How to easily Install NPM Package

There are various things to note on the topic of install NPM package. Here, we will discuss them.

Benefits of using external NPM Package

1. Reusable modules thus saving development time
2. Reduce complexity of codes

Methods to Uninstall NPM Package

This can be perform in the global scope and project scope. Lets looks into them.

Install Packages Locally

To install a locally installed package, you must first navigate to the project root folder where node_modules folder and package.json file are located inside.

1. Install package to node_modules only.

Although the official documentation only mention that it will only install from node_modules folder, this command will also install package into `package.json` from my experiments.

npm install <package_name>

2. Install towards dependencies in package.json.

npm install --save <package_name>

# or

npm install -S <package_name>

3. Install towards devDependencies in package.json.

npm install --save-dev <package_name>

# or

npm install -D <package_name>

Globally Installed Packages

When installing package globally, you can be at any folder since the command will always access a standard directory.

Since it is global, there is no concept of dependencies and devDependencies. Just add a `-g` flag to the command to indicate global.

npm install -g <package_name>

# Validating what is in the global
npm list –g

Conclusion

Here, we learn the commands to correctly install NPM package via CLI based on conditions by indicating with a flag in the command.

If you have installed and want to uninstall, we have a tutorial on how to uninstall here.