---
title: npm-install
section: 1
description: Install a package
---

### Synopsis

```bash
npm install [<package-spec> ...]

aliases: add, i, in, ins, inst, insta, instal, isnt, isnta, isntal, isntall
```

### Description

This command installs a package and any packages that it depends on.
If the package has a package-lock, or an npm shrinkwrap file, or a yarn lock file, the installation of dependencies will be driven by that, respecting the following order of precedence:

* `npm-shrinkwrap.json`
* `package-lock.json`
* `yarn.lock`

See [package-lock.json](/configuring-npm/package-lock-json) and [`npm shrinkwrap`](/commands/npm-shrinkwrap).

A `package` is:

* a) a folder containing a program described by a [`package.json`](/configuring-npm/package-json) file
* b) a gzipped tarball containing (a)
* c) a url that resolves to (b)
* d) a `<name>@<version>` that is published on the registry (see [`registry`](/using-npm/registry)) with (c)
* e) a `<name>@<tag>` (see [`npm dist-tag`](/commands/npm-dist-tag)) that points to (d)
* f) a `<name>` that has a "latest" tag satisfying (e)
* g) a `<git remote url>` that resolves to (a)

Even if you never publish your package, you can still get a lot of benefits of using npm if you just want to write a node program (a), and perhaps if you also want to be able to easily install it elsewhere after packing it up into a tarball (b).


* `npm install` (in a package directory, no arguments):

    Install the dependencies to the local `node_modules` folder.

    In global mode (ie, with `-g` or `--global` appended to the command), it installs the current package context (ie, the current working directory) as a global package.

    By default, `npm install` will install all modules listed as dependencies in [`package.json`](/configuring-npm/package-json).

    With the `--production` flag (or when the `NODE_ENV` environment variable is set to `production`), npm will not install modules listed in `devDependencies`.
    To install all modules listed in both `dependencies` and `devDependencies` when `NODE_ENV` environment variable is set to `production`, you can use `--production=false`.

    > NOTE: The `--production` flag has no particular meaning when adding a dependency to a project.

* `npm install <folder>`:

    If `<folder>` sits inside the root of your project, its dependencies will be installed and may be hoisted to the top-level `node_modules` as they would for other types of dependencies.
    If `<folder>` sits outside the root of your project, *npm will not install the package dependencies* in the directory `<folder>`, but it will create a symlink to `<folder>`.

    > NOTE: If you want to install the content of a directory like a package from the registry instead of creating a link, you would need to use the `--install-links` option.

    Example:

    ```bash
    npm install ../../other-package --install-links
    npm install ./sub-package
    ```

* `npm install <tarball file>`:

    Install a package that is sitting on the filesystem.
    Note: if you just want to link a dev directory into your npm root, you can do this more easily by using [`npm link`](/commands/npm-link).

    Tarball requirements:
    * The filename *must* use `.tar`, `.tar.gz`, or `.tgz` as the extension.
    * The package contents should reside in a subfolder inside the tarball (usually it is called `package/`).
      npm strips one directory layer when installing the package (an equivalent of `tar x --strip-components=1` is run).
    * The package must contain a `package.json` file with `name` and `version` properties.

    Example:

    ```bash
    npm install ./package.tgz
    ```

* `npm install <tarball url>`:

    Fetch the tarball url, and then install it.
    In order to distinguish between this and other options, the argument must start with "http://" or "https://"

    Example:

    ```bash
    npm install https://github.com/indexzero/forever/tarball/v0.5.6
    ```

* `npm install [<@scope>/]<name>`:

    Do a `<name>@<tag>` install, where `<tag>` is the "tag" config.
    (See [`config`](/using-npm/config#tag).
    The config's default value is `latest`.)

    In most cases, this will install the version of the modules tagged as `latest` on the npm registry.

    Example:

    ```bash
    npm install sax
    ```

    `npm install` saves any specified packages into `dependencies` by default.
    Additionally, you can control where and how they get saved with some additional flags:

    * `-P, --save-prod`: Package will appear in your `dependencies`.
      This is the default unless `-D` or `-O` are present.

    * `-D, --save-dev`: Package will appear in your `devDependencies`.

    * `--save-peer`: Package will appear in your `peerDependencies`.

    * `-O, --save-optional`: Package will appear in your
      `optionalDependencies`.

    * `--no-save`: Prevents saving to `dependencies`.

    When using any of the above options to save dependencies to your package.json, there are two additional, optional flags:

    * `-E, --save-exact`: Saved dependencies will be configured with an exact version rather than using npm's default semver range operator.

    * `-B, --save-bundle`: Saved dependencies will also be added to your `bundleDependencies` list.

    Further, if you have an `npm-shrinkwrap.json` or `package-lock.json` then it will be updated as well.

    `<scope>` is optional.
    The package will be downloaded from the registry associated with the specified scope.
    If no registry is associated with the given scope the default registry is assumed.
    See [`scope`](/using-npm/scope).

    Note: if you do not include the @-symbol on your scope name, npm will interpret this as a GitHub repository instead, see below.
    Scopes names must also be followed by a slash.

    Examples:

    ```bash
    npm install sax
    npm install githubname/reponame
    npm install @myorg/privatepackage
    npm install node-tap --save-dev
    npm install dtrace-provider --save-optional
    npm install readable-stream --save-exact
    npm install ansi-regex --save-bundle
    ```

* `npm install <alias>@npm:<name>`:

    Install a package under a custom alias.
    Allows multiple versions of a same-name package side-by-side, more convenient import names for packages with otherwise long ones, and using git forks replacements or forked npm packages as replacements.
    Aliasing works only on your project and does not rename packages in transitive dependencies.
    Aliases should follow the naming conventions stated in [`validate-npm-package-name`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/validate-npm-package-name#naming-rules).

    Examples:

    ```bash
    npm install my-react@npm:react
    npm install jquery2@npm:jquery@2
    npm install jquery3@npm:jquery@3
    npm install npa@npm:npm-package-arg
    ```

* `npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<tag>`:

    Install the version of the package that is referenced by the specified tag.
    If the tag does not exist in the registry data for that package, then this will fail.

    Example:

    ```bash
    npm install sax@latest
    npm install @myorg/mypackage@latest
    ```

* `npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<version>`:

    Install the specified version of the package.
    This will fail if the version has not been published to the registry.

    Example:

    ```bash
    npm install sax@0.1.1
    npm install @myorg/privatepackage@1.5.0
    ```

* `npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<version range>`:

    Install a version of the package matching the specified version range.
    This will follow the same rules for resolving dependencies described in [`package.json`](/configuring-npm/package-json).

    Note that most version ranges must be put in quotes so that your shell will treat it as a single argument.

    Example:

    ```bash
    npm install sax@">=0.1.0 <0.2.0"
    npm install @myorg/privatepackage@"16 - 17"
    ```

* `npm install <git remote url>`:

    Installs the package from the hosted git provider, cloning it with `git`.
    For a full git remote url, only that URL will be attempted.

    ```bash
    <protocol>://[<user>[:<password>]@]<hostname>[:<port>][:][/]<path>[#<commit-ish> | #semver:<semver>]
    ```

    `<protocol>` is one of `git`, `git+ssh`, `git+http`, `git+https`, or
    `git+file`.

    If `#<commit-ish>` is provided, it will be used to clone exactly that commit.
    If the commit-ish has the format `#semver:<semver>`, `<semver>` can be any valid semver range or exact version, and npm will look for any tags or refs matching that range in the remote repository, much as it would for a registry dependency.
    If neither `#<commit-ish>` or `#semver:<semver>` is specified, then the default branch of the repository is used.

    If the repository makes use of submodules, those submodules will be cloned as well.

    If the package being installed contains a `prepare` script, its `dependencies` and `devDependencies` will be installed, and the prepare script will be run, before the package is packaged and installed.

    The following git environment variables are recognized by npm and will be added to the environment when running git:

    * `GIT_ASKPASS`
    * `GIT_EXEC_PATH`
    * `GIT_PROXY_COMMAND`
    * `GIT_SSH`
    * `GIT_SSH_COMMAND`
    * `GIT_SSL_CAINFO`
    * `GIT_SSL_NO_VERIFY`

    See the git man page for details.

    Examples:

    ```bash
    npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli.git#v1.0.27
    npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli#pull/273
    npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli#semver:^5.0
    npm install git+https://isaacs@github.com/npm/cli.git
    npm install git://github.com/npm/cli.git#v1.0.27
    GIT_SSH_COMMAND='ssh -i ~/.ssh/custom_ident' npm install git+ssh://git@github.com:npm/cli.git
    ```

* `npm install <githubname>/<githubrepo>[#<commit-ish>]`:
* `npm install github:<githubname>/<githubrepo>[#<commit-ish>]`:

    Install the package at `https://github.com/githubname/githubrepo` by attempting to clone it using `git`.

    If `#<commit-ish>` is provided, it will be used to clone exactly that commit.
    If the commit-ish has the format `#semver:<semver>`, `<semver>` can be any valid semver range or exact version, and npm will look for any tags or refs matching that range in the remote repository, much as it would for a registry dependency.
    If neither `#<commit-ish>` or `#semver:<semver>` is specified, then the default branch is used.

    As with regular git dependencies, `dependencies` and `devDependencies` will be installed if the package has a `prepare` script before the package is done installing.

    Examples:

    ```bash
    npm install mygithubuser/myproject
    npm install github:mygithubuser/myproject
   ```

* `npm install gist:[<githubname>/]<gistID>[#<commit-ish>|#semver:<semver>]`:

    Install the package at `https://gist.github.com/gistID` by attempting to clone it using `git`.
    The GitHub username associated with the gist is optional and will not be saved in `package.json`.

    As with regular git dependencies, `dependencies` and `devDependencies` will be installed if the package has a `prepare` script before the package is done installing.

    Example:

    ```bash
    npm install gist:101a11beef
    ```

* `npm install bitbucket:<bitbucketname>/<bitbucketrepo>[#<commit-ish>]`:

    Install the package at `https://bitbucket.org/bitbucketname/bitbucketrepo` by attempting to clone it using `git`.

    If `#<commit-ish>` is provided, it will be used to clone exactly that commit.
    If the commit-ish has the format `#semver:<semver>`, `<semver>` can be any valid semver range or exact version, and npm will look for any tags or refs matching that range in the remote repository, much as it would for a registry dependency.
    If neither `#<commit-ish>` or `#semver:<semver>` is specified, then `master` is used.

    As with regular git dependencies, `dependencies` and `devDependencies` will be installed if the package has a `prepare` script before the package is done installing.

    Example:

    ```bash
    npm install bitbucket:mybitbucketuser/myproject
    ```

* `npm install gitlab:<gitlabname>/<gitlabrepo>[#<commit-ish>]`:

    Install the package at `https://gitlab.com/gitlabname/gitlabrepo` by attempting to clone it using `git`.

    If `#<commit-ish>` is provided, it will be used to clone exactly that commit.
    If the commit-ish has the format `#semver:<semver>`, `<semver>` can be any valid semver range or exact version, and npm will look for any tags or refs matching that range in the remote repository, much as it would for a registry dependency.
    If neither `#<commit-ish>` or `#semver:<semver>` is specified, then `master` is used.

    As with regular git dependencies, `dependencies` and `devDependencies` will be installed if the package has a `prepare` script before the package is done installing.

    Example:

    ```bash
    npm install gitlab:mygitlabuser/myproject
    npm install gitlab:myusr/myproj#semver:^5.0
    ```

You may combine multiple arguments and even multiple types of arguments.
For example:

```bash
npm install sax@">=0.1.0 <0.2.0" bench supervisor
```

The `--tag` argument will apply to all of the specified install targets.
If a tag with the given name exists, the tagged version is preferred over newer versions.

The `--dry-run` argument will report in the usual way what the install would have done without actually installing anything.

The `--package-lock-only` argument will only update the `package-lock.json`, instead of checking `node_modules` and downloading dependencies.

The `-f` or `--force` argument will force npm to fetch remote resources even if a local copy exists on disk.

```bash
npm install sax --force
```

### Configuration

See the [`config`](/using-npm/config) help doc.
Many of the configuration params have some effect on installation, since that's most of what npm does.

These are some of the most common options related to installation.

#### `save`

* Default: `true` unless when using `npm update` where it defaults to
  `false`
* Type: Boolean

Save installed packages to a `package.json` file as dependencies.

When used with the `npm rm` command, removes the dependency from
`package.json`.

Will also prevent writing to `package-lock.json` if set to `false`.



#### `save-exact`

* Default: false
* Type: Boolean

Dependencies saved to package.json will be configured with an exact
version rather than using npm's default semver range operator.



#### `global`

* Default: false
* Type: Boolean

Operates in "global" mode, so that packages are installed into the
`prefix` folder instead of the current working directory. See
[folders](/configuring-npm/folders) for more on the differences in
behavior.

* packages are installed into the `{prefix}/lib/node_modules` folder,
  instead of the current working directory.
* bin files are linked to `{prefix}/bin`
* man pages are linked to `{prefix}/share/man`



#### `install-strategy`

* Default: "hoisted"
* Type: "hoisted", "nested", "shallow", or "linked"

Sets the strategy for installing packages in node_modules. hoisted
(default): Install non-duplicated in top-level, and duplicated as
necessary within directory structure. nested: (formerly
--legacy-bundling) install in place, no hoisting. shallow (formerly
--global-style) only install direct deps at top-level. linked:
(experimental) install in node_modules/.store, link in place,
unhoisted.



#### `legacy-bundling`

* Default: false
* Type: Boolean
* DEPRECATED: This option has been deprecated in favor of
  `--install-strategy=nested`

Instead of hoisting package installs in `node_modules`, install
packages in the same manner that they are depended on. This may cause
very deep directory structures and duplicate package installs as
there is no de-duplicating. Sets `--install-strategy=nested`.



#### `global-style`

* Default: false
* Type: Boolean
* DEPRECATED: This option has been deprecated in favor of
  `--install-strategy=shallow`

Only install direct dependencies in the top level `node_modules`, but
hoist on deeper dependencies. Sets `--install-strategy=shallow`.



#### `omit`

* Default: 'dev' if the `NODE_ENV` environment variable is set to
  'production'; otherwise, empty.
* Type: "dev", "optional", or "peer" (can be set multiple times)

Dependency types to omit from the installation tree on disk.

Note that these dependencies _are_ still resolved and added to the
`package-lock.json` or `npm-shrinkwrap.json` file. They are just not
physically installed on disk.

If a package type appears in both the `--include` and `--omit` lists,
then it will be included.

If the resulting omit list includes `'dev'`, then the `NODE_ENV`
environment variable will be set to `'production'` for all lifecycle
scripts.



#### `include`

* Default:
* Type: "prod", "dev", "optional", or "peer" (can be set multiple
  times)

Option that allows for defining which types of dependencies to
install.

This is the inverse of `--omit=<type>`.

Dependency types specified in `--include` will not be omitted,
regardless of the order in which omit/include are specified on the
command-line.



#### `strict-peer-deps`

* Default: false
* Type: Boolean

If set to `true`, and `--legacy-peer-deps` is not set, then _any_
conflicting `peerDependencies` will be treated as an install failure,
even if npm could reasonably guess the appropriate resolution based
on non-peer dependency relationships.

By default, conflicting `peerDependencies` deep in the dependency
graph will be resolved using the nearest non-peer dependency
specification, even if doing so will result in some packages
receiving a peer dependency outside the range set in their package's
`peerDependencies` object.

When such an override is performed, a warning is printed, explaining
the conflict and the packages involved. If `--strict-peer-deps` is
set, then this warning is treated as a failure.



#### `prefer-dedupe`

* Default: false
* Type: Boolean

Prefer to deduplicate packages if possible, rather than choosing a
newer version of a dependency.



#### `package-lock`

* Default: true
* Type: Boolean

If set to false, then ignore `package-lock.json` files when
installing. This will also prevent _writing_ `package-lock.json` if
`save` is true.



#### `package-lock-only`

* Default: false
* Type: Boolean

If set to true, the current operation will only use the
`package-lock.json`, ignoring `node_modules`.

For `update` this means only the `package-lock.json` will be updated,
instead of checking `node_modules` and downloading dependencies.

For `list` this means the output will be based on the tree described
by the `package-lock.json`, rather than the contents of
`node_modules`.



#### `foreground-scripts`

* Default: `false` unless when using `npm pack` or `npm publish` where
  it defaults to `true`
* Type: Boolean

Run all build scripts (ie, `preinstall`, `install`, and
`postinstall`) scripts for installed packages in the foreground
process, sharing standard input, output, and error with the main npm
process.

Note that this will generally make installs run slower, and be much
noisier, but can be useful for debugging.



#### `ignore-scripts`

* Default: false
* Type: Boolean

If true, npm does not run scripts specified in package.json files.

Note that commands explicitly intended to run a particular script,
such as `npm start`, `npm stop`, `npm restart`, `npm test`, and `npm
run` will still run their intended script if `ignore-scripts` is set,
but they will *not* run any pre- or post-scripts.



#### `audit`

* Default: true
* Type: Boolean

When "true" submit audit reports alongside the current npm command to
the default registry and all registries configured for scopes. See
the documentation for [`npm audit`](/commands/npm-audit) for details
on what is submitted.



#### `before`

* Default: null
* Type: null or Date

If passed to `npm install`, will rebuild the npm tree such that only
versions that were available **on or before** the given date are
installed. If there are no versions available for the current set of
dependencies, the command will error.

If the requested version is a `dist-tag` and the given tag does not
pass the `--before` filter, the most recent version less than or
equal to that tag will be used. For example, `foo@latest` might
install `foo@1.2` even though `latest` is `2.0`.



#### `bin-links`

* Default: true
* Type: Boolean

Tells npm to create symlinks (or `.cmd` shims on Windows) for package
executables.

Set to false to have it not do this. This can be used to work around
the fact that some file systems don't support symlinks, even on
ostensibly Unix systems.



#### `fund`

* Default: true
* Type: Boolean

When "true" displays the message at the end of each `npm install`
acknowledging the number of dependencies looking for funding. See
[`npm fund`](/commands/npm-fund) for details.



#### `dry-run`

* Default: false
* Type: Boolean

Indicates that you don't want npm to make any changes and that it
should only report what it would have done. This can be passed into
any of the commands that modify your local installation, eg,
`install`, `update`, `dedupe`, `uninstall`, as well as `pack` and
`publish`.

Note: This is NOT honored by other network related commands, eg
`dist-tags`, `owner`, etc.



#### `cpu`

* Default: null
* Type: null or String

Override CPU architecture of native modules to install. Acceptable
values are same as `cpu` field of package.json, which comes from
`process.arch`.



#### `os`

* Default: null
* Type: null or String

Override OS of native modules to install. Acceptable values are same
as `os` field of package.json, which comes from `process.platform`.



#### `libc`

* Default: null
* Type: null or String

Override libc of native modules to install. Acceptable values are
same as `libc` field of package.json



#### `workspace`

* Default:
* Type: String (can be set multiple times)

Enable running a command in the context of the configured workspaces
of the current project while filtering by running only the workspaces
defined by this configuration option.

Valid values for the `workspace` config are either:

* Workspace names
* Path to a workspace directory
* Path to a parent workspace directory (will result in selecting all
  workspaces within that folder)

When set for the `npm init` command, this may be set to the folder of
a workspace which does not yet exist, to create the folder and set it
up as a brand new workspace within the project.

This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.

#### `workspaces`

* Default: null
* Type: null or Boolean

Set to true to run the command in the context of **all** configured
workspaces.

Explicitly setting this to false will cause commands like `install`
to ignore workspaces altogether. When not set explicitly:

- Commands that operate on the `node_modules` tree (install, update,
etc.) will link workspaces into the `node_modules` folder. - Commands
that do other things (test, exec, publish, etc.) will operate on the
root project, _unless_ one or more workspaces are specified in the
`workspace` config.

This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.

#### `include-workspace-root`

* Default: false
* Type: Boolean

Include the workspace root when workspaces are enabled for a command.

When false, specifying individual workspaces via the `workspace`
config, or all workspaces via the `workspaces` flag, will cause npm
to operate only on the specified workspaces, and not on the root
project.

This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.

#### `install-links`

* Default: false
* Type: Boolean

When set file: protocol dependencies will be packed and installed as
regular dependencies instead of creating a symlink. This option has
no effect on workspaces.



### Algorithm

Given a `package{dep}` structure: `A{B,C}, B{C}, C{D}`, the npm install algorithm produces:

```bash
A
+-- B
+-- C
+-- D
```

That is, the dependency from B to C is satisfied by the fact that A already caused C to be installed at a higher level.
D is still installed at the top level because nothing conflicts with it.

For `A{B,C}, B{C,D@1}, C{D@2}`, this algorithm produces:

```bash
A
+-- B
+-- C
   `-- D@2
+-- D@1
```

Because B's D@1 will be installed in the top-level, C now has to install D@2 privately for itself.
This algorithm is deterministic, but different trees may be produced if two dependencies are requested for installation in a different order.

See [folders](/configuring-npm/folders) for a more detailed description of the specific folder structures that npm creates.

### See Also

* [npm folders](/configuring-npm/folders)
* [npm update](/commands/npm-update)
* [npm audit](/commands/npm-audit)
* [npm fund](/commands/npm-fund)
* [npm link](/commands/npm-link)
* [npm rebuild](/commands/npm-rebuild)
* [npm scripts](/using-npm/scripts)
* [npm config](/commands/npm-config)
* [npmrc](/configuring-npm/npmrc)
* [npm registry](/using-npm/registry)
* [npm dist-tag](/commands/npm-dist-tag)
* [npm uninstall](/commands/npm-uninstall)
* [npm shrinkwrap](/commands/npm-shrinkwrap)
* [package.json](/configuring-npm/package-json)
* [workspaces](/using-npm/workspaces)