chemicalsApp.git

---
title: npm-install
section: 1

description: Install a package

Synopsis

npm install [<package-spec> ...]

aliases: add, i, in, ins, inst, insta, instal, isnt, isnta, isntal, isntall

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.

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.
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
```
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.
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"
```
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:
bash 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 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.

`save`

Default: true unless when using npm update where it defaults to false
Type: Boolean

Save installed packages to a package.json file as dependencies.

When used with the npm rm command, removes the dependency from
package.json.

Will also prevent writing to package-lock.json if set to false.

`save-exact`

Default: false
Type: Boolean

Dependencies saved to package.json will be configured with an exact version
rather than using npm's default semver range operator.

`global`

Default: false
Type: Boolean

Operates in "global" mode, so that packages are installed into the prefix
folder instead of the current working directory. See
folders for more on the differences in behavior.

packages are installed into the {prefix}/lib/node_modules folder, instead
of the current working directory.
bin files are linked to {prefix}/bin
man pages are linked to {prefix}/share/man

`install-strategy`

Default: "hoisted"
Type: "hoisted", "nested", "shallow", or "linked"

Sets the strategy for installing packages in node_modules. hoisted
(default): Install non-duplicated in top-level, and duplicated as necessary
within directory structure. nested: (formerly --legacy-bundling) install in
place, no hoisting. shallow (formerly --global-style) only install direct
deps at top-level. linked: (experimental) install in node_modules/.store,
link in place, unhoisted.

`legacy-bundling`

Default: false
Type: Boolean
DEPRECATED: This option has been deprecated in favor of
--install-strategy=nested

Instead of hoisting package installs in node_modules, install packages in
the same manner that they are depended on. This may cause very deep
directory structures and duplicate package installs as there is no
de-duplicating. Sets --install-strategy=nested.

`global-style`

Default: false
Type: Boolean
DEPRECATED: This option has been deprecated in favor of
--install-strategy=shallow

Only install direct dependencies in the top level node_modules, but hoist
on deeper dependencies. Sets --install-strategy=shallow.

`omit`

Default: 'dev' if the NODE_ENV environment variable is set to
'production', otherwise empty.
Type: "dev", "optional", or "peer" (can be set multiple times)

Dependency types to omit from the installation tree on disk.

Note that these dependencies are still resolved and added to the
package-lock.json or npm-shrinkwrap.json file. They are just not
physically installed on disk.

If a package type appears in both the --include and --omit lists, then
it will be included.

If the resulting omit list includes 'dev', then the NODE_ENV environment
variable will be set to 'production' for all lifecycle scripts.

`include`

Default:
Type: "prod", "dev", "optional", or "peer" (can be set multiple times)

Option that allows for defining which types of dependencies to install.

This is the inverse of --omit=<type>.

Dependency types specified in --include will not be omitted, regardless of
the order in which omit/include are specified on the command-line.

`strict-peer-deps`

Default: false
Type: Boolean

If set to true, and --legacy-peer-deps is not set, then any
conflicting peerDependencies will be treated as an install failure, even
if npm could reasonably guess the appropriate resolution based on non-peer
dependency relationships.

By default, conflicting peerDependencies deep in the dependency graph will
be resolved using the nearest non-peer dependency specification, even if
doing so will result in some packages receiving a peer dependency outside
the range set in their package's peerDependencies object.

When such an override is performed, a warning is printed, explaining the
conflict and the packages involved. If --strict-peer-deps is set, then
this warning is treated as a failure.

`prefer-dedupe`

Default: false
Type: Boolean

Prefer to deduplicate packages if possible, rather than choosing a newer
version of a dependency.

`package-lock`

Default: true
Type: Boolean

If set to false, then ignore package-lock.json files when installing. This
will also prevent writing package-lock.json if save is true.

`package-lock-only`

Default: false
Type: Boolean

If set to true, the current operation will only use the package-lock.json,
ignoring node_modules.

For update this means only the package-lock.json will be updated,
instead of checking node_modules and downloading dependencies.

For list this means the output will be based on the tree described by the
package-lock.json, rather than the contents of node_modules.

`foreground-scripts`

Default: false unless when using npm pack or npm publish where it
defaults to true
Type: Boolean

Run all build scripts (ie, preinstall, install, and postinstall)
scripts for installed packages in the foreground process, sharing standard
input, output, and error with the main npm process.

Note that this will generally make installs run slower, and be much noisier,
but can be useful for debugging.

`ignore-scripts`

Default: false
Type: Boolean

If true, npm does not run scripts specified in package.json files.

Note that commands explicitly intended to run a particular script, such as
npm start, npm stop, npm restart, npm test, and npm run-script
will still run their intended script if ignore-scripts is set, but they
will not run any pre- or post-scripts.

`audit`

Default: true
Type: Boolean

When "true" submit audit reports alongside the current npm command to the
default registry and all registries configured for scopes. See the
documentation for npm audit for details on what is
submitted.

`bin-links`

Default: true
Type: Boolean

Tells npm to create symlinks (or .cmd shims on Windows) for package
executables.

Set to false to have it not do this. This can be used to work around the
fact that some file systems don't support symlinks, even on ostensibly Unix
systems.

`fund`

Default: true
Type: Boolean

When "true" displays the message at the end of each npm install
acknowledging the number of dependencies looking for funding. See npm fund for details.

`dry-run`

Default: false
Type: Boolean

Indicates that you don't want npm to make any changes and that it should
only report what it would have done. This can be passed into any of the
commands that modify your local installation, eg, install, update,
dedupe, uninstall, as well as pack and publish.

Note: This is NOT honored by other network related commands, eg dist-tags,
owner, etc.

`cpu`

Default: null
Type: null or String

Override CPU architecture of native modules to install. Acceptable values
are same as cpu field of package.json, which comes from process.arch.

`os`

Default: null
Type: null or String

Override OS of native modules to install. Acceptable values are same as os
field of package.json, which comes from process.platform.

`libc`

Default: null
Type: null or String

Override libc of native modules to install. Acceptable values are same as
libc field of package.json

`workspace`

Default:
Type: String (can be set multiple times)

Enable running a command in the context of the configured workspaces of the
current project while filtering by running only the workspaces defined by
this configuration option.

Valid values for the workspace config are either:

Workspace names
Path to a workspace directory
Path to a parent workspace directory (will result in selecting all
workspaces within that folder)

When set for the npm init command, this may be set to the folder of a
workspace which does not yet exist, to create the folder and set it up as a
brand new workspace within the project.

This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.

`workspaces`

Default: null
Type: null or Boolean

Set to true to run the command in the context of all configured
workspaces.

Explicitly setting this to false will cause commands like install to
ignore workspaces altogether. When not set explicitly:

Commands that operate on the node_modules tree (install, update, etc.)
will link workspaces into the node_modules folder. - Commands that do
other things (test, exec, publish, etc.) will operate on the root project,
unless one or more workspaces are specified in the workspace config.

This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.

`include-workspace-root`

Default: false
Type: Boolean

Include the workspace root when workspaces are enabled for a command.

When false, specifying individual workspaces via the workspace config, or
all workspaces via the workspaces flag, will cause npm to operate only on
the specified workspaces, and not on the root project.

This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.

`install-links`

Default: false
Type: Boolean

When set file: protocol dependencies will be packed and installed as regular
dependencies instead of creating a symlink. This option has no effect on
workspaces.

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.

description: Install a package

Synopsis

Description

Configuration

save

save-exact

global

install-strategy

legacy-bundling

global-style

omit

include

strict-peer-deps

prefer-dedupe

package-lock

package-lock-only

foreground-scripts

ignore-scripts

audit

bin-links

fund

dry-run

cpu

os

libc

workspace

workspaces

include-workspace-root

install-links

Algorithm

See Also

`save`

`save-exact`

`global`

`install-strategy`

`legacy-bundling`

`global-style`

`omit`

`include`

`strict-peer-deps`

`prefer-dedupe`

`package-lock`

`package-lock-only`

`foreground-scripts`

`ignore-scripts`

`audit`

`bin-links`

`fund`

`dry-run`

`cpu`

`os`

`libc`

`workspace`

`workspaces`

`include-workspace-root`

`install-links`