Installing a local module using npm?

I have a downloaded module repo, I want to install it locally, not globally in another directory?

What is an easy way to do this?

Solution 1:

you just provide one <folder> argument to npm install, argument should point toward the local folder instead of the package name:

npm install /path

Solution 2:

From the npm-link documentation:

In the local module directory:

$ cd ./package-dir
$ npm link

In the directory of the project to use the module:

$ cd ./project-dir
$ npm link package-name

Or in one go using relative paths:

$ cd ./project-dir
$ npm link ../package-dir

This is equivalent to using two commands above under the hood.

Solution 3:

Since asked and answered by the same person, I'll add a npm link as an alternative.

from docs:

This is handy for installing your own stuff, so that you can work on it and test it iteratively without having to continually rebuild.

cd ~/projects/node-bloggy  # go into the dir of your main project
npm link ../node-redis     # link the dir of your dependency

[Edit] As of NPM 2.0, you can declare local dependencies in package.json

"dependencies": {
    "bar": "file:../foo/bar"
  }

Solution 4:

npm pack + package.json

This is what worked for me:

STEP 1: In module project, execute npm pack:

This will build a <package-name>-<version>.tar.gz file.

STEP 2: Move the file to the consumer project

Ideally you can put all such files in a tmp folder in your consumer-project root:

STEP 3: Refer it in your package.json:

"dependencies": {
  "my-package": "file:/./tmp/my-package-1.3.3.tar.gz"
}

STEP 4: Install the packages:

npm install or npm i or yarn

Now, your package would be available in your consumer-project's node_modules folder.

Good Luck...