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<title>faq</title>
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<h1><a href="../doc/faq.html">faq</a></h1> <p>Frequently Asked Questions</p>
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<h2 id="Where-can-I-find-these-docs-in-HTML">Where can I find these docs in HTML?</h2>
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<p><a href="http://npmjs.org/doc/">http://npmjs.org/doc/</a>, or run:</p>
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<pre><code>npm config set viewer browser</code></pre>
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<p>to open these documents in your default web browser rather than <code>man</code>.</p>
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<h2 id="It-didn-t-work">It didn't work.</h2>
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<p>That's not really a question.</p>
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<h2 id="Why-didn-t-it-work">Why didn't it work?</h2>
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<p>I don't know yet.</p>
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<p>Read the error output, and if you can't figure out what it means,
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do what it says and post a bug with all the information it asks for.</p>
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<h2 id="Where-does-npm-put-stuff">Where does npm put stuff?</h2>
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<p>See <code><a href="../doc/folders.html">folders(1)</a></code></p>
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<p>tl;dr:</p>
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<ul><li>Use the <code>npm root</code> command to see where modules go, and the <code>npm bin</code>
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command to see where executables go</li><li>Global installs are different from local installs. If you install
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something with the <code>-g</code> flag, then its executables go in <code>npm bin -g</code>
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and its modules go in <code>npm root -g</code>.</li></ul>
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<h2 id="How-do-I-install-something-on-my-computer-in-a-central-location">How do I install something on my computer in a central location?</h2>
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<p>Install it globally by tacking <code>-g</code> or <code>--global</code> to the command. (This
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is especially important for command line utilities that need to add
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their bins to the global system <code>PATH</code>.)</p>
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<h2 id="I-installed-something-globally-but-I-can-t-require-it">I installed something globally, but I can't <code>require()</code> it</h2>
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<p>Install it locally.</p>
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<p>The global install location is a place for command-line utilities
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to put their bins in the system <code>PATH</code>. It's not for use with <code>require()</code>.</p>
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<p>If you <code>require()</code> a module in your code, then that means it's a
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dependency, and a part of your program. You need to install it locally
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in your program.</p>
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<h2 id="Why-can-t-npm-just-put-everything-in-one-place-like-other-package-managers">Why can't npm just put everything in one place, like other package managers?</h2>
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<p>Not every change is an improvement, but every improvement is a change.
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This would be like asking git to do network IO for every commit. It's
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not going to happen, because it's a terrible idea that causes more
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problems than it solves.</p>
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<p>It is much harder to avoid dependency conflicts without nesting
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dependencies. This is fundamental to the way that npm works, and has
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proven to be an extremely successful approach. See <code><a href="../doc/folders.html">folders(1)</a></code> for
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more details.</p>
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<p>If you want a package to be installed in one place, and have all your
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programs reference the same copy of it, then use the <code>npm link</code> command.
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That's what it's for. Install it globally, then link it into each
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program that uses it.</p>
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<h2 id="Whatever-I-really-want-the-old-style-everything-global-style">Whatever, I really want the old style 'everything global' style.</h2>
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<p>Write your own package manager, then. It's not that hard.</p>
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<p>npm will not help you do something that is known to be a bad idea.</p>
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<h2 id="Should-I-check-my-node_modules-folder-into-git">Should I check my <code>node_modules</code> folder into git?</h2>
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<p>Mikeal Rogers answered this question very well:</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.mikealrogers.com/posts/nodemodules-in-git.html">http://www.mikealrogers.com/posts/nodemodules-in-git.html</a></p>
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<p>tl;dr</p>
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<ul><li>Check <code>node_modules</code> into git for things you <strong>deploy</strong>, such as
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websites and apps.</li><li>Do not check <code>node_modules</code> into git for libraries and modules
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intended to be reused.</li><li>Use npm to manage dependencies in your dev environment, but not in
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your deployment scripts.</li></ul>
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<h2 id="Is-it-npm-or-NPM-or-Npm">Is it 'npm' or 'NPM' or 'Npm'?</h2>
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<p>npm should never be capitalized unless it is being displayed in a
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location that is customarily all-caps (such as the title of man pages.)</p>
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<h2 id="If-npm-is-an-acronym-why-is-it-never-capitalized">If 'npm' is an acronym, why is it never capitalized?</h2>
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<p>Contrary to the belief of many, "npm" is not in fact an abbreviation for
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"Node Package Manager". It is a recursive bacronymic abbreviation for
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"npm is not an acronym". (If it was "ninaa", then it would be an
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acronym, and thus incorrectly named.)</p>
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<p>"NPM", however, <em>is</em> an acronym (more precisely, a capitonym) for the
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National Association of Pastoral Musicians. You can learn more
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about them at <a href="http://npm.org/">http://npm.org/</a>.</p>
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<p>In software, "NPM" is a Non-Parametric Mapping utility written by
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Chris Rorden. You can analyze pictures of brains with it. Learn more
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about the (capitalized) NPM program at <a href="http://www.cabiatl.com/mricro/npm/">http://www.cabiatl.com/mricro/npm/</a>.</p>
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<p>The first seed that eventually grew into this flower was a bash utility
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named "pm", which was a shortened descendent of "pkgmakeinst", a
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bash function that was used to install various different things on different
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platforms, most often using Yahoo's <code>yinst</code>. If <code>npm</code> was ever an
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acronym for anything, it was <code>node pm</code> or maybe <code>new pm</code>.</p>
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<p>So, in all seriousness, the "npm" project is named after its command-line
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utility, which was organically selected to be easily typed by a right-handed
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programmer using a US QWERTY keyboard layout, ending with the
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right-ring-finger in a postition to type the <code>-</code> key for flags and
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other command-line arguments. That command-line utility is always
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lower-case, though it starts most sentences it is a part of.</p>
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<h2 id="How-do-I-list-installed-packages">How do I list installed packages?</h2>
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<p><code>npm ls</code></p>
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<h2 id="How-do-I-search-for-packages">How do I search for packages?</h2>
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<p><code>npm search</code></p>
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<p>Arguments are greps. <code>npm search jsdom</code> shows jsdom packages.</p>
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<h2 id="How-do-I-update-npm">How do I update npm?</h2>
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<pre><code>npm update npm -g</code></pre>
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<p>You can also update all outdated local packages by doing <code>npm update</code> without
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any arguments, or global packages by doing <code>npm update -g</code>.</p>
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<p>Occasionally, the version of npm will progress such that the current
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version cannot be properly installed with the version that you have
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installed already. (Consider, if there is ever a bug in the <code>update</code>
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command.)</p>
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<p>In those cases, you can do this:</p>
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<pre><code>curl http://npmjs.org/install.sh | sh</code></pre>
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<h2 id="What-is-a-package">What is a <code>package</code>?</h2>
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<p>A package is:</p>
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<ul><li>a) a folder containing a program described by a package.json file</li><li>b) a gzipped tarball containing (a)</li><li>c) a url that resolves to (b)</li><li>d) a <code><name>@<version></code> that is published on the registry with (c)</li><li>e) a <code><name>@<tag></code> that points to (d)</li><li>f) a <code><name></code> that has a "latest" tag satisfying (e)</li><li>g) a <code>git</code> url that, when cloned, results in (a).</li></ul>
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<p>Even if you never publish your package, you can still get a lot of
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benefits of using npm if you just want to write a node program (a), and
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perhaps if you also want to be able to easily install it elsewhere
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after packing it up into a tarball (b).</p>
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<p>Git urls can be of the form:</p>
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<pre><code>git://github.com/user/project.git#commit-ish
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git+ssh://user@hostname:project.git#commit-ish
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git+http://user@hostname/project/blah.git#commit-ish
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git+https://user@hostname/project/blah.git#commit-ish</code></pre>
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<p>The <code>commit-ish</code> can be any tag, sha, or branch which can be supplied as
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an argument to <code>git checkout</code>. The default is <code>master</code>.</p>
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<h2 id="How-do-I-install-node-with-npm">How do I install node with npm?</h2>
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<p>You don't. Try one of these:</p>
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<ul><li><a href="http://github.com/isaacs/nave">http://github.com/isaacs/nave</a></li><li><a href="http://github.com/visionmedia/n">http://github.com/visionmedia/n</a></li><li><a href="http://github.com/creationix/nvm">http://github.com/creationix/nvm</a></li></ul>
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<h2 id="How-can-I-use-npm-for-development">How can I use npm for development?</h2>
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<p>See <code><a href="../doc/developers.html">developers(1)</a></code> and <code><a href="../doc/json.html">json(1)</a></code>.</p>
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<p>You'll most likely want to <code>npm link</code> your development folder. That's
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awesomely handy.</p>
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<p>To set up your own private registry, check out <code><a href="../doc/registry.html">registry(1)</a></code>.</p>
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<h2 id="Can-I-list-a-url-as-a-dependency">Can I list a url as a dependency?</h2>
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<p>Yes. It should be a url to a gzipped tarball containing a single folder
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that has a package.json in its root, or a git url.
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(See "what is a package?" above.)</p>
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<h2 id="How-do-I-symlink-to-a-dev-folder-so-I-don-t-have-to-keep-re-installing">How do I symlink to a dev folder so I don't have to keep re-installing?</h2>
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<p>See <code><a href="../doc/link.html">link(1)</a></code></p>
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<h2 id="The-package-registry-website-What-is-that-exactly">The package registry website. What is that exactly?</h2>
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<p>See <code><a href="../doc/registry.html">registry(1)</a></code>.</p>
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<h2 id="What-s-up-with-the-insecure-channel-warnings">What's up with the insecure channel warnings?</h2>
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<p>Until node 0.4.10, there were problems sending big files over HTTPS. That
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means that publishes go over HTTP by default in those versions of node.</p>
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<h2 id="I-forgot-my-password-and-can-t-publish-How-do-I-reset-it">I forgot my password, and can't publish. How do I reset it?</h2>
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<p>Go to <a href="http://admin.npmjs.org/reset">http://admin.npmjs.org/reset</a>.</p>
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<h2 id="I-get-ECONNREFUSED-a-lot-What-s-up">I get ECONNREFUSED a lot. What's up?</h2>
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<p>Either the registry is down, or node's DNS isn't able to reach out.</p>
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<p>To check if the registry is down, open up
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<a href="http://registry.npmjs.org/">http://registry.npmjs.org/</a>
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in a web browser. This will also tell you if you are just unable to
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access the internet for some reason.</p>
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<p>If the registry IS down, let me know by emailing or posting an issue.
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We'll have someone kick it or something.</p>
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<h2 id="Who-does-npm">Who does npm?</h2>
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<p><code>npm view npm author</code></p>
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<p><code>npm view npm contributors</code></p>
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<h2 id="I-have-a-question-or-request-not-addressed-here-Where-should-I-put-it">I have a question or request not addressed here. Where should I put it?</h2>
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<p>Discuss it on the mailing list, or post an issue.</p>
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<ul><li><a href="mailto:npm-@googlegroups.com">npm-@googlegroups.com</a></li><li><a href="http://github.com/isaacs/npm/issues">http://github.com/isaacs/npm/issues</a></li></ul>
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<h2 id="Why-does-npm-hate-me">Why does npm hate me?</h2>
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<p>npm is not capable of hatred. It loves everyone, especially you.</p>
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<h2 id="SEE-ALSO">SEE ALSO</h2>
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<ul><li><a href="../doc/npm.html">npm(1)</a></li><li><a href="../doc/developers.html">developers(1)</a></li><li><a href="../doc/json.html">json(1)</a></li><li><a href="../doc/config.html">config(1)</a></li><li><a href="../doc/folders.html">folders(1)</a></li></ul>
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<p id="footer">faq — npm@1.1.49</p>
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