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maitxn/version-bump-tar
@reggi/path-to-regexp dependabot/npm_and_yarn/main/copy-to-clipboard-4.0.2 dependabot/npm_and_yarn/main/eslint-10.4.0 dependabot/npm_and_yarn/main/npmcli/eslint-config-7.0.0 dependabot/npm_and_yarn/main/proc-log-7.0.0 dependabot/npm_and_yarn/npm_and_yarn-826852524d dependabot/npm_and_yarn/npm_and_yarn-ab9a7f4bc2 deprecate-totp-2fa dhei/classic-tokens gat-bypass-2fa-docs jpg619/fix-accessibility-content-flow jpg619/version-bump-tar-2 kartykp/gat-bypass-2fa-docs kartykp/upgrade-path-to-regex main maitxn/version-bump-tar patch-1 reggi/cache-based-on-version reggi/dev-engines reggi/fix-transform-prettier reggi/overrides update-search-sensitivity
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1 ---
2 title: Package spec
3 section: 7
4 description: Package name specifier
5 github_repo: npm/cli
6 github_branch: latest
7 github_path: docs/lib/content/using-npm/package-spec.md
8 redirect_from:
9 - /cli-documentation/misc/package-spec
10 - /cli-documentation/using-npm/package-spec
11 - /cli-documentation/v11/misc/package-spec
12 - /cli-documentation/v11/using-npm/package-spec
13 - /cli/misc/package-spec
14 - /cli/using-npm/package-spec
15 - /cli/v11/misc/package-spec
16 - /misc/package-spec
17 - /using-npm/package-spec
18 ---
19
20 ### Description
21
22 Commands like `npm install` and the dependency sections in the `package.json` use a package name specifier. This can be many different things that all refer to a "package". Examples include a package name, git url, tarball, or local directory. These will generally be referred to as `<package-spec>` in the help output for the npm commands that use this package name specifier.
23
24 ### Package name
25
26 - `[<@scope>/]<pkg>`
27 - `[<@scope>/]<pkg>@<tag>`
28 - `[<@scope>/]<pkg>@<version>`
29 - `[<@scope>/]<pkg>@<version range>`
30
31 Refers to a package by name, with or without a scope, and optionally tag, version, or version range. This is typically used in combination with the [registry](/cli/v11/using-npm/config#registry) config to refer to a package in a registry.
32
33 Examples:
34
35 - `npm`
36 - `@npmcli/arborist`
37 - `@npmcli/arborist@latest`
38 - `npm@6.13.1`
39 - `npm@^4.0.0`
40
41 ### Aliases
42
43 - `<alias>@npm:<name>`
44
45 Primarily used by commands like `npm install` and in the dependency sections in the `package.json`, this refers to a package by an alias. The `<alias>` is the name of the package as it is reified in the `node_modules` folder, and the `<name>` refers to a package name as found in the configured registry.
46
47 See `Package name` above for more info on referring to a package by name, and [registry](/cli/v11/using-npm/config#registry) for configuring which registry is used when referring to a package by name.
48
49 Examples:
50
51 - `semver@npm:@npmcli/semver-with-patch`
52 - `semver@npm:semver@7.2.2`
53 - `semver@npm:semver@legacy`
54
55 ### Folders
56
57 - `<folder>`
58
59 This refers to a package on the local filesystem. Specifically this is a folder with a `package.json` file in it. This _should_ always be prefixed with a `/` or `./` (or your OS equivalent) to reduce confusion. npm currently will parse a string with more than one `/` in it as a folder, but this is legacy behavior that may be removed in a future version.
60
61 Examples:
62
63 - `./my-package`
64 - `/opt/npm/my-package`
65
66 ### Tarballs
67
68 - `<tarball file>`
69 - `<tarball url>`
70
71 Examples:
72
73 - `./my-package.tgz`
74 - `https://registry.npmjs.org/semver/-/semver-1.0.0.tgz`
75
76 Refers to a package in a tarball format, either on the local filesystem or remotely via url. This is the format that packages exist in when uploaded to a registry.
77
78 ### git urls
79
80 - `<git:// url>`
81 - `<github username>/<github project>`
82
83 Refers to a package in a git repo. This can be a full git url, git shorthand, or a username/package on GitHub. You can specify a git tag, branch, or other git ref by appending `#ref`.
84
85 Examples:
86
87 - `https://github.com/npm/cli.git`
88 - `git@github.com:npm/cli.git`
89 - `git+ssh://git@github.com/npm/cli#v6.0.0`
90 - `github:npm/cli#HEAD`
91 - `npm/cli#c12ea07`
92
93 ### See also
94
95 - [npm-package-arg](https://npm.im/npm-package-arg)
96 - [scope](/cli/v11/using-npm/scope)
97 - [config](/cli/v11/using-npm/config)