This used to be more common but the pattern these days is to have the binaries split into optionalDependencies which declare their supported CPU etc, one per su

This used to be more common but the pattern these days is to have the binaries split into optionalDependencies which declare their supported CPU etc, one per supported platform. Then npm will install just the matching one (optionalDependencies that require a different platform aren't installed). The fact that most of the ecosystem has moved to this pattern is a big part of why this change is now feasible.