====== NPM Cheat Sheet ======

| ''<nowiki>npm install</nowiki>'' | Install missing packages. |
| ''<nowiki>npm install package --save</nowiki>'' | Save installed packages to the ''package.json'' file as dependencies. Will be available in all builds, including production. |
| ''<nowiki>npm install package --save-dev</nowiki>'' | Save installed packages to the ''package.json'' file, under the ''devDependencies'' object, as dependencies. Will be available only in dev builds, i.e. not production. |
| ''<nowiki>npm list -g --depth=0</nowiki>'' | List globally installed packages. |
| ''<nowiki>npm uninstall -g [package_name]</nowiki>'' | Uninstall a global package. |
| ''<nowiki>npm outdated</nowiki>'' | List outdated packages. |
| ''<nowiki>npm update</nowiki>'' | This will update the ''package-lock.json'' file but not the ''package.json'' file. |
| ''<nowiki>npm view [package_name]</nowiki>'' | List basic information about a package. |
| ''<nowiki>npm view [package_name] versions --json</nowiki>'' | List version information about a package. |
===== Updating Packages =====

The easiest way is to use the ''npm-check-updates'' package. Yes, that is correct - NPM's update is so bad, you need to use a seperate package to make it work better...

| ''<nowiki>npm install -g npm-check-updates</nowiki>'' | Installs [[https://www.npmjs.com/package/npm-check-updates|npm-check-updates]] |
| ''<nowiki>npm-check-updates</nowiki>'' | Lists what packages are out of date (basically the same thing as running ''<nowiki>npm outdated</nowiki>'') |
| ''<nowiki>npm-check-updates -u</nowiki>'' | Updates all the versions in your ''<nowiki>package.json</nowiki>'' file. |
| ''<nowiki>npm update</nowiki>'' | To install the new versions of your packages based on the updated ''<nowiki>package.json</nowiki>'' file. |

For global packages:

| ''<nowiki>npm-check-updates -g</nowiki>'' (Run as admin) | Lists what global packages are out of date and gives the command to update them. |

===== Versioning =====

| ''^1.2.3'' | Means any ''1.x.y'' version that is equal or higher than ''1.2.3'' and less than ''2.0.0''. |
| ''^0.1.2'' | The leading zero is a special case. Means any ''0.1.x'' version that is equal or higher than ''0.1.2'' and less than ''0.2.0''. |
| ''~2.4.5'' | Patch version only. Means any ''2.4.x'' version that is equal or higher than ''2.4.5'' and less than ''2.5.0''. |