npm Cheat Sheet

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Core npm CLI, package inspection, package.json editing, and daily workflow commands.

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Core npm CLI

Core package and registry commands.

Show npm help

Open npm help.

↗#

bashANYnpmhelp

bash

npm help

Open npm help.

Show npm version

Print the current npm version.

↗#

bashANYnpmversion

bash

npm --version

Print the current npm version.

Initialize package.json

Run the interactive package initializer.

↗#

bashANYnpminitpackage-json

bash

npm init

Run the interactive package initializer.

Initialize package.json with defaults

Create package.json using defaults.

↗#

bashANYnpminitpackage-json

bash

npm init -y

Create package.json using defaults.

Install dependencies from package-lock

Install project dependencies.

↗#

bashANYnpminstalldeps

bash

npm install

Install project dependencies.

Clean install from lockfile

Install exactly from package-lock.json for CI.

↗#

bashANYnpmcilockfile

bash

npm ci

Install exactly from package-lock.json for CI.

Run a package binary

Run a binary from local dependencies or a temp package.

↗#

bashANYnpmexecbin

bash

npm exec -- <command>

Run a binary from local dependencies or a temp package.

Run a package binary with npx

Run a package executable without adding it to scripts.

↗#

bashANYnpxexec

bash

npx <command>

Run a package executable without adding it to scripts.

Inspect packages and metadata

Inspect installed packages and registry info.

List installed packages

Show installed dependency tree.

↗#

bashANYnpmlistinspect

bash

npm ls

Show installed dependency tree.

Show outdated packages

List packages with newer available versions.

↗#

bashANYnpmoutdatedinspect

bash

npm outdated

List packages with newer available versions.

View package metadata

Show metadata from the registry.

↗#

bashANYnpmviewregistry

bash

npm view <package>

Show metadata from the registry.

View latest package version

Show the current published version.

↗#

bashANYnpmviewversion

bash

npm view <package> version

Show the current published version.

Explain why a package is installed

Show why a package exists in the dependency tree.

↗#

bashANYnpmexplaintree

bash

npm explain <package>

Show why a package exists in the dependency tree.

Query installed packages

Query dependency tree nodes using selectors.

↗#

bashANYnpmqueryinspect

bash

npm query ".workspace"

Query dependency tree nodes using selectors.

Show funding information

Display funding URLs for dependencies.

↗#

bashANYnpmfundinspect

bash

npm fund

Display funding URLs for dependencies.

Open package docs

Open a package documentation page.

↗#

bashANYnpmdocs

bash

npm docs <package>

Open a package documentation page.

package.json editing

Inspect and edit package metadata from the CLI.

Get a package.json field

Read a field from package.json.

↗#

bashANYnpmpkgpackage-json

bash

npm pkg get scripts

Read a field from package.json.

Set a package.json field

Write a field to package.json.

↗#

bashANYnpmpkgpackage-json

bash

npm pkg set scripts.build="tsc -p ."

Write a field to package.json.

Delete a package.json field

Remove a field from package.json.

↗#

bashANYnpmpkgpackage-json

bash

npm pkg delete scripts.test

Remove a field from package.json.

Show package root

Print the nearest package root path.

↗#

bashANYnpmprefixpaths

bash

npm prefix

Print the nearest package root path.

Show node_modules root

Print the local node_modules directory.

↗#

bashANYnpmrootpaths

bash

npm root

Print the local node_modules directory.

Useful daily workflows

Common commands used in app development.

Run a build script

Run the build script from package.json.

↗#

bashANYnpmrunscripts

bash

npm run build

Run the build script from package.json.

Run tests

Run the test script.

↗#

bashANYnpmtestscripts

bash

npm test

Run the test script.

Run lint

Run a lint script.

↗#

bashANYnpmrunscripts

bash

npm run lint

Run a lint script.

Run start script

Run the start script.

↗#

bashANYnpmstartscripts

bash

npm start

Run the start script.

Run restart script

Run stop then start lifecycle commands if present.

↗#

bashANYnpmrestartscripts

bash

npm restart

Run stop then start lifecycle commands if present.

Print script environment

Show environment variables available to scripts.

↗#

bashANYnpmenvscripts

bash

npm run env

Show environment variables available to scripts.

More in npm

npm Audit & Package Maintenance

Security auditing, package maintenance, and npm org/team workflows.

npm Config, Auth & Cache

Configuration, npmrc, cache management, profile, and token workflows.

npm Publish & Registry

Publishing, versioning, dist-tags, auth, and registry metadata commands.

npm Scripts & Workspaces

Scripts, lifecycle hooks, npm exec, and workspace workflows.

npm Install & Dependencies

Install, update, remove, lockfile, and local-development npm dependency workflows.

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