Most Common NPM Commands: A Quick Guide

What is NPM?

NPM (Node Package Manager) is a package manager for JavaScript that effectively manages the packages (modules) of your Node.js projects. With the use of NPM, developers install, update, and manage dependencies and can share and publish their own packages.

Features of NPM

There are various features of NPM, such as:

• Workspaces: NPM helps to work on multiple projects in a single workspace.
• Private Packages: With NPM, users can package privately and share publicly to a private NPM registry.
• Version Ranges: Specify version ranges for your dependencies so you can avoid undesirable updates.
• NPM Scripts Lifecycle: NPM defines scripts that are run automatically at specific life cycles of a package, such as preinstall/postinstall/prepublish.

Along with these, you can get numerous other NPM commands to fully control your JavaScript project and leverage the full power of packages available in the ecosystem.

What are NPM commands?

NPM commands are instructions executed through command lines that help in the management of packages or modules in JavaScript applications. By default, NPM acts as the package manager for Node.js, making it relatively easy to install and share libraries as well as tools for application in one’s projects. 

Most Commonly Used NPM Commands

Given below is a comprehensive list of the most commonly used NPM commands along with their descriptions. 

1. npm init

This command initializes a new Node.js project by generating a package.json file containing metadata about the project and its dependencies.

Command: npm init

You can also run it in “default mode” by skipping the setup steps:

Command: npm init -y

2. npm install (or npm i)

This command installs all the dependencies listed in your package.json file. It also allows you to install specific packages globally or locally within a project.

Install dependencies:

Command: npm install

Install a specific package locally:

Command: npm install <package-name>

Install a specific package globally:

Command: npm install -g <package-name>

Installation Global vs. Local Installations

npm install -g installs a package globally, permitting its usage through your application by all projects. The best practice, however, is to install a package in a project to avoid unwanted conflict and to be in control of the same dependency.

3. npm install for specific package

With this command, developers can install a specific package and add it to the dependencies section of your package.json file.

Command: npm install <package-name> --save

4. npm install specific packages for development

The given below command is useful in installing a specific package and adding it to the dependencies section of your package.json. This command is useful for packages required during development but not in production (for example, testing frameworks).

Command: npm install <package-name> --save-dev

5. npm uninstall (or npm rm)

This command removes a package from your project. It also removes the dependency from the package.json file.

Command: npm uninstall <package-name>

6. npm update

As the name suggests, it can update all installed packages to their latest versions according to the version range specified in the package.json.

Command: npm update

7. npm outdated

This command returns information about the current version, the wanted version, and the latest version. Therefore, using this command, developers can get a list of packages that have newer versions available but are not installed yet in the package.json.

Command: npm outdated

8. npm run

With the run command, you can run a custom script specified in the scripts section of your package.json. You might use it to test, start servers, or bundle your files.

Command: npm run <script-name>
Example from package.json
json
 {
   "scripts": {
     "start": "node index.js",
     "test": "jest"
   }
 }

To run the script: npm run start

• NPM Scripts: NPM scripts are an effortless way of automating the most common tasks within your project. You might easily define scripts in the scripts section of your package.json and run them with npm run. For example, you may have a script that boots up your development server, runs tests, or builds your project, to mention but a few.

9. npm audit

It scans your project for any vulnerabilities in the libraries it uses and lets you know about them.

Command: npm audit

There’s another command to fix the vulnerabilities of the libraries.

Command: npm audit fix 

10. npm list

For beginners, the swallowing command is very useful. It displays the tree (a comprehensive list) of installed packages, listing all of your project’s dependencies in one place.

Command: npm list  

11. npm cache clean

The NPM cache is where downloaded packages are stored. Sometimes, cleaning the cache solves issues with package installation.

Command: npm cache clean --force  

12. npm publish

You can publish packages available for others to install. The publishing takes place on the NPM registry.

Command: npm publish  

13. npm version

Get the most used command to increment the version number of your project according to semantic versioning. It modifies the version field in package.json.

Command: npm version <update_type>

The following commands are further used for specific needs: 

• Patch update: npm version patch
• Minor update: npm version minor
• Major update: npm version ma