As far as I'm aware, transitive dependencies are counted in this number. So when you npm install next.js, the download count for everything in its dependency tree gets incremented.
Beyond that, I think there is good reason to believe that the number is inflated due to automated downloads from things like CI pipelines, where hundreds or thousands of downloads might only represent a single instance in the wild.
Beyond that, I think there is good reason to believe that the number is inflated due to automated downloads from things like CI pipelines, where hundreds or thousands of downloads might only represent a single instance in the wild.