npm(1) – a JavaScript package manager
SYNOPSIS
This is just enough info to get you up and running.
Much more info will be available via npm help once it’s installed.
IMPORTANT
You need node v6 or higher to run this program.
To install an old and unsupported version of npm that works on node v5
and prior, clone the git repo and dig through the old tags and branches.
npm is configured to use npm, Inc.'s public registry at
https://registry.npmjs.org by default. Use of the npm public registry
is subject to terms of use available at https://www.npmjs.com/policies/terms.
You can configure npm to use any compatible registry you
like, and even run your own registry. Check out the doc on
registries.
Super Easy Install
npm is bundled with node.
Windows Computers
Get the MSI. npm is in it.
Apple Macintosh Computers
Get the pkg. npm is in it.
Other Sorts of Unices
Run make install. npm will be installed with node.
If you want a more fancy pants install (a different version, customized
paths, etc.) then read on.
Fancy Install (Unix)
There’s a pretty robust install script at
https://www.npmjs.com/install.sh. You can download that and run it.
Here’s an example using curl:
curl -L https://www.npmjs.com/install.sh | sh
Slightly Fancier
You can set any npm configuration params with that script:
npm_config_prefix=/some/path sh install.sh
Or, you can run it in uber-debuggery mode:
npm_debug=1 sh install.sh
Even Fancier
Get the code with git. Use make to build the docs and do other stuff.
If you plan on hacking on npm, make link is your friend.
If you’ve got the npm source code, you can also semi-permanently set
arbitrary config keys using the ./configure --key=val ..., and then
run npm commands by doing node bin/npm-cli.js <command> <args>. (This is helpful
for testing, or running stuff without actually installing npm itself.)
Windows Install or Upgrade
Many improvements for Windows users have been made in npm 3 - you will have a better
experience if you run a recent version of npm. To upgrade, either use Microsoft’s
upgrade tool,
download a new version of Node,
or follow the Windows upgrade instructions in the
Installing/upgrading npm post.
If that’s not fancy enough for you, then you can fetch the code with
git, and mess with it directly.
Installing on Cygwin
No.
Uninstalling
So sad to see you go.
sudo npm uninstall npm -g
Or, if that fails,
sudo make uninstall
More Severe Uninstalling
Usually, the above instructions are sufficient. That will remove
npm, but leave behind anything you’ve installed.
If you would like to remove all the packages that you have installed,
then you can use the npm ls command to find them, and then npm rm to
remove them.
To remove cruft left behind by npm 0.x, you can use the included
clean-old.sh script file. You can run it conveniently like this:
npm explore npm -g -- sh scripts/clean-old.sh
npm uses two configuration files, one for per-user configs, and another
for global (every-user) configs. You can view them by doing:
npm config get userconfig # defaults to ~/.npmrc
npm config get globalconfig # defaults to /usr/local/etc/npmrc
Uninstalling npm does not remove configuration files by default. You
must remove them yourself manually if you want them gone. Note that
this means that future npm installs will not remember the settings that
you have chosen.
More Docs
Check out the docs.
You can use the npm help command to read any of them.
If you’re a developer, and you want to use npm to publish your program,
you should read this.
BUGS
When you find issues, please report them:
Be sure to include all of the output from the npm command that didn’t work
as expected. The npm-debug.log file is also helpful to provide.
SEE ALSO
- npm(1)
- npm-help(1)