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NPM-PUBLISH(1) General Commands Manual NPM-PUBLISH(1)

NAME

npm-publish

Synopsis

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Description

Publishes a package to the registry so that it can be installed by name.

By default npm will publish to the public registry. This can be
overridden by specifying a different default registry or using a
scope in the name, combined with a
scope-configured registry (see
package.json).

A package is interpreted the same way as other commands (like
npm install and can be:

  • a) a folder containing a program described by a
    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
    registry) with (c)
  • e) a <name>@<tag> (see npm 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)

The publish will fail if the package name and version combination already
exists in the specified registry.

Once a package is published with a given name and version, that specific
name and version combination can never be used again, even if it is removed
with npm unpublish.

As of npm@5, both a sha1sum and an integrity field with a sha512sum of the
tarball will be submitted to the registry during publication. Subsequent
installs will use the strongest supported algorithm to verify downloads.

Similar to --dry-run see npm pack, which figures
out the files to be included and packs them into a tarball to be uploaded
to the registry.

Files included in package

To see what will be included in your package, run npx npm-packlist. All
files are included by default, with the following exceptions:

  • Certain files that are relevant to package installation and distribution
    are always included. For example, package.json, README.md,
    LICENSE, and so on.
  • If there is a "files" list in
    package.json, then only the files
    specified will be included. (If directories are specified, then they
    will be walked recursively and their contents included, subject to the
    same ignore rules.)
  • If there is a .gitignore or .npmignore file, then ignored files in
    that and all child directories will be excluded from the package. If
    both files exist, then the .gitignore is ignored, and only the
    .npmignore is used.

.npmignore files follow the same pattern
rules
as .gitignore files

  • If the file matches certain patterns, then it will never be included,
    unless explicitly added to the &quot;files&quot; list in package.json, or
    un-ignored with a ! rule in a .npmignore or .gitignore file.
  • Symbolic links are never included in npm packages.

See developers for full details on what's
included in the published package, as well as details on how the package is
built.

Configuration

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See Also

  • package spec
  • npm-packlist package
  • npm registry
  • npm scope
  • npm adduser
  • npm owner
  • npm deprecate
  • npm dist-tag
  • npm pack
  • npm profile

May 2024 9.2.0