package-spec(7) package-spec(7)
NAME
package-spec - Package name specifier
Description
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.
Package name
o [<@scope>/]<pkg>
o [<@scope>/]<pkg>@<tag>
o [<@scope>/]<pkg>@<version>
o [<@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:
o npm
o @npmcli/arborist
o @npmcli/arborist@latest
o npm@6.13.1
o npm@^4.0.0
Aliases
o <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:
o semver:@npm:@npmcli/semver-with-patch
o semver:@npm:semver@7.2.2
o semver:@npm:semver@legacy
Folders
o <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:
o ./my-package
o /opt/npm/my-package
Tarballs
o <tarball file>
o <tarball url>
Examples:
o ./my-package.tgz
o 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.
git urls
o <git:// url>
o <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:
o https://github.com/npm/cli.git
o git@github.com:npm/cli.git
o git+ssh://git@github.com/npm/cli#v6.0.0
o github:npm/cli#HEAD
o npm/cli#c12ea07
See also
o npm-package-arg <https://npm.im/npm-package-arg>
o npm help scope
o npm help config
June 2023 package-spec(7)
npm 9.7.1 - Generated Sat Jun 10 18:14:52 CDT 2023