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

NAME

npm-install

Synopsis

<!-- AUTOGENERATED USAGE DESCRIPTIONS -->

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 package-lock.json and npm shrinkwrap.

How npm install uses package-lock.json

When you run npm install without arguments, npm compares package.json and package-lock.json:

  • If the lockfile's resolved versions satisfy the package.json ranges: npm uses the exact versions from package-lock.json to ensure reproducible builds across environments.
  • If the ranges don't match: npm resolves new versions that satisfy the package.json ranges and updates package-lock.json accordingly. This happens when you modify version ranges in package.json (e.g., changing ^7.0.0 to ^8.0.0). Note that changing a range within the same major version (e.g., ^7.0.0 to ^7.1.0) will only update the metadata in the lockfile if the currently installed version still satisfies the new range.

In essence, package-lock.json locks your dependencies to specific versions, but package.json is the source of truth for acceptable version ranges. When the lockfile's versions satisfy the package.json ranges, the lockfile wins. When they conflict, package.json wins and the lockfile is updated.

If you want to install packages while ensuring that package.json is not modified and that both files are strictly in sync, use npm ci instead.

A package is:

  • 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)

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 to 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 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>:

If <folder> sits inside the root of your project, its dependencies will be installed and may be hoisted to the top-level node_modules as they would for other types of dependencies.
If <folder> sits outside the root of your project, npm will not install the package dependencies in the directory <folder>, but it will create a symlink to <folder>.

NOTE: If you want to install the content of a directory like a package from the registry instead of creating a link, you would need to use the --install-links option.

Example:

npm install ../../other-package --install-links
npm install ./sub-package
•
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 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 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.

Note: When installing by name without specifying a version or tag, npm prioritizes versions that match the current Node.js version based on the package's engines field. If the latest tag points to a version incompatible with your current Node.js version, npm will install the newest compatible version instead. To install a specific version regardless of engines compatibility, explicitly specify the version or tag: npm install <name>@latest.

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.
  • --save-peer: Package will appear in your peerDependencies.
  • -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 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
•
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.

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 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"

Prerelease versions: By default, version ranges only match stable versions. To include prerelease versions, they must be explicitly specified in the range. Prerelease versions are tied to a specific version triple (major.minor.patch). For example, ^1.2.3-beta.1 will only match prereleases for 1.2.x, not 1.3.x. To match all prereleases for a major version, use a range like ^1.0.0-0, which will include all 1.x.x prereleases.

Example:

npm install package@^1.2.3-beta.1  # Matches 1.2.3-beta.1, 1.2.3-beta.2, 1.2.4-beta.1, etc.
npm install package@^1.0.0-0       # Matches all 1.x.x prereleases and stable versions
•
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 the default branch 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.

Note: The --tag option only affects packages specified on the command line. It does not override version ranges specified in package.json. For example, if package.json specifies &quot;foo&quot;: &quot;^1.0.0&quot; and you run npm install --tag beta, npm will still install a version matching ^1.0.0 even if the beta tag points to a different version. To install a tagged version, specify the package explicitly: npm install foo@beta.

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 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. <!-- AUTOGENERATED CONFIG DESCRIPTIONS -->

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

See Also

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

April 2026 11.12.1