package-spec - Package name specifier
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.
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[<@scope>/]<pkg> |
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[<@scope>/]<pkg>@<tag> |
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[<@scope>/]<pkg>@<version> |
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[<@scope>/]<pkg>@<version range> |
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 ⟨/using-npm/config#registry⟩ config to refer to a package in a registry.
Examples:
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npm |
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@npmcli/arborist |
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@npmcli/arborist@latest |
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npm@ˆ4.0.0 |
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<alias>@npm:<name> |
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.
See Package name above for more info on referring to a package by name, and registry ⟨/using-npm/config#registry⟩ for configuring which registry is used when referring to a package by name.
Examples:
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semver:@npm:@npmcli/semver-with-patch |
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semver:@npm:[email protected] |
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semver:@npm:semver@legacy |
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<folder> |
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.
Examples:
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./my-package |
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/opt/npm/my-package |
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<tarball file> |
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<tarball url> |
Examples:
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./my-package.tgz |
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https://registry.npmjs.org/semver/-/semver-1.0.0.tgz |
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.
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<git:// url> |
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<github username>/<github project> |
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.
Examples:
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https://github.com/npm/cli.git |
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[email protected]:npm/cli.git |
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git+ssh://[email protected]/npm/cli#v6.0.0 |
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github:npm/cli#HEAD |
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npm/cli#c12ea07 |
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npm-package-arg ⟨https://npm.im/npm-package-arg⟩ |
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npm help scope |
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npm help config |