NPM:Node Package Manager

Let's explore the Node Package Manager (NPM). JavaScript developers working with React, Node.js, and similar technologies are likely already familiar with it. Essentially, NPM is a package manager for JavaScript, handling libraries, dependencies, and projects.

First, what is NPM? As the name suggests, npm is the Node Package Manager. It's a central repository for JavaScript packages.

To start a new project from scratch, begin with the command:

This initializes a Node.js project, tracking dependencies and scripts. The npm init command prompts for package name, version, description, entry point, license, author, and more. This information populates the package.json file, a JSON (key-value pair) representation of your application's details.

It looks like this:

To install packages, use npm install <package name></package>. For example, installing Express:

This places Express within the node_modules directory. node_modules stores all installed packages.

node_modules contains the project's dependencies. After installing Express, it resides within node_modules:

Upon installation, package.json's dependencies section lists installed packages and their versions:

package-lock.json tracks the precise versions of all dependencies:

In summary: NPM installs packages, while NPX executes them. This covers the basics of NPM.

The above is the detailed content of NPM:Node Package Manager. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!