npm

name	npm
description	npm Node.js package manager and registry. Use for JavaScript dependencies.

npm

npm is the default package manager for Node.js. v11 (2025) introduces strict publishing rules and npx caching improvements.

When to Use

• Default: It comes with Node. Zero friction.
• Compatibility: The standard package-lock.json is supported everywhere.
• Publishing: npm publish is the canonical way to share JS code.

Quick Start

npm init -y
npm install lodash
npm install --save-dev jest

# Monorepo
npm init -w packages/my-lib

Core Concepts

package.json

Manifest file. Scripts, dependencies, metadata.

package-lock.json

Locks dependency tree for reproducible builds. Commit this.

Workspaces

Native monorepo support. npm install installs dependencies for root and all nested packages.

Best Practices (2025)

Do:

• Use npm ci: For CI/CD pipelines. Faster and strict (fails if lockfile doesn't match).
• Audit: npm audit to find vulnerabilities.
• Use Scopes: @my-org/my-pkg to avoid name collisions.

Don't:

• Don't mix managers: Don't use yarn in a repo with package-lock.json.

References

• npm Documentation