅	❌
Runtime detection	✅ (Node/Bun/Deno)	❌	❌
Platform detection	✅ (Win/Mac/Linux)	❌	❌
Edge runtime	✅	❌	❌
Production mode	✅	❌	❌
TTY detection	✅	❌	❌
Color support	✅	❌	❌
Node.js version	✅	❌	❌
Dependencies	0	0	ci-info
Weekly downloads	~15M	~20M	~15M

---

When to Use Each

Use std-env if:

• Need comprehensive environment detection (CI + runtime + platform)
• Building cross-runtime tools (Node.js, Bun, Deno)
• Want one import for all environment checks
• In the UnJS ecosystem

Use ci-info if:

• Need detailed CI provider identification
• Want PR detection for CI-specific logic
• Building CI/CD tools or GitHub Actions
• Only need CI-related detection

Use is-ci if:

• Just need a boolean: "are we in CI?"
• Simplest possible check
• Don't need provider info or other detection

---

Methodology

Download data from npm registry (weekly average, February 2026). Feature comparison based on std-env v3.x, ci-info v4.x, and is-ci v3.x.

Compare environment detection and CI tooling on PkgPulse →