npm not installing packages even after proxy is set - node.js

Question

I am trying to set up a node js based application in one of our lab servers where connectivity to internet is achieved via a proxy. The box is running Ubuntu 13.10. I have configured the network proxy and I am able to connect to internet through Firefox. For apt-get, I have configured the proxy in /etc/apt/apt.conf. This is also working.
After installing node js, when I try to do npm install -g <package> it's giving me errors. I have configured the proxy for npm too. My .npmrc looks like this: (my proxy does not require userid/password).
registry = http://registry.npmjs.org/
proxy = http://<domain>:8080/
https-proxy = http://<domain>:8080
I have tried various options found in forums, but none seems to work for me. (Like setting strict-ssl to false, using --without-ssl --insecure option etc.)
This is the error I am getting currently:
npm http GET http://registry.npmjs.org/express
npm http GET http://registry.npmjs.org/express
npm http GET http://registry.npmjs.org/express
npm ERR! Error: connect ECONNREFUSED
npm ERR! at errnoException (net.js:904:11)
npm ERR! at Object.afterConnect [as oncomplete] (net.js:895:19)
npm ERR! { [Error: connect ECONNREFUSED]
npm ERR! code: 'ECONNREFUSED',
npm ERR! errno: 'ECONNREFUSED',
npm ERR! syscall: 'connect' }
npm ERR!
npm ERR! If you are behind a proxy, please make sure that the
npm ERR! 'proxy' config is set properly. See: 'npm help config'
npm ERR! System Linux 3.11.0-12-generic
npm ERR! command "/home/<user>/apps/node-v0.10.26-linux-x86/bin/node" "/home/<user>/apps/node-v0.10.26-linux-x86/bin/npm" "install" "-g" "express"
npm ERR! cwd /home/<user>
npm ERR! node -v v0.10.26
npm ERR! npm -v 1.4.3
npm ERR! syscall connect
npm ERR! code ECONNREFUSED
npm ERR! errno ECONNREFUSED
npm ERR! stack Error: connect ECONNREFUSED
npm ERR! stack at errnoException (net.js:904:11)
npm ERR! stack at Object.afterConnect [as oncomplete] (net.js:895:19)
npm ERR!
npm ERR! Additional logging details can be found in:
npm ERR! /home/<user>/npm-debug.log
npm ERR! not ok code 0
Any idea, what's going wrong here? I'm stuck with this darn thing for the day ;-(
Thanks!

Answer 1

I haven't been able to get a resolution for this issue, but found a work around - I bundled the packages I require on my laptop and then resorted to offline installation on the lab box. Here is how to do that:
Take for example, mongodb node module. I have it installed on my laptop where I do the development. If you open the package.json file for mongodb module, the dependencies are listed with corresponding version numbers. Mine looks like this:
"dependencies": {
"bson": "0.2.5",
"kerberos": "0.0.3"
},
Update the package.json file to include "bundledDependencies". (the position shouldn't really matter, just that it should be at the same level, as a sibling of "dependencies" in the JSON tree). This is what you need to add:
"bundledDependencies": [
"bson",
"kerberos"
],
Now, while you are within your package's directory (where the package.json file is present), run the command npm pack. That will create a tgz file for you. In my case it created mongodb-1.3.23.tgz. Just copy this file to the box where you want to install it and run npm install ./mongodb-1.3.23.tgz. That should get you through. Since all dependencies are now bundled within this .tgz file, npm won't try to connect to internet for installing any of them.
However, I would still like to know what's going wrong with my internet based installation. That's still a mystery!