| .\" Generated with Ronnjs 0.3.8 |
| .\" http://github.com/kapouer/ronnjs/ |
| . |
| .TH "NPM\-LINK" "1" "December 2013" "" "" |
| . |
| .SH "NAME" |
| \fBnpm-link\fR \-\- Symlink a package folder |
| . |
| .SH "SYNOPSIS" |
| . |
| .nf |
| npm link (in package folder) |
| npm link <pkgname> |
| npm ln (with any of the previous argument usage) |
| . |
| .fi |
| . |
| .SH "DESCRIPTION" |
| Package linking is a two\-step process\. |
| . |
| .P |
| First, \fBnpm link\fR in a package folder will create a globally\-installed |
| symbolic link from \fBprefix/package\-name\fR to the current folder\. |
| . |
| .P |
| Next, in some other location, \fBnpm link package\-name\fR will create a |
| symlink from the local \fBnode_modules\fR folder to the global symlink\. |
| . |
| .P |
| Note that \fBpackage\-name\fR is taken from \fBpackage\.json\fR, |
| not from directory name\. |
| . |
| .P |
| When creating tarballs for \fBnpm publish\fR, the linked packages are |
| "snapshotted" to their current state by resolving the symbolic links\. |
| . |
| .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 |
| For example: |
| . |
| .IP "" 4 |
| . |
| .nf |
| 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 |
| . |
| .fi |
| . |
| .IP "" 0 |
| . |
| .P |
| Now, any changes to ~/projects/node\-redis will be reflected in |
| ~/projects/node\-bloggy/node_modules/redis/ |
| . |
| .P |
| You may also shortcut the two steps in one\. For example, to do the |
| above use\-case in a shorter way: |
| . |
| .IP "" 4 |
| . |
| .nf |
| cd ~/projects/node\-bloggy # go into the dir of your main project |
| npm link \.\./node\-redis # link the dir of your dependency |
| . |
| .fi |
| . |
| .IP "" 0 |
| . |
| .P |
| The second line is the equivalent of doing: |
| . |
| .IP "" 4 |
| . |
| .nf |
| (cd \.\./node\-redis; npm link) |
| npm link redis |
| . |
| .fi |
| . |
| .IP "" 0 |
| . |
| .P |
| That is, it first creates a global link, and then links the global |
| installation target into your project\'s \fBnode_modules\fR folder\. |
| . |
| .SH "SEE ALSO" |
| . |
| .IP "\(bu" 4 |
| npm help developers |
| . |
| .IP "\(bu" 4 |
| npm help faq |
| . |
| .IP "\(bu" 4 |
| npm help package\.json |
| . |
| .IP "\(bu" 4 |
| npm help install |
| . |
| .IP "\(bu" 4 |
| npm help folders |
| . |
| .IP "\(bu" 4 |
| npm help config |
| . |
| .IP "\(bu" 4 |
| npm help config |
| . |
| .IP "\(bu" 4 |
| npm help npmrc |
| . |
| .IP "" 0 |
| |
