
Many CLI framework tools create the file each time you create a new project, based on a project-specific template. Let’s start our journey by looking at package.json. How NPM manages package versionsīefore we look at solutions, we need to understand how NPM manages project dependencies. In addition, many components may use the same subcomponents, but require different and incompatible versions. This means that there is always a risk that your app will break when an updated component won’t work with an existing one. By contrast, in the NPM world there is no single, definitive source of truth and new versions and patches are released independently. However, when you update a device’s operating system, the device’s vendor has first made sure that the existing, updated, and new components work together. Just like updating the operating system on your smartphone or laptop, running NPM’s install or update commands is a drama-free experience. Not only does this command let us update existing packages in one go, it also lets us do basic cleanup and remove old and unwanted packages.

One of the many great things about NPM is that it lets us take care of version updates with one simple command: `$ npm update`. NPM Dependency Graph : Top 100 dependent upon npm packages and their dependencies in 4 levels of depth. The result is that, not long after you start an entirely new project, there may be hundreds-and possibly thousands-of packages installed. These packages, in turn, will install additional packages that they depend on. Some tools will install an initial set of packages or generate a list for you to install at some point.Īs you start writing code, you will start to add packages to provide useful tools or support new features. Your framework will provide a command line interface (CLI) that lets you create a new project with a single command. Now, let’s say you are developing a new project and you are using NPM to find and manage your packages.

Unfortunately, it also introduced a number of challenges regarding versioning and dependency management. Since its release, Node Package Manager (NPM) has become the de facto standard for distributing most Javascript projects, from servers to frontend frameworks and overall, it has vastly simplified developers lives.
