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< h1 > < a href = "../cli/npm-link.html" > npm-link< / a > < / h1 > < p > Symlink a package folder< / p >
< h2 id = "synopsis" > SYNOPSIS< / h2 >
< pre > < code > npm link (in package folder)
npm link [@< scope> /]< pkgname>
npm ln (with any of the previous argument usage)
< / code > < / pre > < h2 id = "description" > DESCRIPTION< / h2 >
< p > Package linking is a two-step process.< / p >
< p > First, < code > npm link< / code > in a package folder will create a globally-installed
symbolic link from < code > prefix/package-name< / code > to the current folder (see
< code > < a href = "../misc/npm-config.html" > < a href = "../misc/npm-config.html" > npm-config(7)< / a > < / a > < / code > for the value of < code > prefix< / code > ).< / p >
< p > Next, in some other location, < code > npm link package-name< / code > will create a
symlink from the local < code > node_modules< / code > folder to the global symlink.< / p >
< p > Note that < code > package-name< / code > is taken from < code > package.json< / code > ,
not from directory name.< / p >
< p > The package name can be optionally prefixed with a scope. See < code > < a href = "../misc/npm-scope.html" > < a href = "../misc/npm-scope.html" > npm-scope(7)< / a > < / a > < / code > .
The scope must be preceded by an @-symbol and followed by a slash.< / p >
< p > When creating tarballs for < code > npm publish< / code > , the linked packages are
" snapshotted" to their current state by resolving the symbolic links.< / p >
< p > This is handy for installing your own stuff, so that you can work on it and
test it iteratively without having to continually rebuild.< / p >
< p > For example:< / p >
< pre > < code > cd ~/projects/node-redis # go into the package directory
npm link # creates global link
cd ~/projects/node-bloggy # go into some other package directory.
npm link redis # link-install the package
< / code > < / pre > < p > Now, any changes to ~/projects/node-redis will be reflected in
~/projects/node-bloggy/node_modules/node-redis/. Note that the link should
be to the package name, not the directory name for that package. < / p >
< p > You may also shortcut the two steps in one. For example, to do the
above use-case in a shorter way:< / p >
< pre > < code > cd ~/projects/node-bloggy # go into the dir of your main project
npm link ../node-redis # link the dir of your dependency
< / code > < / pre > < p > The second line is the equivalent of doing:< / p >
< pre > < code > (cd ../node-redis; npm link)
npm link node-redis
< / code > < / pre > < p > That is, it first creates a global link, and then links the global
installation target into your project' s < code > node_modules< / code > folder.< / p >
< p > If your linked package is scoped (see < code > < a href = "../misc/npm-scope.html" > < a href = "../misc/npm-scope.html" > npm-scope(7)< / a > < / a > < / code > ) your link command must
include that scope, e.g.< / p >
< pre > < code > npm link @myorg/privatepackage
< / code > < / pre > < h2 id = "see-also" > SEE ALSO< / h2 >
< ul >
< li > < a href = "../misc/npm-developers.html" > < a href = "../misc/npm-developers.html" > npm-developers(7)< / a > < / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "../misc/npm-faq.html" > < a href = "../misc/npm-faq.html" > npm-faq(7)< / a > < / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "../files/package.json.html" > < a href = "../files/package.json.html" > package.json(5)< / a > < / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "../cli/npm-install.html" > < a href = "../cli/npm-install.html" > npm-install(1)< / a > < / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "../files/npm-folders.html" > < a href = "../files/npm-folders.html" > npm-folders(5)< / a > < / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "../cli/npm-config.html" > < a href = "../cli/npm-config.html" > npm-config(1)< / a > < / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "../misc/npm-config.html" > < a href = "../misc/npm-config.html" > npm-config(7)< / a > < / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "../files/npmrc.html" > < a href = "../files/npmrc.html" > npmrc(5)< / a > < / a > < / li >
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< p id = "footer" > npm-link — npm@2.13.3< / p >
