Installing Packages

In order to use packages from the registry we must install them. Recall that the primary goal of npm is to put pieces of code in the right place for Node.js to use. That's exactly what installing does.

The npm install CLI command

The CLI command to install a package is:

npm install <package-name>@<version>

… where package-name is the name of the package, and version is the version number you would like to install. Version number is optional. If you don't pass it, npm will simply install the most recent published version.

A shortcut for this:

npm i <package-name>@<version>

For example, if I wanted to install mod-a I would type:

npm install mod-a

… which would install mod-a at the most recent version.

If I wanted to install mod-a but specifically version 1.0 I would type:

npm install mod-a@1.0

The node_modules directory

When we run the npm install command npm will go to the Registry and fetch the package you request. It will then take that package and place it in a directory called node_modules.

For example, let's say I have a directory called my-project. In my terminal, inside that directory, I run:

$ ~/Projects/my-project/>  npm install mod-a@1.0

… npm will go to the Registry and install mod-a here:

Projects
|- my-project
  |- node_modules
    |- mod-a         # package data is here