npm-doctor(1) npm-doctor(1)
NAME
npm-doctor - Check your npm environment
Synopsis
npm doctor [ping] [registry] [versions] [environment] [permissions] [cache]
Note: This command is unaware of workspaces.
Description
npm doctor runs a set of checks to ensure that your npm installation
has what it needs to manage your JavaScript packages. npm is mostly a
standalone tool, but it does have some basic requirements that must be
met:
o Node.js and git must be executable by npm.
o The primary npm registry, registry.npmjs.com, or another service
that uses the registry API, is available.
o The directories that npm uses, node_modules (both locally and
globally), exist and can be written by the current user.
o The npm cache exists, and the package tarballs within it aren't
corrupt.
Without all of these working properly, npm may not work properly. Many
issues are often attributable to things that are outside npm's code
base, so npm doctor confirms that the npm installation is in a good
state.
Also, in addition to this, there are also very many issue reports due
to using old versions of npm. Since npm is constantly improving,
running npm@latest is better than an old version.
npm doctor verifies the following items in your environment, and if
there are any recommended changes, it will display them. By default npm
runs all of these checks. You can limit what checks are ran by
specifying them as extra arguments.
npm ping
By default, npm installs from the primary npm registry,
registry.npmjs.org. npm doctor hits a special ping endpoint within the
registry. This can also be checked with npm ping. If this check fails,
you may be using a proxy that needs to be configured, or may need to
talk to your IT staff to get access over HTTPS to registry.npmjs.org.
This check is done against whichever registry you've configured (you
can see what that is by running npm config get registry), and if you're
using a private registry that doesn't support the /whoami endpoint
supported by the primary registry, this check may fail.
npm -v
While Node.js may come bundled with a particular version of npm, it's
the policy of the CLI team that we recommend all users run npm@latest
if they can. As the CLI is maintained by a small team of contributors,
there are only resources for a single line of development, so npm's own
long-term support releases typically only receive critical security and
regression fixes. The team believes that the latest tested version of
npm is almost always likely to be the most functional and defect-free
version of npm.
node -v
For most users, in most circumstances, the best version of Node will be
the latest long-term support (LTS) release. Those of you who want
access to new ECMAscript features or bleeding-edge changes to Node's
standard library may be running a newer version, and some may be
required to run an older version of Node because of enterprise change
control policies. That's OK! But in general, the npm team recommends
that most users run Node.js LTS.
npm config get registry
You may be installing from private package registries for your project
or company. That's great! Others may be following tutorials or
StackOverflow questions in an effort to troubleshoot problems you may
be having. Sometimes, this may entail changing the registry you're
pointing at. This part of npm doctor just lets you, and maybe whoever's
helping you with support, know that you're not using the default
registry.
which git
While it's documented in the README, it may not be obvious that npm
needs Git installed to do many of the things that it does. Also, in
some cases - especially on Windows - you may have Git set up in such a
way that it's not accessible via your PATH so that npm can find it.
This check ensures that Git is available.
Permissions checks
o Your cache must be readable and writable by the user running npm.
o Global package binaries must be writable by the user running npm.
o Your local node_modules path, if you're running npm doctor with a
project directory, must be readable and writable by the user
running npm.
Validate the checksums of cached packages
When an npm package is published, the publishing process generates a
checksum that npm uses at install time to verify that the package
didn't get corrupted in transit. npm doctor uses these checksums to
validate the package tarballs in your local cache (you can see where
that cache is located with npm config get cache). In the event that
there are corrupt packages in your cache, you should probably run npm
cache clean -f and reset the cache.
Configuration
registry
o Default: "https://registry.npmjs.org/"
o Type: URL
The base URL of the npm registry.
See Also
o npm help bugs
o npm help help
o npm help ping
June 2023 npm-doctor(1)
npm 9.7.1 - Generated Sun Jun 11 13:54:18 CDT 2023