NPM INSTALL LOCALLY | (also uninstall steps) *

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https://nodejs.dev/learn/npm-global-or-local-packages

In general, all packages should be installed locally.

npm global or local packages

The main difference between local and global packages is this:

  • local packages are installed in the directory where you run npm install <package-name>, and they are put in the node_modules folder under this directory
  • global packages are all put in a single place in your system (exactly where depends on your setup), regardless of where you run npm install -g <package-name>

In your code you can only require local packages:

JScopy
require('package-name')

so when should you install in one way or another?

In general, all packages should be installed locally.

This makes sure you can have dozens of applications in your computer, all running a different version of each package if needed.

Updating a global package would make all your projects use the new release, and as you can imagine this might cause nightmares in terms of maintenance, as some packages might break compatibility with further dependencies, and so on.

All projects have their own local version of a package, even if this might appear like a waste of resources, it's minimal compared to the possible negative consequences.

A package should be installed globally when it provides an executable command that you run from the shell (CLI), and it's reused across projects.

You can also install executable commands locally and run them using npx, but some packages are just better installed globally.

Great examples of popular global packages which you might know are

  • npm
  • create-react-app
  • vue-cli
  • grunt-cli
  • mocha
  • react-native-cli
  • gatsby-cli
  • forever
  • nodemon

You probably have some packages installed globally already on your system. You can see them by running

BASHcopy
npm list -g --depth 0

on your command line.

TEST

 

npm list -g --depth 0
/Users/spiffy/.nvm/versions/node/v14.16.1/lib
├── @aws-amplify/cli@4.50.2
├── bower@1.8.12
├── codesandbox@2.2.3
├── ghost-cli@1.17.3
├── grunt-cli@1.4.3
└── npm@6.14.8

npm ERR! missing: winston-transport@https://github.com/winstonjs/winston-transport/archive/868d6577956f82ee0b021b119a4de938c61645f7.tar.gz, required by winston-daily-rotate-file@4.5.4

 

MORE NPM COMMMANDS

https://docs.npmjs.com/uninstalling-packages-and-dependencies

If you no longer need to use a package in your code, we recommend uninstalling it and removing it from your project's dependencies.

Uninstalling local packages

Removing a local package from your node_modules directory

To remove a package from your node_modules directory, on the command line, use the uninstall command. Include the scope if the package is scoped.

Unscoped package

 

npm uninstall <package_name>

Scoped package

 

npm uninstall <@scope/package_name>

Example

 

npm uninstall lodash

Removing a local package from the package.json dependencies

To remove a package from the dependencies in package.json, use the --save flag. Include the scope if the package is scoped.

Unscoped package

 

npm uninstall --save <package_name>

Scoped package

 

npm uninstall --save <@scope/package_name>

Example

 

npm uninstall --save lodash

Note: If you installed a package as a "devDependency" (i.e. with --save-dev), use --save-dev to uninstall it:

 

npm uninstall --save-dev package_name

Confirming local package uninstallation

To confirm that npm uninstall worked correctly, check that the node_modules directory no longer contains a directory for the uninstalled package(s).

  • Unix system (such as OSX): ls node_modules
  • Windows systems: dir node_modules

Uninstalling global packages

To uninstall an unscoped global package, on the command line, use the uninstall command with the -g flag. Include the scope if the package is scoped.

Unscoped package

 

npm uninstall -g <package_name>

Scoped package

 

npm uninstall -g <@scope/package_name>

Example

For example, to uninstall a package called jshint, run:

 

npm uninstall -g jshint

Resources

Uninstalling local packages

Uninstalling global packages

 

 

The following command removes all global npm modules. Note: this does not work on Windows. For a working Windows version, see Ollie Bennett's Answer.

npm ls -gp --depth=0 | awk -F/ '/node_modules/ && !/\/npm$/ {print $NF}' | xargs npm -g rm

Here is how it works:

  • npm ls -gp --depth=0 lists all global top level modules (see the cli documentation for ls)
  • awk -F/ '/node_modules/ && !/\/npm$/ {print $NF}' prints all modules that are not actually npm itself (does not end with /npm)
  • xargs npm -g rm removes all modules globally that come over the previous pipe

 

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