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NPM-INSTALL(1) NPM-INSTALL(1)

NAME

npm-install - Install a package

Synopsis

npm install (with no args, in package dir)
npm install [<@scope>/]<name>
npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<tag>
npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<version>
npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<version range>
npm install <alias>@npm:<name>
npm install <git-host>:<git-user>/<repo-name>
npm install <git repo url>
npm install <tarball file>
npm install <tarball url>
npm install <folder>
aliases: npm i, npm add
common options: [-P|--save-prod|-D|--save-dev|-O|--save-optional|--save-peer] [-E|--save-exact] [-B|--save-bundle] [--no-save] [--dry-run]

Description

This command installs a package and any packages that it depends on. If the package has a package-lock, or an npm shrinkwrap file, or a yarn lock file, the installation of dependencies will be driven by that, respecting the following order of precedence:

  • npm-shrinkwrap.json
  • package-lock.json
  • yarn.lock

See npm help package-lock.json and npm help shrinkwrap.

A package is:

  • a) a folder containing a program described by a npm help package.json file
  • b) a gzipped tarball containing (a)
  • c) a url that resolves to (b)
  • d) a <name>@<version> that is published on the registry (see npm help registry) with (c)
  • e) a <name>@<tag> (see npm help dist-tag) that points to (d)
  • f) a <name> that has a "latest" tag satisfying (e)
  • g) a <git remote url> that resolves to (a)

Even if you never publish your package, you can still get a lot of benefits of using npm if you just want to write a node program (a), and perhaps if you also want to be able to easily install it elsewhere after packing it up into a tarball (b).

  • npm install (in a package directory, no arguments):
    Install the dependencies in the local node_modules folder.
    In global mode (ie, with -g or --global appended to the command),
    it installs the current package context (ie, the current working
    directory) as a global package.
    By default, npm install will install all modules listed as
    dependencies in npm help package.json.
    With the --production flag (or when the NODE_ENV environment
    variable is set to production), npm will not install modules listed
    in devDependencies. To install all modules listed in both
    dependencies and devDependencies when NODE_ENV environment
    variable is set to production, you can use --production=false. NOTE: The --production flag has no particular meaning when adding a
    dependency to a project.

  • npm install <folder>:
    Install the package in the directory as a symlink in the current
    project. Its dependencies will be installed before it's linked. If
    <folder> sits inside the root of your project, its dependencies may
    be hoisted to the top-level node_modules as they would for other
    types of dependencies.
  • npm install <tarball file>:
    Install a package that is sitting on the filesystem. Note: if you just
    want to link a dev directory into your npm root, you can do this more
    easily by using npm help link.
    Tarball requirements:
  • The filename must use .tar, .tar.gz, or .tgz as the extension.
  • The package contents should reside in a subfolder inside the tarball (usually it is called package/). npm strips one directory layer when installing the package (an equivalent of tar x --strip-components=1 is run).
  • The package must contain a package.json file with name and version properties. Example:

npm install ./package.tgz

•
npm install <tarball url>:
Fetch the tarball url, and then install it. In order to distinguish between
this and other options, the argument must start with "http://" or "https://"
Example:



  npm install https://github.com/indexzero/forever/tarball/v0.5.6
•
npm install [<@scope>/]<name>:
Do a <name>@<tag> install, where <tag> is the "tag" config. (See
npm help config. The config's default value is latest.)
In most cases, this will install the version of the modules tagged as
latest on the npm registry.
Example:



  npm install sax

npm install saves any specified packages into dependencies by default.
Additionally, you can control where and how they get saved with some
additional flags:
  • -P, --save-prod: Package will appear in your dependencies. This is the default unless -D or -O are present.
  • -D, --save-dev: Package will appear in your devDependencies.
  • -O, --save-optional: Package will appear in your optionalDependencies.
  • --no-save: Prevents saving to dependencies. When using any of the above options to save dependencies to your package.json, there are two additional, optional flags:
  • -E, --save-exact: Saved dependencies will be configured with an exact version rather than using npm's default semver range operator.
  • -B, --save-bundle: Saved dependencies will also be added to your bundleDependencies list. Further, if you have an npm-shrinkwrap.json or package-lock.json then it will be updated as well. <scope> is optional. The package will be downloaded from the registry associated with the specified scope. If no registry is associated with the given scope the default registry is assumed. See npm help scope. Note: if you do not include the @-symbol on your scope name, npm will interpret this as a GitHub repository instead, see below. Scopes names must also be followed by a slash. Examples:

npm install sax
npm install githubname/reponame
npm install @myorg/privatepackage
npm install node-tap --save-dev
npm install dtrace-provider --save-optional
npm install readable-stream --save-exact
npm install ansi-regex --save-bundle
•
Note*: If there is a file or folder named <name> in the current working directory, then it will try to install that, and only try to fetch the package by name if it is not valid.

•
npm install <alias>@npm:<name>:
Install a package under a custom alias. Allows multiple versions of
a same-name package side-by-side, more convenient import names for
packages with otherwise long ones, and using git forks replacements
or forked npm packages as replacements. Aliasing works only on your
project and does not rename packages in transitive dependencies.
Aliases should follow the naming conventions stated in
validate-npm-package-name https://www.npmjs.com/package/validate-npm-package-name#naming-rules.
Examples:



  npm install my-react@npm:react


  npm install jquery2@npm:jquery@2


  npm install jquery3@npm:jquery@3


  npm install npa@npm:npm-package-arg
•
npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<tag>:
Install the version of the package that is referenced by the specified tag.
If the tag does not exist in the registry data for that package, then this
will fail.
Example:



  npm install sax@latest


  npm install @myorg/mypackage@latest
•
npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<version>:
Install the specified version of the package. This will fail if the
version has not been published to the registry.
Example:



  npm install sax@0.1.1


  npm install @myorg/privatepackage@1.5.0
•
npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<version range>:
Install a version of the package matching the specified version range.
This will follow the same rules for resolving dependencies described in
npm help package.json.
Note that most version ranges must be put in quotes so that your shell
will treat it as a single argument.
Example:



  npm install sax@">=0.1.0 <0.2.0"


  npm install @myorg/privatepackage@"16 - 17"
•
npm install <git remote url>:
Installs the package from the hosted git provider, cloning it with
git. For a full git remote url, only that URL will be attempted.



  <protocol>://[<user>[:<password>]@]<hostname>[:<port>][:][/]<path>[#<commit-ish> | #semver:<semver>]

<protocol> is one of git, git+ssh, git+http, git+https, or
git+file.
If #<commit-ish> is provided, it will be used to clone exactly that
commit. If the commit-ish has the format #semver:<semver>, <semver>
can be any valid semver range or exact version, and npm will look for
any tags or refs matching that range in the remote repository, much as
it would for a registry dependency. If neither #<commit-ish> or
#semver:<semver> is specified, then the default branch of the
repository is used.
If the repository makes use of submodules, those submodules will be
cloned as well.
If the package being installed contains a prepare script, its
dependencies and devDependencies will be installed, and the prepare
script will be run, before the package is packaged and installed.
The following git environment variables are recognized by npm and will
be added to the environment when running git:
  • GIT_ASKPASS
  • GIT_EXEC_PATH
  • GIT_PROXY_COMMAND
  • GIT_SSH
  • GIT_SSH_COMMAND
  • GIT_SSL_CAINFO
  • GIT_SSL_NO_VERIFY See the git man page for details. Examples:

npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli.git#v1.0.27
npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli#pull/273
npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli#semver:^5.0
npm install git+https://isaacs@github.com/npm/cli.git
npm install git://github.com/npm/cli.git#v1.0.27
GIT_SSH_COMMAND='ssh -i ~/.ssh/custom_ident' npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli.git

  • npm install <githubname>/<githubrepo>[#<commit-ish>]:
  • npm install github:<githubname>/<githubrepo>[#<commit-ish>]:
    Install the package at https://github.com/githubname/githubrepo by
    attempting to clone it using git.
    If #<commit-ish> is provided, it will be used to clone exactly that
    commit. If the commit-ish has the format #semver:<semver>, <semver>
    can be any valid semver range or exact version, and npm will look for
    any tags or refs matching that range in the remote repository, much as
    it would for a registry dependency. If neither #<commit-ish> or
    #semver:<semver> is specified, then master is used.
    As with regular git dependencies, dependencies and devDependencies
    will be installed if the package has a prepare script before the
    package is done installing.
    Examples:



  npm install mygithubuser/myproject


  npm install github:mygithubuser/myproject
•
npm install gist:[<githubname>/]<gistID>[#<commit-ish>|#semver:<semver>]:
Install the package at https://gist.github.com/gistID by attempting to
clone it using git. The GitHub username associated with the gist is
optional and will not be saved in package.json.
As with regular git dependencies, dependencies and devDependencies will
be installed if the package has a prepare script before the package is
done installing.
Example:



  npm install gist:101a11beef
•
npm install bitbucket:<bitbucketname>/<bitbucketrepo>[#<commit-ish>]:
Install the package at https://bitbucket.org/bitbucketname/bitbucketrepo
by attempting to clone it using git.
If #<commit-ish> is provided, it will be used to clone exactly that
commit. If the commit-ish has the format #semver:<semver>, <semver> can
be any valid semver range or exact version, and npm will look for any tags
or refs matching that range in the remote repository, much as it would for a
registry dependency. If neither #<commit-ish> or #semver:<semver> is
specified, then master is used.
As with regular git dependencies, dependencies and devDependencies will
be installed if the package has a prepare script before the package is
done installing.
Example:



  npm install bitbucket:mybitbucketuser/myproject
•
npm install gitlab:<gitlabname>/<gitlabrepo>[#<commit-ish>]:
Install the package at https://gitlab.com/gitlabname/gitlabrepo
by attempting to clone it using git.
If #<commit-ish> is provided, it will be used to clone exactly that
commit. If the commit-ish has the format #semver:<semver>, <semver> can
be any valid semver range or exact version, and npm will look for any tags
or refs matching that range in the remote repository, much as it would for a
registry dependency. If neither #<commit-ish> or #semver:<semver> is
specified, then master is used.
As with regular git dependencies, dependencies and devDependencies will
be installed if the package has a prepare script before the package is
done installing.
Example:



  npm install gitlab:mygitlabuser/myproject


  npm install gitlab:myusr/myproj#semver:^5.0

You may combine multiple arguments and even multiple types of arguments. For example:

npm install sax@">=0.1.0 <0.2.0" bench supervisor

The --tag argument will apply to all of the specified install targets. If a tag with the given name exists, the tagged version is preferred over newer versions.

The --dry-run argument will report in the usual way what the install would have done without actually installing anything.

The --package-lock-only argument will only update the package-lock.json, instead of checking node_modules and downloading dependencies.

The -f or --force argument will force npm to fetch remote resources even if a local copy exists on disk.

npm install sax --force

Configuration

See the npm help config help doc. Many of the configuration params have some effect on installation, since that's most of what npm does.

These are some of the most common options related to installation.

Configuration Options Affecting Dependency Resolution And Tree Design

  • -g or --global: install the package globally rather than locally. See npm help folders.
  • --global-style: install the package into your local node_modules folder with the same layout it uses with the global node_modules folder. Only your direct dependencies will show in node_modules and everything they depend on will be flattened in their node_modules folders. This obviously will eliminate some deduping.
  • --legacy-bundling: install the package in the style of versions of npm prior to 1.4, where dependencies are not automatically deduped up to the shallowest level in the tree possible. This is extremely disk-inefficient.
  • --legacy-peer-deps: ignore all peerDependencies when installing, in the style of npm version 4 through version 6.
  • --strict-peer-deps: fail and abort the install process for any conflicting peerDependencies when encountered. By default, npm will only crash for peerDependencies conflicts caused by the direct dependencies of the root project.
  • --no-package-lock (alias: --no-shrinkwrap): do not read the lockfile (package-lock.json or npm-shrinkwrap.json) for the intended package tree, and do not save the resulting package tree back to a lockfile.

Omitting Dependency Types

You may omit certain types of dependencies by using the --omit=<type> config option. This may be specified multiple types on the command line. To enter omit options in .npmrc files, use the following syntax:

omit[] = dev
omit[] = optional
; etc...

The dependency types that may be omitted or included are:

  • peer: any peerDependencies, including those with a peerDependenciesMeta entry specifying optional: true
  • optional: dependencies listed in optionalDependencies
  • dev: dependencies listed in devDependencies

To re-include dependency, use the --include option, which may also be specified multiple times.

Legacy shorthands for omit settings are:

  • --no-optional: prevent optionalDependencies from being installed. Note that their presence is still entered in the package-lock.json file, and the tree is designed such that they can be installed in the future.
  • --prod: prevent devDependencies from being installed.
  • --only=prod: omit devDependencies
  • --also=dev: include devDependencies

Configuration Options Affecting Build Process

  • --ignore-scripts: do not execute any scripts defined in the package.json. See npm help scripts.
  • --no-audit: disable sending audit reports to the configured registries. See npm-audit npm-audit for details on what is sent.
  • --no-bin-links: prevent npm from creating symlinks for any binaries the package might contain.
  • --no-fund: suppress the message displayed at the end of each install that acknowledges the number of dependencies looking for funding. See npm help npm-fund
  • --dry-run: Do not actually install anything into the node_modules folder. Just build the intended tree in memory, and report on it.
  • --no-save: Do not save installed dependencies to package.json or package-lock.json.

Algorithm

Given a package{dep} structure: A{B,C}, B{C}, C{D}, the npm install algorithm produces:

A
+-- B
+-- C
+-- D

That is, the dependency from B to C is satisfied by the fact that A already caused C to be installed at a higher level. D is still installed at the top level because nothing conflicts with it.

For A{B,C}, B{C,D@1}, C{D@2}, this algorithm produces:

A
+-- B
+-- C


   `-- D@2
+-- D@1

Because B's D@1 will be installed in the top-level, C now has to install D@2 privately for itself. This algorithm is deterministic, but different trees may be produced if two dependencies are requested for installation in a different order.

See npm help folders for a more detailed description of the specific folder structures that npm creates.

See Also

  • npm help folders
  • npm help update
  • npm help audit
  • npm help fund
  • npm help link
  • npm help rebuild
  • npm help scripts
  • npm help build
  • npm help config
  • npm help npmrc
  • npm help registry
  • npm help dist-tag
  • npm help uninstall
  • npm help shrinkwrap
  • npm help package.json
  • npm help workspaces

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