Synopsis

npmlink(in packagedir)
npmlink[<@scope>/]<pkg>[@<version>]
alias:npmln

Description

Package linking is a two-step process.

First,npm link in a package folder will create a symlink in the global folder{prefix}/lib/node_modules/<package> that links to the package where thenpm link command was executed. It will also link any bins in the package to{prefix}/bin/{name}. Note thatnpm link uses the global prefix (seenpm prefix -g for its value).

Next, in some other location,npm link package-name will create a symbolic link from globally-installedpackage-name tonode_modules/ of the current folder.

Note thatpackage-name is taken frompackage.json, not from directory name.

The package name can be optionally prefixed with a scope. Seescope. The scope must be preceded by an @-symbol and followed by a slash.

When creating tarballs fornpm publish, the linked packages are "snapshotted" to their current state by resolving the symbolic links.

This is handy for installing your own stuff, so that you can work on it and test it iteratively without having to continually rebuild.

For example:

cd ~/projects/node-redis# go into the package directory
npmlink# creates global link
cd ~/projects/node-bloggy# go into some other package directory.
npmlink redis# link-install the package

Now, any changes to ~/projects/node-redis will be reflected in ~/projects/node-bloggy/node_modules/node-redis/. Note that the link should be to the package name, not the directory name for that package.

You may also shortcut the two steps in one. For example, to do the above use-case in a shorter way:

cd ~/projects/node-bloggy# go into the dir of your main project
npmlink../node-redis# link the dir of your dependency

The second line is the equivalent of doing:

(cd../node-redis;npmlink)
npmlink redis

That is, it first creates a global link, and then links the global installation target into your project'snode_modules folder.

Note that in this case, you are referring to the directory name,node-redis, rather than the package nameredis.

If your linked package is scoped (seescope) your link command must include that scope, e.g.

npmlink @myorg/privatepackage

See Also

• npm developers
• package.json
• npm install
• npm folders
• npm config
• npmrc

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Last edited byethomson onSeptember 24, 2020