NPM CheatSheet

Install NPM

Node.js includes NPM automatically when installed

Check version

To verify if it is installed and see the version.

npm --version

List commands

To list all available npm commands.

npm help

Initialize a project

To start a new project, use npm init which creates a package.json file to manage the project’s dependencies and configurations.

npm init

Install all dependencies

This will install all dependencies listed in the package.json file. This is useful when you clone a repository or share your project with others.

npm install

Install dependencies

To install a dependency in a project.

npm install package-name

Install development dependencies

Development dependencies are those needed only for development and testing of the project.

npm install --save-dev package-name

Update dependencies

To update a dependency to the latest version.

npm update package-name

Uninstall dependencies

To uninstall a dependency.

npm uninstall package-name

List dependencies

To see the installed dependencies.

npm list

Global installation

To install a package globally (accessible from any project).

npm install -g package-name

Description of package.json

Contains metadata about the project, such as the name, version, description, and dependencies of the project.

Example:

{
  "name": "my-project",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Description of my project",
  "main": "index.js",
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.17.1",
    "lodash": "^4.17.21"
  }
}

Scripts

In the package.json file, you can define custom scripts that run specific commands.

{
  "name": "my-project",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node index.js",
    "test": "jest"
  }
}

To run a script:

npm run script-name

Global package installation

The package will be available in all your projects and can be executed from any directory on your system.

npm install -g package_name

List globally installed packages

npm list -g --depth=0

Uninstall global package

To uninstall a package that you’ve installed globally, you can use the following command.

npm uninstall -g package_name

NPX

Run a package without installing it globally.

npx package_command

Verify package details

npm view package_name

View dependencies of a package

npm view package_name dependencies

Search packages in the NPM registry

npm search keyword

Verify the list of project dependencies

npm ls

Create an account on NPM (if not already have one)

Creating an account on NPM allows you to publish your own packages and manage them from your profile.

npm adduser

Log in to NPM

Logging in to NPM is necessary to perform actions such as publishing packages or accessing your profile from the command line.

npm login

Publish a package on NPM

Publishing a package on NPM allows you to share your code with the community and makes it easier for other developers to use.

npm publish

Update a published package

To update a package already published on NPM, you must first increment the version and then republish it.

npm version type
npm publish

Global configuration

To view the global configuration of npm.

npm config list -g

Change the registry

You can change the npm registry, for example, to a private server.

npm config set registry https://my-private-registry.com

Semver (Semantic Versioning)

NPM uses Semver to manage package versions.

• x.y.z
  • x: Major version (breaks compatibility with previous versions).
  • y: Minor version (adds functionality in a backward-compatible manner).
  • z: Patch version (bug fixes, backward-compatible).

Update Versions

To update the version of a package in package.json.

npm version major|minor|patch

This will automatically update the version and create a commit and tag in Git.

View current NPM configuration

npm config list

Configure a proxy

npm config set proxy http://my.proxy.com:8080

Configure a registry

npm config set registry https://registry.npmjs.org/