385 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
385 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
|
---
|
||
|
|
title: npm-link
|
||
|
|
section: 1
|
||
|
|
description: Symlink a package folder
|
||
|
|
---
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
### Synopsis
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
```bash
|
||
|
|
npm link (in package dir)
|
||
|
|
npm link [<@scope>/]<pkg>[@<version>]
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
alias: npm ln
|
||
|
|
```
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
### Description
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
This is handy for installing your own stuff, so that you can work on it and
|
||
|
|
test iteratively without having to continually rebuild.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Package linking is a two-step process.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
First, `npm link` in a package folder will create a symlink in the global
|
||
|
|
folder `{prefix}/lib/node_modules/<package>` that links to the package
|
||
|
|
where the `npm link` command was executed. It will also link any bins in
|
||
|
|
the package to `{prefix}/bin/{name}`. Note that `npm link` uses the global
|
||
|
|
prefix (see `npm prefix -g` for its value).
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Next, in some other location, `npm link package-name` will create a
|
||
|
|
symbolic link from globally-installed `package-name` to `node_modules/` of
|
||
|
|
the current folder.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Note that `package-name` is taken from `package.json`, _not_ from the
|
||
|
|
directory name.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The package name can be optionally prefixed with a scope. See
|
||
|
|
[`scope`](/using-npm/scope). The scope must be preceded by an @-symbol and
|
||
|
|
followed by a slash.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
When creating tarballs for `npm publish`, the linked packages are
|
||
|
|
"snapshotted" to their current state by resolving the symbolic links, if
|
||
|
|
they are included in `bundleDependencies`.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
For example:
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
```bash
|
||
|
|
cd ~/projects/node-redis # go into the package directory
|
||
|
|
npm link # creates global link
|
||
|
|
cd ~/projects/node-bloggy # go into some other package directory.
|
||
|
|
npm link redis # link-install the package
|
||
|
|
```
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Now, any changes to `~/projects/node-redis` will be reflected in
|
||
|
|
`~/projects/node-bloggy/node_modules/node-redis/`. Note that the link
|
||
|
|
should be to the package name, not the directory name for that package.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
You may also shortcut the two steps in one. For example, to do the
|
||
|
|
above use-case in a shorter way:
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
```bash
|
||
|
|
cd ~/projects/node-bloggy # go into the dir of your main project
|
||
|
|
npm link ../node-redis # link the dir of your dependency
|
||
|
|
```
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The second line is the equivalent of doing:
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
```bash
|
||
|
|
(cd ../node-redis; npm link)
|
||
|
|
npm link redis
|
||
|
|
```
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
That is, it first creates a global link, and then links the global
|
||
|
|
installation target into your project's `node_modules` folder.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Note that in this case, you are referring to the directory name,
|
||
|
|
`node-redis`, rather than the package name `redis`.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
If your linked package is scoped (see [`scope`](/using-npm/scope)) your
|
||
|
|
link command must include that scope, e.g.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
```bash
|
||
|
|
npm link @myorg/privatepackage
|
||
|
|
```
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
### Caveat
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Note that package dependencies linked in this way are _not_ saved to
|
||
|
|
`package.json` by default, on the assumption that the intention is to have
|
||
|
|
a link stand in for a regular non-link dependency. Otherwise, for example,
|
||
|
|
if you depend on `redis@^3.0.1`, and ran `npm link redis`, it would replace
|
||
|
|
the `^3.0.1` dependency with `file:../path/to/node-redis`, which you
|
||
|
|
probably don't want! Additionally, other users or developers on your
|
||
|
|
project would run into issues if they do not have their folders set up
|
||
|
|
exactly the same as yours.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
If you are adding a _new_ dependency as a link, you should add it to the
|
||
|
|
relevant metadata by running `npm install <dep> --package-lock-only`.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
If you _want_ to save the `file:` reference in your `package.json` and
|
||
|
|
`package-lock.json` files, you can use `npm link <dep> --save` to do so.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
### Workspace Usage
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
`npm link <pkg> --workspace <name>` will link the relevant package as a
|
||
|
|
dependency of the specified workspace(s). Note that It may actually be
|
||
|
|
linked into the parent project's `node_modules` folder, if there are no
|
||
|
|
conflicting dependencies.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
`npm link --workspace <name>` will create a global link to the specified
|
||
|
|
workspace(s).
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
### Configuration
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- AUTOGENERATED CONFIG DESCRIPTIONS START -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
#### `save`
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* Default: true
|
||
|
|
* 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.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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](/configuring-npm/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`
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `global-style`
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* Default: false
|
||
|
|
* Type: Boolean
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Causes npm to install the package into your local `node_modules` folder with
|
||
|
|
the same layout it uses with the global `node_modules` folder. Only your
|
||
|
|
direct dependencies will show in `node_modules` and everything they depend
|
||
|
|
on will be flattened in their `node_modules` folders. This obviously will
|
||
|
|
eliminate some deduping. If used with `legacy-bundling`, `legacy-bundling`
|
||
|
|
will be preferred.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `legacy-bundling`
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* Default: false
|
||
|
|
* Type: Boolean
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Causes npm to install the package such that versions of npm prior to 1.4,
|
||
|
|
such as the one included with node 0.8, can install the package. This
|
||
|
|
eliminates all automatic deduping. If used with `global-style` this option
|
||
|
|
will be preferred.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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 and 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.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
When package package-locks are disabled, automatic pruning of extraneous
|
||
|
|
modules will also be disabled. To remove extraneous modules with
|
||
|
|
package-locks disabled use `npm prune`.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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`](/commands/npm-audit) for details on what is
|
||
|
|
submitted.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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`](/commands/npm-fund) for details.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
#### `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.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- automatically generated, do not edit manually -->
|
||
|
|
<!-- see lib/utils/config/definitions.js -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- AUTOGENERATED CONFIG DESCRIPTIONS END -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
### See Also
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
* [npm developers](/using-npm/developers)
|
||
|
|
* [package.json](/configuring-npm/package-json)
|
||
|
|
* [npm install](/commands/npm-install)
|
||
|
|
* [npm folders](/configuring-npm/folders)
|
||
|
|
* [npm config](/commands/npm-config)
|
||
|
|
* [npmrc](/configuring-npm/npmrc)
|