I am building a MEAN stack application using vscode editor. I installed some packages with npm, but package.json doesn't add them my project configuration.
you probably forgot to add the --save flag to your npm install
npm install PACKAGE_NAME --save
will add it to the dependencies in your package.json. If you use --save-dev, it will add them to dev dependencies instead
Related
I have a Node.js project which has several dependencies.
I created the package.json file (npm init)
and try to install all the relevant packages
(npm install all) or (npm install)
with npm install I'm getting the following result:
npm notice created a lockfile as package-lock.json. You should commit this file.
but
when I'm trying to run, I'm getting error that a package is missing (i.e express and I need to install it manually)
Is there a way (command) to install at once (with one command) all the relevant packages and dependencies ? (instead of install each of the package manually) ?
Update 1:
I think I found the solution to your problem, you can use this npm module for auto installing your dependencies.
Install
npm install -g auto-install
Usage
Run auto-install in the directory you are working in.
So npm is simple!
you can add a single package using npm install package-name
or
you can install all using npm install, this will read your package.json file and install all the packages which are in there
Additionally you can do this:
npm install package1 package2 package to install multiple packages.
If a required dependency is not installed, just install it once manually using npm's --save argument and it will automatically add that dependency to your package.json.
For instance, if you are missing the express dependency, just run:
npm install --save express
That will install the dependency in your node_modules folder and also automatically update your package.json file to include express. On subsequent installs on different machines, you'll now only need to run npm install and the express package will be added automatically.
Update with a little more context: In Node your package.json file defines all dependencies that are required for your project. However, these dependencies are not automatically generated for you. npm init will create a boilerplate package.json, but it will not fill that package.json with any dependencies.
You need to define the dependencies yourself, which you can do one of two ways:
Manually add lines to your package.json's dependencies section
Use npm install --save <package name> to have npm install a package and automatically save that package as a dependency in your package.json file
If you aren't familiar with package.json files, I'd recommend sticking to approach number 2 so that npm handles editing that file for you.
Once you have a package.json with all of the dependencies you need, then when you pull down your project onto new machines you will be able to automatically install all dependencies at once using a simple npm install command. You can test this on your own machine by deleting the node_modules folder and running npm install, then trying to run your project. If it runs fine then you successfully added all dependencies to your package.json. If it complains about a missing package then add that package with npm install --save <package>
I am integrating firebase cloud functions with my app's workflow. I needed to install a package so I did npm install --save #sendgrid/mail. The installation was a success but I can't see the dependency either in node_modules folder or the package.json file. What do I do?
One way to add the package would be to do the reverse. Add #sendgrid/mail to your package.json with the version you want, and then run npm install.
I want to globally install dev dependencies like mocha and babel and a few other things as well. So, I also need to reference to the global modules in the project package.json file.
My idea is to npm init the "npm" directory where the global "node_modules" are and then to install the global modules from there using npm install --save so that they are installed globally and the "global" package.json file is udated. Then, when I want to use one of these modules in a project, I just copy the line from the "global" package.json and paste it into the devDependencies of the project package.json.
My problem is that this was working fine but lately the "global" package.json file is not being updated when I install --save.
Why would this stop working?
I'm using Windows 10 and npm v3.8.6
I am working on a project which gives cli options to another project. The cli requires some extra dependency which I had listed as devdependency. However, when installed on the target project, the devdependency are not being installed.
npm install : Installs first level of dev dependency but the dev dependency of a dependency is not installed.
There used to be an option but it was actually a bug and therefore removed. Is there a way to do this now?
If the dependency is required by the target project that is installing it, it should be listed as a dependency. DevDependencies are intended for use only when the module itself is being developed (eg test and packaging tools. )
do npm install --only=dev this will install dev-dependencies of all dependencies in package.json if you want to install dev-dependencies for just one package do dev-dependencies npm install <package> --only=dev
What is the practical difference between npm install and npm update? When should I use which?
The difference between npm install and npm update handling of package versions specified in package.json:
{
"name": "my-project",
"version": "1.0", // install update
"dependencies": { // ------------------
"already-installed-versionless-module": "*", // ignores "1.0" -> "1.1"
"already-installed-semver-module": "^1.4.3" // ignores "1.4.3" -> "1.5.2"
"already-installed-versioned-module": "3.4.1" // ignores ignores
"not-yet-installed-versionless-module": "*", // installs installs
"not-yet-installed-semver-module": "^4.2.1" // installs installs
"not-yet-installed-versioned-module": "2.7.8" // installs installs
}
}
Summary: The only big difference is that an already installed module with fuzzy versioning ...
gets ignored by npm install
gets updated by npm update
Additionally: install and update by default handle devDependencies differently
npm install will install/update devDependencies unless --production flag is added
npm update will ignore devDependencies unless --dev flag is added
Why use npm install at all?
Because npm install does more when you look besides handling your dependencies in package.json.
As you can see in npm install you can ...
manually install node-modules
set them as global (which puts them in the shell's PATH) using npm install -g <name>
install certain versions described by git tags
install from a git url
force a reinstall with --force
npm install installs all modules that are listed on package.json file and their dependencies.
npm update updates all packages in the node_modules directory and their dependencies.
npm install express installs only the express module and its dependencies.
npm update express updates express module (starting with npm#2.x, it doesn't update its dependencies).
So updates are for when you already have the module and wish to get the new version.
In most cases, this will install the latest version of the module published on npm.
npm install express --save
or better to upgrade module to latest version use:
npm install express#latest --save --force
--save: Package will appear in your dependencies.
More info: npm-install
npm update: install and update with latest node modules which are in package.json
npm install: install node modules which are defined in package.json(without update)
Many distinctions have already been mentioned. Here is one more:
Running npm install at the top of your source directory will run various scripts: prepublish, preinstall, install, postinstall. Depending on what these scripts do, a npm install may do considerably more work than just installing dependencies.
I've just had a use case where prepublish would call make and the Makefile was designed to fetch dependencies if the package.json got updated. Calling npm install from within the Makefile would have lead to an infinite recursion, while calling npm update worked just fine, installing all dependencies so that the build could proceed even if make was called directly.