---
title: npm-install
section: 1
npm install [<package-spec> ...]
aliases: add, i, in, ins, inst, insta, instal, isnt, isnta, isntal, isntall
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 andnpm shrinkwrap
.
A package
is:
package.json
file<name>@<version>
that is published on the registry (seeregistry
) with (c)<name>@<tag>
(see npm dist-tag
) that<name>
that has a "latest" tag satisfying (e)<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 bothdependencies
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. (Seeconfig
. The config's default value is latest
.)
In most cases, this will install the version of the modules tagged aslatest
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-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 youroptionalDependencies
.--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-B, --save-bundle
: Saved dependencies will also be added to yourbundleDependencies
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. Seescope
.
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 invalidate-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 inpackage.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 withgit
. 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
, orgit+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, itsdependencies
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 thepackage-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
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
true
unless when using npm update
where it defaults to false
Save installed packages to a package.json
file as dependencies.
When used with the npm rm
command, removes the dependency frompackage.json
.
Will also prevent writing to package-lock.json
if set to false
.
save-exact
Dependencies saved to package.json will be configured with an exact version
rather than using npm's default semver range operator.
global
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.
{prefix}/lib/node_modules
folder, instead{prefix}/bin
{prefix}/share/man
install-strategy
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
--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
--install-strategy=shallow
Only install direct dependencies in the top level node_modules
, but hoist
on deeper dependencies. Sets --install-strategy=shallow
.
omit
NODE_ENV
environment variable is set toDependency types to omit from the installation tree on disk.
Note that these dependencies are still resolved and added to thepackage-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
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
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
Prefer to deduplicate packages if possible, rather than choosing a newer
version of a dependency.
package-lock
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
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 thepackage-lock.json
, rather than the contents of node_modules
.
foreground-scripts
false
unless when using npm pack
or npm publish
where ittrue
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
If true, npm does not run scripts specified in package.json files.
Note that commands explicitly intended to run a particular script, such asnpm 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
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
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
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
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
Override CPU architecture of native modules to install. Acceptable values
are same as cpu
field of package.json, which comes from process.arch
.
os
Override OS of native modules to install. Acceptable values are same as os
field of package.json, which comes from process.platform
.
libc
Override libc of native modules to install. Acceptable values are same aslibc
field of package.json
workspace
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:
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
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:
node_modules
tree (install, update, etc.)node_modules
folder. - Commands that doworkspace
config.This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.
include-workspace-root
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
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.
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.