npm

Node Package Manager (npm) is an extensive collection of JavaScript packages. This makes adding complexity and functionality to JavaScript projects seamless. npm is also the official package manager of Node.js. Therefore, if Node.js was previously downloaded, npm is already installed!

Packages

Packages are tools composed of files and folders of JavaScript code. They provide one or more operations that can be installed, imported, and used in a separate project. Thanks to npm, the installation process for packages is uniform.

The npm Registry

npm comes as two primary tools:

• A command-line tool with abilities that include installing and uninstalling packages.
• An online registry of all packages registered with npm.

On the npm registry, all public packages can be searched and reviewed before installation. Most packages come with a README.md file with instructions for installation and usage.

Common Commands

As a command-line tool, npm comes with a litany of commands for working with packages. One of the most common npm commands is:

npm install <package-name-here>

Note: npm i <package-name-here> works, too.

This is used to install packages from the npm registry and add them to a JavaScript project. Running the command as npm install with no specific package will (re)install all the packages for the project.

The following command can be run to get a brief overview of common npm commands:

npm --help

Note: npm -h works, too.

Alternatively, a (long) list of all npm commands, paired with brief descriptions, can be viewed with the -l flag:

npm -l

Global Packages

npm also features the ability to install packages globally, so packages can be used as command-line tools anywhere. This is done with the -g flag:

npm install -g <package-name-here>

npx

Additionally, the npx executes packages anywhere without having to handle installation. It uses the following syntax:

npx [options] <command>[@version] [command-arg]

For example, the following command would be used to execute the codecademy package with the arguments: "Hello world!":

npx codecademy "Hello world!"