package-spec @10.9.2
Package name specifierTable of contents
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
- [<@scope>/]<pkg>
- [<@scope>/]<pkg>@<tag>
- [<@scope>/]<pkg>@<version>
- [<@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 config to refer to a package in a registry.
Examples:
- npm
- @npmcli/arborist
- @npmcli/arborist@latest
- npm@6.13.1
- npm@^4.0.0
Aliases
- <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 for configuring which
registry is used when referring to a package by name.
Examples:
- semver:@npm:@npmcli/semver-with-patch
- semver:@npm:semver@7.2.2
- semver:@npm:semver@legacy
Folders
- <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:
- ./my-package
- /opt/npm/my-package
Tarballs
- <tarball file>
- <tarball url>
Examples:
- ./my-package.tgz
- 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
- <git:// url>
- <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:
- https://github.com/npm/cli.git
- git@github.com:npm/cli.git
- git+ssh://git@github.com/npm/cli#v6.0.0
- github:npm/cli#HEAD
- npm/cli#c12ea07