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1.TH "NPM-CACHE" "1" "February 2026" "NPM@11.11.0" ""2.SH "NAME"3\fBnpm-cache\fR - Manipulates packages cache4.SS "Synopsis"5.P6.RS 27.nf8npm cache add <package-spec>9npm cache clean \[lB]<key>\[rB]10npm cache ls \[lB]<name>@<version>\[rB]11npm cache verify12npm cache npx ls13npm cache npx rm \[lB]<key>...\[rB]14npm cache npx info <key>...15.fi16.RE17.P18Note: This command is unaware of workspaces.19.SS "Description"20.P21Used to add, list, or clean the \fBnpm cache\fR folder. Also used to view info about entries in the \fBnpm exec\fR (aka \fBnpx\fR) cache folder.22.SS "\fBnpm cache\fR"23.RS 024.IP \(bu 425add: Add the specified packages to the local cache. This command is primarily intended to be used internally by npm, but it can provide a way to add data to the local installation cache explicitly.26.IP \(bu 427clean: Delete a single entry or all entries out of the cache folder. Note that this is typically unnecessary, as npm's cache is self-healing and resistant to data corruption issues.28.IP \(bu 429ls: List given entries or all entries in the local cache.30.IP \(bu 431verify: Verify the contents of the cache folder, garbage collecting any unneeded data, and verifying the integrity of the cache index and all cached data.32.RE 033 34.SS "\fBnpm cache npx\fR"35.RS 036.IP \(bu 437ls: List all entries in the npx cache.38.IP \(bu 439rm: Remove given entries or all entries from the npx cache.40.IP \(bu 441info: Get detailed information about given entries in the npx cache.42.RE 043 44.SS "Details"45.P46npm stores cache data in an opaque directory within the configured \fBcache\fR, named \fB_cacache\fR. This directory is a \fB\[rs]fBcacache\[rs]fR\fR \fI\(lahttp://npm.im/cacache\(ra\fR-based content-addressable cache that stores all http request data as well as other package-related data. This directory is primarily accessed through \fBpacote\fR, the library responsible for all package fetching as of npm@5.47.P48All data that passes through the cache is fully verified for integrity on both insertion and extraction. Cache corruption will either trigger an error, or signal to \fBpacote\fR that the data must be refetched, which it will do automatically. For this reason, it should never be necessary to clear the cache for any reason other than reclaiming disk space, thus why \fBclean\fR now requires \fB--force\fR to run.49.P50There is currently no method exposed through npm to inspect or directly manage the contents of this cache. In order to access it, \fBcacache\fR must be used directly.51.P52npm will not remove data by itself: the cache will grow as new packages are installed.53.SS "A note about the cache's design"54.P55The npm cache is strictly a cache: it should not be relied upon as a persistent and reliable data store for package data. npm makes no guarantee that a previously-cached piece of data will be available later, and will automatically delete corrupted contents. The primary guarantee that the cache makes is that, if it does return data, that data will be exactly the data that was inserted.56.P57To run an offline verification of existing cache contents, use \fBnpm cache verify\fR.58.SS "Configuration"59.SS "\fBcache\fR"60.RS 061.IP \(bu 462Default: Windows: \fB%LocalAppData%\[rs]npm-cache\fR, Posix: \fB~/.npm\fR63.IP \(bu 464Type: Path65.RE 066 67.P68The location of npm's cache directory.69.SS "See Also"70.RS 071.IP \(bu 472npm help "package spec"73.IP \(bu 474npm help folders75.IP \(bu 476npm help config77.IP \(bu 478npm help npmrc79.IP \(bu 480npm help install81.IP \(bu 482npm help publish83.IP \(bu 484npm help pack85.IP \(bu 486npm help exec87.IP \(bu 488https://npm.im/cacache89.IP \(bu 490https://npm.im/pacote91.IP \(bu 492https://npm.im/@npmcli/arborist93.IP \(bu 494https://npm.im/make-fetch-happen95.RE 096