How to configure package.json in such way that a dependency available globally will not be installed again locally?
For example, I have a project with jshint listed as dev-dependency; however, I already have jshint installed globaly and I want this module to use the global jshint.
Not sure what you are trying to do, but in any case using global dependencies in the code is not a preferred way.
To get some information, type npm help folders, here's tl;dr part:
Local install (default): puts stuff in ./node_modules of the current package root.
Global install (with -g): puts stuff in /usr/local or wherever node is installed.
Install it locally if you're going to require() it.
Install it globally if you're going to run it on the command line.
If you need both, then install it in both places, or use npm link.
So, in your case, the last item, link, is the answer: https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/link.
You need to run npm link jshint in your base folder. It'll link node_modules/jshint to the global one. This will create a symbolic link to the binary file, however, you can't use it in require() at some point of your code. As explained above, global packages are to run on command line so they are binary files.
After all I ended up using npx for things that need to be installed globally, for example, npx standard in npm scripts. Works regardless global presence.
Related
There's an error being thrown in of my node.js projects, and the stack trace doesn't seem to point back to any of the libraries I'm using, is there a simple method of finding out what packages depend on this package in my node_modules directory?
Ideally this method doesn't involve manually checking the package.json of every module in my node_modules directory.
Use npm ls <module-name>.
You can use a bit of bash scripting to automate this
who_depends_on() {
local dependency=$1;
for file in $(ls node_modules); do
local match=$(grep $dependency "node_modules/$file/package.json");
if [[ $match ]]; then
echo "'$file' is dependant in '$dependency'";
fi
done
}
Put the function wherever you store your shell functions, and then run like so
who_depends_on "your-package-here"
The main caveat with this package is it'll pick up the package.json package you're looking for as well.
Whenever I make projects, I have to download all dependencies of node modules. Without copying the node_modules, Is there anyway to share the central node_modules in multiple projects?
like the followings, I have to run many commands every time..
npm install gulp-usemin
npm install gulp-wrap
npm install gulp-connect
npm install gulp-watch
npm install gulp-minify-css
npm install gulp-uglify
npm install gulp-concat
npm install gulp-less
npm install gulp-rename
npm install gulp-minify-html
You absolutely can share a node_modules directory amongst projects.
From node's documentation:
If the module identifier passed to require() is not a native module,
and does not begin with '/', '../', or './', then node starts at the
parent directory of the current module, and adds /node_modules, and
attempts to load the module from that location.
If it is not found there, then it moves to the parent directory, and
so on, until the root of the file system is reached.
For example, if the file at '/home/ry/projects/foo.js' called
require('bar.js'), then node would look in the following locations, in
this order:
/home/ry/projects/node_modules/bar.js /home/ry/node_modules/bar.js
/home/node_modules/bar.js /node_modules/bar.js
So just put a node_modules folder inside your projects directory and put in whatever modules you want. Just require them like normal. When node doesn't find a node_modules directory in your project folder, it will check the parent folder automatically. So make your directory structure like this:
-myProjects
--node_modules
--myproject1
---sub-project
--myproject2
So like this, even your sub-project's dependencies can draw on your main node_modules repository.
One drawback to doing it this way is you will have to build out your package.json file manually (unless someone knows a way to automate this with grunt or something). When you install your packages and add the --save arg to an npm install command it automatically appends it to the dependencies section or your package.json, which is convenient.
Try pnpm instead of npm.
pnpm uses hard links and symlinks to save one version of a module only ever once on a disk.
If you have npm installed, you can install in your terminal with:
npm install -g pnpm
To update your existing installations (and sub-directories) use:
pnpm recursive install
Or use the shorthand command (leave off -r if you need to target only one directory)
pnpm -r i
One helpful note: You may find some rare packages don't have all their dependencies defined. They might rely on the flat node_modules file directory structure of npm or yarn installs. If you run into issues of missing dependencies, use this command to hoist all the sub dependencies into a flat-file structure:
pnpm install --shamefully-hoist
It's best to avoid using the --shamefully-hoist flag as it defeats the purpose of using pnpm in the first place, so try using the command pnpm i your-missing-package first (See pnpm FAQ).
I found a trick, just take a look at the Symbolic Links (symlinks) on Windows or Linux, it is working just like shortcuts but more powerful.
Simply you need to make a Junction for your node_modules folder anywhere you want. The junction is nothing but a short cut to your original node_modules folder. Create it inside your project folder where the actual node_modules would have been created if used npm install.
To achieve this you need at least one node_modules real folder then make a Junction to it in the other projects.
On Windows, you can either use the Command Prompt, or use an application. Using the Command Prompt gives you a bit more control, using an application is easier I suggest Link Shell Extension.
Main directory should look like this
node_modules
Project 1
Project 2
Project 3
Project 4
just open the file Project 1/.angular-cli.json
change the schema
"$schema": "./node_modules/#angular/cli/lib/config/schema.json",
to
"$schema": "./../node_modules/#angular/cli/lib/config/schema.json"
and don't forget to create node_modules empty folder inside your project directory
See also npm v7.0.0's support for workspaces
RFC
https://github.com/npm/rfcs/blob/latest/implemented/0026-workspaces.md
Documentation
https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v7/using-npm/workspaces
By looking at some articles it seems that Lerna
is a good tool for managing multiple projects inside a single directory (monorepo). It supports modules sharing without duplicating the entire packages in every folder and commands to install them in multiple projects.
Javascript monorepos
Monorepos by example
Building large scale apps in a monorepo
pnpm is also a simple and efficient tool, which doesn't duplicate those modules which are already installed for other projects.
Let's assume that having a single node_modules it should contain all the packages for all applications. thus your apps will also share most of the unique package.json entries (just the name should change)
my idea would be to have a single root and multiple src level as below
root\package.json
root\node_modules
root\\..
root\app1\src\\..
root\app2\src\\..
the only issue you might face would be having a backup of json (or tsconfig) for any app and restore them when you work on it or setup your startup scripts to serve any app
Is it ok to have a node.js project with no package.json? The ones I see on the internet all come with package.json
What is the effect of having no package.json?
How is package.json created in the first place? Is it created automatically? I am wondering why I do not have package.json
Fundamentally, package.json is a meta file for your application. It lists all the configuration of your application.
What is the effect of having no package.json?
Nothing as far as you're running all your code locally and have no requirement for deployment whatsoever.
Let's setup a scene for you to understand this better.
Imagine that you wrote a brilliant application using node. Now all the chicks in your surrounding want it to play with. It is so fantastic!
Now you want to give it to them and during the development process you `npm install`ed so many things that your project grows beyond 4TB size.
There is no data storage device available to ship that huge code base.
Then the girl of your dream said I want it and I want it now. So you begin searching for app deployment process for node applications.
That is where you stumble upon a magical thing called package.json.
So what you do is you list all your npm installed modules under dependencies property. Then you delete node_modulesfolder, add package.json and commit the entire damn thing in github. Even the .zip file is of 10MB
Then she gets the code.
Types in npm install && npm start (which will install all the dependencies from the package.json` and start your application)
If you have package.json however, that is where you specify all your dependencies.
Using --save flag of npm install
Example.
npm install express --save
How is package.json created in the first place? Is it created automatically?
You can manually create a text file and save it as package.json
OR
A more sophisticated way is to use the command
npm init
I am wondering why I do not have package.json
Me too! :)
You're most probably following a tutorial that doesn't emphasize on initial configuration of the project OR the author of those tutorials presume that the reader has all the fundamentals down to begin with.
It is created automatically if you write npm init.
Then, every package you add using npm install packagename --save will be added to the dependencies list.
You need package.json so that when you want to use your project on another machine you don't have to copy all node_modules, but only your .js files you have written, assets and package.json. You can then run npm install command and it will automatically download and install all the required modules (found in the list of dependencies inside package.json).
You can also manually create or edit it, but it's easier to add --save when installing a module so you don't have to worry about package versions and stuff like that.
Also if you want to create a npm package, an open source project or stuff other people will use, it's either required or the norm to have this package.json file describing your project.
package.json is npm file, if you don't use npm you will not have this file, npm is a great tool if you want to use external libraries in your project but if you don't need it (which is very not likely unless you are doing something very simple), you don't need package.json file too.
To generate package.json file initialize npm in your project using npm init
possible reason thus it exist is you maybe you enter a wrong command like npm i -y, you must initialize the project first, just enter a command npm init -y
Welcome.
Well, if you are running it on your local machine, it's fine. now to answer your last question, package.json is not created automatically.
the npm command npm init -y creates the 'package.json' file. It basically makes sharing your code and installing your codebase easier.
I am attempting to install the node.js module 'javascripting' (source code can be found: https://github.com/sethvincent/javascripting) and have been unable to install it as a global variable to run through the terminal.
After installing node.js I attempted to install javascripting with the line: npm install --global javascripting
While it is my understand that this should work, it only downloads the module but does not set it as a global variable to be run in terminal.
The error I receive when attempting to run it as a global variable is "/usr/bin/env: node: No such file or directory".
After receiving this error I attempted to move the module to /usr/bin/env from the directory it installed in (usr/local/lib/node_modules/javascripting). Unfortunately, I was not able to move the files because /usr/bin/env is not a directory, rather it seems to be some sort of executable java file (usr/bin is a directory).
I am a bit lost and would love some advice on either how to install the module as a working global variable or whether there is another way to run the module without installing it as a global variable.
This will happen if the node.js binary (node) is not installed in the $PATH anywhere.
if you run env node by itself, you will get the same error. It looks like this may be an Ubuntu bug: https://github.com/joyent/node/issues/3911
Try sudo ln -s /usr/bin/nodejs /usr/bin/node - that will symlink the node.js binary from the name Ubuntu gave it to the name it's supposed to have.
EDIT:
As mscdex pointed out in a comment (and as mentioned at the end of the bug I linked), there's a legacy package you can install that should create this symlink.
sudo apt-get install nodejs-legacy
The bug I linked above indicates that there are probably other problems with Ubuntu / Debian's default node.js package, and recommends you install your own either from the PPA mentioned there or from source.
You'll probably need to follow the advice in NPM modules won't install globally without sudo as well.
I am a node newbie and am somewhat confused with the whole "install" thing.
What is the difference between install, and install -g?
Can something installed with install -g be accessed anywhere, or does this make it available to the Node server but not your application? Is there any reason to use one, and not the other?
Cheers
From the node.js blog:
If you’re installing something that you want to use in your program, using require('whatever'), then install it locally, at the root of your project.
If you’re installing something that you want to use in your shell, on the command line or something, install it globally, so that its binaries end up in your PATH environment variable.
So for example, lets say you wanted to install the Grunt CLI. Odds are you'll use Grunt in multiple projects, so you'll want to install that globally using -g.
Now lets say you're working on a project and your project is going to require a module such as Express. You would cd to your projects root directory and install the module without -g.
Here is a more in depth explanation.
install means the module will be created in your local node_modules folder which is highly recommended for anything your application relies on (for versioning, amongst other reasons).
install -g means install the module globally on your machine. This is generally only recommended to use with modules that perform some task unrelated to the execution of your application.
Simple examples of this are Yeoman generators, the Express generator, PhantomJS, etc.
There is an official blog post about it here
The only difference is npm install mod will install it in your local directory. Let's say you are working in 'projectA' directory. So
> npm install mod
will install "mod" in
> projectA/node_modules/mod/
so any .js file inside projectA can use this module by just saying require('mod')
whereas 'npm install mod -g` will install it globally in the user's node module directory. It will be somewhere in
> /usr/bin/npm/node_modules/modA
you can use this module anywhere in any of your project, in addition to that if there is any terminal command is there in 'modA'. It will be accessible from you terminal directory.
> modA --version
> version 1.1