1 ---
2 title: npm-install
3 section: 1
4 description: Install a package
5 github_repo: npm/cli
6 github_branch: release/v7
7 github_path: docs/content/commands/npm-install.md
8 redirect_from:
9 - /cli-documentation/v7/cli-commands/install
10 - /cli-documentation/v7/cli-commands/npm-install
11 - /cli-documentation/v7/commands/install
12 - /cli-documentation/v7/commands/npm-install
13 - /cli-documentation/v7/install
14 - /cli-documentation/v7/npm-install
15 - /cli/v7/cli-commands/install
16 - /cli/v7/cli-commands/npm-install
17 - /cli/v7/commands/install
18 - /cli/v7/install
19 - /cli/v7/npm-install
20 ---
21
22 ### Synopsis
23
24 ```bash
25 npm install (with no args, in package dir)
26 npm install [<@scope>/]<name>
27 npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<tag>
28 npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<version>
29 npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<version range>
30 npm install <alias>@npm:<name>
31 npm install <git-host>:<git-user>/<repo-name>
32 npm install <git repo url>
33 npm install <tarball file>
34 npm install <tarball url>
35 npm install <folder>
36
37 aliases: npm i, npm add
38 common options: [-P|--save-prod|-D|--save-dev|-O|--save-optional|--save-peer] [-E|--save-exact] [-B|--save-bundle] [--no-save] [--dry-run]
39 ```
40
41 ### Description
42
43 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:
44
45 - `npm-shrinkwrap.json`
46 - `package-lock.json`
47 - `yarn.lock`
48
49 See [package-lock.json](/cli/v7/configuring-npm/package-lock-json) and [`npm shrinkwrap`](/cli/v7/commands/npm-shrinkwrap).
50
51 A `package` is:
52
53 - a) a folder containing a program described by a [`package.json`](/cli/v7/configuring-npm/package-json) file
54 - b) a gzipped tarball containing (a)
55 - c) a url that resolves to (b)
56 - d) a `<name>@<version>` that is published on the registry (see [`registry`](/cli/v7/using-npm/registry)) with (c)
57 - e) a `<name>@<tag>` (see [`npm dist-tag`](/cli/v7/commands/npm-dist-tag)) that points to (d)
58 - f) a `<name>` that has a "latest" tag satisfying (e)
59 - g) a `<git remote url>` that resolves to (a)
60
61 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).
62
63 - `npm install` (in a package directory, no arguments):
64
65 Install the dependencies in the local `node_modules` folder.
66
67 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.
68
69 By default, `npm install` will install all modules listed as dependencies in [`package.json`](/cli/v7/configuring-npm/package-json).
70
71 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 both `dependencies` and `devDependencies` when `NODE_ENV` environment variable is set to `production`, you can use `--production=false`.
72
73 > NOTE: The `--production` flag has no particular meaning when adding a dependency to a project.
74
75 - `npm install <folder>`:
76
77 Install the package in the directory as a symlink in the current project. Its dependencies will be installed before it's linked. If `<folder>` sits inside the root of your project, its dependencies may be hoisted to the top-level `node_modules` as they would for other types of dependencies.
78
79 - `npm install <tarball file>`:
80
81 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`](/cli/v7/commands/npm-link).
82
83 Tarball requirements:
84
85 - The filename _must_ use `.tar`, `.tar.gz`, or `.tgz` as the extension.
86 - 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).
87 - The package must contain a `package.json` file with `name` and `version` properties.
88
89 Example:
90
91 ```bash
92 npm install ./package.tgz
93 ```
94
95 - `npm install <tarball url>`:
96
97 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://"
98
99 Example:
100
101 ```bash
102 npm install https://github.com/indexzero/forever/tarball/v0.5.6
103 ```
104
105 - `npm install [<@scope>/]<name>`:
106
107 Do a `<name>@<tag>` install, where `<tag>` is the "tag" config. (See [`config`](/cli/v7/using-npm/config). The config's default value is `latest`.)
108
109 In most cases, this will install the version of the modules tagged as `latest` on the npm registry.
110
111 Example:
112
113 ```bash
114 npm install sax
115 ```
116
117 `npm install` saves any specified packages into `dependencies` by default. Additionally, you can control where and how they get saved with some additional flags:
118
119 - `-P, --save-prod`: Package will appear in your `dependencies`. This is the default unless `-D` or `-O` are present.
120
121 - `-D, --save-dev`: Package will appear in your `devDependencies`.
122
123 - `-O, --save-optional`: Package will appear in your `optionalDependencies`.
124
125 - `--no-save`: Prevents saving to `dependencies`.
126
127 When using any of the above options to save dependencies to your package.json, there are two additional, optional flags:
128
129 - `-E, --save-exact`: Saved dependencies will be configured with an exact version rather than using npm's default semver range operator.
130
131 - `-B, --save-bundle`: Saved dependencies will also be added to your `bundleDependencies` list.
132
133 Further, if you have an `npm-shrinkwrap.json` or `package-lock.json` then it will be updated as well.
134
135 `<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. See [`scope`](/cli/v7/using-npm/scope).
136
137 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.
138
139 Examples:
140
141 ```bash
142 npm install sax
143 npm install githubname/reponame
144 npm install @myorg/privatepackage
145 npm install node-tap --save-dev
146 npm install dtrace-provider --save-optional
147 npm install readable-stream --save-exact
148 npm install ansi-regex --save-bundle
149 ```
150
151 **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.
152
153 - `npm install <alias>@npm:<name>`:
154
155 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 in [`validate-npm-package-name`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/validate-npm-package-name#naming-rules).
156
157 Examples:
158
159 ```bash
160 npm install my-react@npm:react
161 npm install jquery2@npm:jquery@2
162 npm install jquery3@npm:jquery@3
163 npm install npa@npm:npm-package-arg
164 ```
165
166 - `npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<tag>`:
167
168 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.
169
170 Example:
171
172 ```bash
173 npm install sax@latest
174 npm install @myorg/mypackage@latest
175 ```
176
177 - `npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<version>`:
178
179 Install the specified version of the package. This will fail if the version has not been published to the registry.
180
181 Example:
182
183 ```bash
184 npm install sax@0.1.1
185 npm install @myorg/privatepackage@1.5.0
186 ```
187
188 - `npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<version range>`:
189
190 Install a version of the package matching the specified version range. This will follow the same rules for resolving dependencies described in [`package.json`](/cli/v7/configuring-npm/package-json).
191
192 Note that most version ranges must be put in quotes so that your shell will treat it as a single argument.
193
194 Example:
195
196 ```bash
197 npm install sax@">=0.1.0 <0.2.0"
198 npm install @myorg/privatepackage@"16 - 17"
199 ```
200
201 - `npm install <git remote url>`:
202
203 Installs the package from the hosted git provider, cloning it with `git`. For a full git remote url, only that URL will be attempted.
204
205 ```bash
206 <protocol>://[<user>[:<password>]@]<hostname>[:<port>][:][/]<path>[#<commit-ish> | #semver:<semver>]
207 ```
208
209 `<protocol>` is one of `git`, `git+ssh`, `git+http`, `git+https`, or `git+file`.
210
211 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.
212
213 If the repository makes use of submodules, those submodules will be cloned as well.
214
215 If the package being installed contains a `prepare` script, its `dependencies` and `devDependencies` will be installed, and the prepare script will be run, before the package is packaged and installed.
216
217 The following git environment variables are recognized by npm and will be added to the environment when running git:
218
219 - `GIT_ASKPASS`
220 - `GIT_EXEC_PATH`
221 - `GIT_PROXY_COMMAND`
222 - `GIT_SSH`
223 - `GIT_SSH_COMMAND`
224 - `GIT_SSL_CAINFO`
225 - `GIT_SSL_NO_VERIFY`
226
227 See the git man page for details.
228
229 Examples:
230
231 ```bash
232 npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli.git#v1.0.27
233 npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli#pull/273
234 npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli#semver:^5.0
235 npm install git+https://isaacs@github.com/npm/cli.git
236 npm install git://github.com/npm/cli.git#v1.0.27
237 GIT_SSH_COMMAND='ssh -i ~/.ssh/custom_ident' npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli.git
238 ```
239
240 - `npm install <githubname>/<githubrepo>[#<commit-ish>]`:
241 - `npm install github:<githubname>/<githubrepo>[#<commit-ish>]`:
242
243 Install the package at `https://github.com/githubname/githubrepo` by attempting to clone it using `git`.
244
245 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.
246
247 As with regular git dependencies, `dependencies` and `devDependencies` will be installed if the package has a `prepare` script before the package is done installing.
248
249 Examples:
250
251 ```bash
252 npm install mygithubuser/myproject
253 npm install github:mygithubuser/myproject
254 ```
255
256 - `npm install gist:[<githubname>/]<gistID>[#<commit-ish>|#semver:<semver>]`:
257
258 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`.
259
260 As with regular git dependencies, `dependencies` and `devDependencies` will be installed if the package has a `prepare` script before the package is done installing.
261
262 Example:
263
264 ```bash
265 npm install gist:101a11beef
266 ```
267
268 - `npm install bitbucket:<bitbucketname>/<bitbucketrepo>[#<commit-ish>]`:
269
270 Install the package at `https://bitbucket.org/bitbucketname/bitbucketrepo` by attempting to clone it using `git`.
271
272 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.
273
274 As with regular git dependencies, `dependencies` and `devDependencies` will be installed if the package has a `prepare` script before the package is done installing.
275
276 Example:
277
278 ```bash
279 npm install bitbucket:mybitbucketuser/myproject
280 ```
281
282 - `npm install gitlab:<gitlabname>/<gitlabrepo>[#<commit-ish>]`:
283
284 Install the package at `https://gitlab.com/gitlabname/gitlabrepo` by attempting to clone it using `git`.
285
286 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.
287
288 As with regular git dependencies, `dependencies` and `devDependencies` will be installed if the package has a `prepare` script before the package is done installing.
289
290 Example:
291
292 ```bash
293 npm install gitlab:mygitlabuser/myproject
294 npm install gitlab:myusr/myproj#semver:^5.0
295 ```
296
297 You may combine multiple arguments and even multiple types of arguments. For example:
298
299 ```bash
300 npm install sax@">=0.1.0 <0.2.0" bench supervisor
301 ```
302
303 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.
304
305 The `--dry-run` argument will report in the usual way what the install would have done without actually installing anything.
306
307 The `--package-lock-only` argument will only update the `package-lock.json`, instead of checking `node_modules` and downloading dependencies.
308
309 The `-f` or `--force` argument will force npm to fetch remote resources even if a local copy exists on disk.
310
311 ```bash
312 npm install sax --force
313 ```
314
315 ### Configuration
316
317 See the [`config`](/cli/v7/using-npm/config) help doc. Many of the configuration params have some effect on installation, since that's most of what npm does.
318
319 These are some of the most common options related to installation.
320
321 #### `save`
322
323 - Default: true
324 - Type: Boolean
325
326 Save installed packages to a package.json file as dependencies.
327
328 When used with the `npm rm` command, removes the dependency from package.json.
329
330 #### `save-exact`
331
332 - Default: false
333 - Type: Boolean
334
335 Dependencies saved to package.json will be configured with an exact version rather than using npm's default semver range operator.
336
337 #### `global`
338
339 - Default: false
340 - Type: Boolean
341
342 Operates in "global" mode, so that packages are installed into the `prefix` folder instead of the current working directory. See [folders](/cli/v7/configuring-npm/folders) for more on the differences in behavior.
343
344 - packages are installed into the `{prefix}/lib/node_modules` folder, instead of the current working directory.
345 - bin files are linked to `{prefix}/bin`
346 - man pages are linked to `{prefix}/share/man`
347
348 #### `global-style`
349
350 - Default: false
351 - Type: Boolean
352
353 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.
354
355 #### `legacy-bundling`
356
357 - Default: false
358 - Type: Boolean
359
360 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.
361
362 #### `strict-peer-deps`
363
364 - Default: false
365 - Type: Boolean
366
367 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.
368
369 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.
370
371 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.
372
373 #### `package-lock`
374
375 - Default: true
376 - Type: Boolean
377
378 If set to false, then ignore `package-lock.json` files when installing. This will also prevent _writing_ `package-lock.json` if `save` is true.
379
380 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`.
381
382 #### `omit`
383
384 - Default: 'dev' if the `NODE_ENV` environment variable is set to 'production', otherwise empty.
385 - Type: "dev", "optional", or "peer" (can be set multiple times)
386
387 Dependency types to omit from the installation tree on disk.
388
389 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.
390
391 If a package type appears in both the `--include` and `--omit` lists, then it will be included.
392
393 If the resulting omit list includes `'dev'`, then the `NODE_ENV` environment variable will be set to `'production'` for all lifecycle scripts.
394
395 #### `ignore-scripts`
396
397 - Default: false
398 - Type: Boolean
399
400 If true, npm does not run scripts specified in package.json files.
401
402 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.
403
404 #### `audit`
405
406 - Default: true
407 - Type: Boolean
408
409 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`](/cli/v7/commands/npm-audit) for details on what is submitted.
410
411 #### `bin-links`
412
413 - Default: true
414 - Type: Boolean
415
416 Tells npm to create symlinks (or `.cmd` shims on Windows) for package executables.
417
418 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.
419
420 #### `fund`
421
422 - Default: true
423 - Type: Boolean
424
425 When "true" displays the message at the end of each `npm install` acknowledging the number of dependencies looking for funding. See [`npm fund`](/cli/v7/commands/npm-fund) for details.
426
427 #### `dry-run`
428
429 - Default: false
430 - Type: Boolean
431
432 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`.
433
434 Note: This is NOT honored by other network related commands, eg `dist-tags`, `owner`, etc.
435
436 #### `workspace`
437
438 - Default:
439 - Type: String (can be set multiple times)
440
441 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.
442
443 Valid values for the `workspace` config are either:
444
445 - Workspace names
446 - Path to a workspace directory
447 - Path to a parent workspace directory (will result to selecting all of the nested workspaces)
448
449 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.
450
451 This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.
452
453 #### `workspaces`
454
455 - Default: false
456 - Type: Boolean
457
458 Enable running a command in the context of **all** the configured workspaces.
459
460 This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.
461
462 ### Algorithm
463
464 Given a `package{dep}` structure: `A{B,C}, B{C}, C{D}`, the npm install algorithm produces:
465
466 ```bash
467 A
468 +-- B
469 +-- C
470 +-- D
471 ```
472
473 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.
474
475 For `A{B,C}, B{C,D@1}, C{D@2}`, this algorithm produces:
476
477 ```bash
478 A
479 +-- B
480 +-- C
481 `-- D@2
482 +-- D@1
483 ```
484
485 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.
486
487 See [folders](/cli/v7/configuring-npm/folders) for a more detailed description of the specific folder structures that npm creates.
488
489 ### See Also
490
491 - [npm folders](/cli/v7/configuring-npm/folders)
492 - [npm update](/cli/v7/commands/npm-update)
493 - [npm audit](/cli/v7/commands/npm-audit)
494 - [npm fund](/cli/v7/commands/npm-fund)
495 - [npm link](/cli/v7/commands/npm-link)
496 - [npm rebuild](/cli/v7/commands/npm-rebuild)
497 - [npm scripts](/cli/v7/using-npm/scripts)
498 - [npm config](/cli/v7/commands/npm-config)
499 - [npmrc](/cli/v7/configuring-npm/npmrc)
500 - [npm registry](/cli/v7/using-npm/registry)
501 - [npm dist-tag](/cli/v7/commands/npm-dist-tag)
502 - [npm uninstall](/cli/v7/commands/npm-uninstall)
503 - [npm shrinkwrap](/cli/v7/commands/npm-shrinkwrap)
504 - [package.json](/cli/v7/configuring-npm/package-json)
505 - [workspaces](/cli/v7/using-npm/workspaces)