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1 ---
2 title: Creating a package.json file
3 redirect_from:
4 - /about-package-json-and-package-lock-json-files
5 - /getting-started/using-a-package.json
6 ---
7
8 You can add a `package.json` file to your package to make it easy for others to manage and install. Packages published to the registry must contain a `package.json` file.
9
10 A `package.json` file:
11
12 - lists the packages your project depends on
13 - specifies versions of a package that your project can use using [semantic versioning rules][semver]
14 - makes your build reproducible, and therefore easier to share with other developers
15
16 <Note>
17
18 **Note:** To make your package easier to find on the npm website, we recommend including a custom `description` in your `package.json` file.
19
20 </Note>
21
22 ## `package.json` fields
23
24 ### Required `name` and `version` fields
25
26 A `package.json` file must contain `"name"` and `"version"` fields.
27
28 The `"name"` field contains your package's name, and must be lowercase and one word, and may contain hyphens and underscores.
29
30 The `"version"` field must be in the form `x.x.x` and follow the [semantic versioning guidelines][semver].
31
32 ### Author field
33
34 If you want to include package author information in `"author"` field, use the following format (email and website are both optional):
35
36 ```
37 Your Name <email@example.com> (http://example.com)
38 ```
39
40 ### Example
41
42 ```
43 {
44 "name": "my-awesome-package",
45 "version": "1.0.0",
46 "author": "Your Name <email@example.com>"
47 }
48 ```
49
50 ## Creating a new `package.json` file
51
52 You can create a `package.json` file by running a CLI questionnaire or creating a default `package.json` file.
53
54 ### Running a CLI questionnaire
55
56 To create a `package.json` file with values that you supply, use the `npm init` command.
57
58 1. On the command line, navigate to the root directory of your package.
59
60 ```
61 cd /path/to/package
62 ```
63
64 2. Run the following command:
65
66 ```
67 npm init
68 ```
69
70 3. Answer the questions in the command line questionnaire.
71
72 #### Customizing the `package.json` questionnaire
73
74 If you expect to create many `package.json` files, you can customize the questions asked and fields created during the `init` process so all the `package.json` files contain a standard set of information.
75
76 1. In your home directory, create a file called `.npm-init.js`.
77
78 2. To add custom questions, using a text editor, add questions with the `prompt` function:
79
80 ```
81 module.exports = prompt("what's your favorite flavor of ice cream, buddy?", "I LIKE THEM ALL");
82 ```
83
84 3. To add custom fields, using a text editor, add desired fields to the `.npm-init.js` file:
85
86 ```
87 module.exports = {
88 customField: 'Example custom field',
89 otherCustomField: 'This example field is really cool'
90 }
91 ```
92
93 To learn more about creating advanced `npm init` customizations, see the [init-package-json GitHub repository][init-pkg-json GitHub repository].
94
95 ### Creating a default `package.json` file
96
97 To create a default `package.json` using information extracted from the current directory, use the `npm init` command with the `--yes` or `-y` flag. For a list of default values, see "[Default values extracted from the current directory](#default-values-extracted-from-the-current-directory)".
98
99 1. On the command line, navigate to the root directory of your package.
100
101 ```
102 cd /path/to/package
103 ```
104
105 2. Run the following command:
106
107 ```
108 npm init --yes
109 ```
110
111 #### Example
112
113 ```
114 > npm init --yes
115 Wrote to /home/monatheoctocat/my_package/package.json:
116
117 {
118 "name": "my_package",
119 "description": "",
120 "version": "1.0.0",
121 "scripts": {
122 "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
123 },
124 "repository": {
125 "type": "git",
126 "url": "https://github.com/monatheoctocat/my_package.git"
127 },
128 "keywords": [],
129 "author": "",
130 "license": "ISC",
131 "bugs": {
132 "url": "https://github.com/monatheoctocat/my_package/issues"
133 },
134 "homepage": "https://github.com/monatheoctocat/my_package"
135 }
136 ```
137
138 #### Default values extracted from the current directory
139
140 - `name`: the current directory name
141 - `version`: always `1.0.0`
142 - `description`: info from the README, or an empty string `""`
143 - `scripts`: by default creates an empty `test` script
144 - `keywords`: empty
145 - `author`: empty
146 - `license`: [`ISC`][isc-license]
147 - `bugs`: information from the current directory, if present
148 - `homepage`: information from the current directory, if present
149
150 ### Setting config options for the init command
151
152 You can set default config options for the init command. For example, to set the default author email, author name, and license, on the command line, run the following commands:
153
154 ```
155 > npm set init-author-email "example-user@example.com"
156 > npm set init-author-name "example_user"
157 > npm set init-license "MIT"
158 ```
159
160 [semver]: about-semantic-versioning
161 [init-pkg-json Github repository]: https://github.com/npm/init-package-json
162 [isc-license]: https://opensource.org/licenses/ISC