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1.TH "NPM-LINK" "1" "February 2026" "NPM@11.11.0" ""2.SH "NAME"3\fBnpm-link\fR - Symlink a package folder4.SS "Synopsis"5.P6.RS 27.nf8npm link \[lB]<package-spec>\[rB]9 10alias: ln11.fi12.RE13.SS "Description"14.P15This is handy for installing your own stuff, so that you can work on it and test iteratively without having to continually rebuild.16.P17Package linking is a two-step process.18.P19First, \fBnpm link\fR in a package folder with no arguments will create a symlink in the global folder \fB{prefix}/lib/node_modules/<package>\fR that links to the package where the \fBnpm link\fR command was executed. It will also link any bins in the package to \fB{prefix}/bin/{name}\fR. Note that \fBnpm link\fR uses the global prefix (see \fBnpm prefix -g\fR for its value).20.P21Next, in some other location, \fBnpm link package-name\fR will create a symbolic link from globally-installed \fBpackage-name\fR to \fBnode_modules/\fR of the current folder.22.P23Note that \fBpackage-name\fR is taken from \fBpackage.json\fR, \fInot\fR from the directory name.24.P25The package name can be optionally prefixed with a scope. See npm help scope. The scope must be preceded by an @-symbol and followed by a slash.26.P27When creating tarballs for \fBnpm publish\fR, the linked packages are "snapshotted" to their current state by resolving the symbolic links, if they are included in \fBbundleDependencies\fR.28.P29For example:30.P31.RS 232.nf33cd ~/projects/node-redis    # go into the package directory34npm link                    # creates global link35cd ~/projects/node-bloggy   # go into some other package directory.36npm link redis              # link-install the package37.fi38.RE39.P40Now, any changes to \fB~/projects/node-redis\fR will be reflected in \fB~/projects/node-bloggy/node_modules/node-redis/\fR. Note that the link should be to the package name, not the directory name for that package.41.P42You may also shortcut the two steps in one. For example, to do the above use-case in a shorter way:43.P44.RS 245.nf46cd ~/projects/node-bloggy  # go into the dir of your main project47npm link ../node-redis     # link the dir of your dependency48.fi49.RE50.P51The second line is the equivalent of doing:52.P53.RS 254.nf55(cd ../node-redis; npm link)56npm link redis57.fi58.RE59.P60That is, it first creates a global link, and then links the global installation target into your project's \fBnode_modules\fR folder.61.P62Note that in this case, you are referring to the directory name, \fBnode-redis\fR, rather than the package name \fBredis\fR.63.P64If your linked package is scoped (see npm help scope) your link command must include that scope, e.g.65.P66.RS 267.nf68npm link @myorg/privatepackage69.fi70.RE71.SS "Caveat"72.P73Note that package dependencies linked in this way are \fInot\fR saved to \fBpackage.json\fR by default, on the assumption that the intention is to have a link stand in for a regular non-link dependency. Otherwise, for example, if you depend on \fBredis@^3.0.1\fR, and ran \fBnpm link redis\fR, it would replace the \fB^3.0.1\fR dependency with \fBfile:../path/to/node-redis\fR, which you probably don't want! Additionally, other users or developers on your project would run into issues if they do not have their folders set up exactly the same as yours.74.P75If you are adding a \fInew\fR dependency as a link, you should add it to the relevant metadata by running \fBnpm install <dep> --package-lock-only\fR.76.P77If you \fIwant\fR to save the \fBfile:\fR reference in your \fBpackage.json\fR and \fBpackage-lock.json\fR files, you can use \fBnpm link <dep> --save\fR to do so.78.SS "Workspace Usage"79.P80\fBnpm link <pkg> --workspace <name>\fR will link the relevant package as a dependency of the specified workspace(s). Note that It may actually be linked into the parent project's \fBnode_modules\fR folder, if there are no conflicting dependencies.81.P82\fBnpm link --workspace <name>\fR will create a global link to the specified workspace(s).83.SS "Configuration"84.SS "\fBsave\fR"85.RS 086.IP \(bu 487Default: \fBtrue\fR unless when using \fBnpm update\fR where it defaults to \fBfalse\fR88.IP \(bu 489Type: Boolean90.RE 091 92.P93Save installed packages to a \fBpackage.json\fR file as dependencies.94.P95When used with the \fBnpm rm\fR command, removes the dependency from \fBpackage.json\fR.96.P97Will also prevent writing to \fBpackage-lock.json\fR if set to \fBfalse\fR.98.SS "\fBsave-exact\fR"99.RS 0100.IP \(bu 4101Default: false102.IP \(bu 4103Type: Boolean104.RE 0105 106.P107Dependencies saved to package.json will be configured with an exact version rather than using npm's default semver range operator.108.SS "\fBglobal\fR"109.RS 0110.IP \(bu 4111Default: false112.IP \(bu 4113Type: Boolean114.RE 0115 116.P117Operates in "global" mode, so that packages are installed into the \fBprefix\fR folder instead of the current working directory. See npm help folders for more on the differences in behavior.118.RS 0119.IP \(bu 4120packages are installed into the \fB{prefix}/lib/node_modules\fR folder, instead of the current working directory.121.IP \(bu 4122bin files are linked to \fB{prefix}/bin\fR123.IP \(bu 4124man pages are linked to \fB{prefix}/share/man\fR125.RE 0126 127.SS "\fBinstall-strategy\fR"128.RS 0129.IP \(bu 4130Default: "hoisted"131.IP \(bu 4132Type: "hoisted", "nested", "shallow", or "linked"133.RE 0134 135.P136Sets the strategy for installing packages in node_modules. hoisted (default): Install non-duplicated in top-level, and duplicated as necessary within directory structure. nested: (formerly --legacy-bundling) install in place, no hoisting. shallow (formerly --global-style) only install direct deps at top-level. linked: (experimental) install in node_modules/.store, link in place, unhoisted.137.SS "\fBlegacy-bundling\fR"138.RS 0139.IP \(bu 4140Default: false141.IP \(bu 4142Type: Boolean143.IP \(bu 4144DEPRECATED: This option has been deprecated in favor of \fB--install-strategy=nested\fR145.RE 0146 147.P148Instead of hoisting package installs in \fBnode_modules\fR, install packages in the same manner that they are depended on. This may cause very deep directory structures and duplicate package installs as there is no de-duplicating. Sets \fB--install-strategy=nested\fR.149.SS "\fBglobal-style\fR"150.RS 0151.IP \(bu 4152Default: false153.IP \(bu 4154Type: Boolean155.IP \(bu 4156DEPRECATED: This option has been deprecated in favor of \fB--install-strategy=shallow\fR157.RE 0158 159.P160Only install direct dependencies in the top level \fBnode_modules\fR, but hoist on deeper dependencies. Sets \fB--install-strategy=shallow\fR.161.SS "\fBstrict-peer-deps\fR"162.RS 0163.IP \(bu 4164Default: false165.IP \(bu 4166Type: Boolean167.RE 0168 169.P170If set to \fBtrue\fR, and \fB--legacy-peer-deps\fR is not set, then \fIany\fR conflicting \fBpeerDependencies\fR will be treated as an install failure, even if npm could reasonably guess the appropriate resolution based on non-peer dependency relationships.171.P172By default, conflicting \fBpeerDependencies\fR deep in the dependency graph will be resolved using the nearest non-peer dependency specification, even if doing so will result in some packages receiving a peer dependency outside the range set in their package's \fBpeerDependencies\fR object.173.P174When such an override is performed, a warning is printed, explaining the conflict and the packages involved. If \fB--strict-peer-deps\fR is set, then this warning is treated as a failure.175.SS "\fBpackage-lock\fR"176.RS 0177.IP \(bu 4178Default: true179.IP \(bu 4180Type: Boolean181.RE 0182 183.P184If set to false, then ignore \fBpackage-lock.json\fR files when installing. This will also prevent \fIwriting\fR \fBpackage-lock.json\fR if \fBsave\fR is true.185.SS "\fBomit\fR"186.RS 0187.IP \(bu 4188Default: 'dev' if the \fBNODE_ENV\fR environment variable is set to 'production'; otherwise, empty.189.IP \(bu 4190Type: "dev", "optional", or "peer" (can be set multiple times)191.RE 0192 193.P194Dependency types to omit from the installation tree on disk.195.P196Note that these dependencies \fIare\fR still resolved and added to the \fBpackage-lock.json\fR or \fBnpm-shrinkwrap.json\fR file. They are just not physically installed on disk.197.P198If a package type appears in both the \fB--include\fR and \fB--omit\fR lists, then it will be included.199.P200If the resulting omit list includes \fB'dev'\fR, then the \fBNODE_ENV\fR environment variable will be set to \fB'production'\fR for all lifecycle scripts.201.SS "\fBinclude\fR"202.RS 0203.IP \(bu 4204Default:205.IP \(bu 4206Type: "prod", "dev", "optional", or "peer" (can be set multiple times)207.RE 0208 209.P210Option that allows for defining which types of dependencies to install.211.P212This is the inverse of \fB--omit=<type>\fR.213.P214Dependency types specified in \fB--include\fR will not be omitted, regardless of the order in which omit/include are specified on the command-line.215.SS "\fBignore-scripts\fR"216.RS 0217.IP \(bu 4218Default: false219.IP \(bu 4220Type: Boolean221.RE 0222 223.P224If true, npm does not run scripts specified in package.json files.225.P226Note that commands explicitly intended to run a particular script, such as \fBnpm start\fR, \fBnpm stop\fR, \fBnpm restart\fR, \fBnpm test\fR, and \fBnpm run\fR will still run their intended script if \fBignore-scripts\fR is set, but they will \fInot\fR run any pre- or post-scripts.227.SS "\fBallow-git\fR"228.RS 0229.IP \(bu 4230Default: "all"231.IP \(bu 4232Type: "all", "none", or "root"233.RE 0234 235.P236Limits the ability for npm to fetch dependencies from git references. That is, dependencies that point to a git repo instead of a version or semver range. Please note that this could leave your tree incomplete and some packages may not function as intended or designed.237.P238\fBall\fR allows any git dependencies to be fetched and installed. \fBnone\fR prevents any git dependencies from being fetched and installed. \fBroot\fR only allows git dependencies defined in your project's package.json to be fetched installed. Also allows git dependencies to be fetched for other commands like \fBnpm view\fR239.SS "\fBaudit\fR"240.RS 0241.IP \(bu 4242Default: true243.IP \(bu 4244Type: Boolean245.RE 0246 247.P248When "true" submit audit reports alongside the current npm command to the default registry and all registries configured for scopes. See the documentation for npm help audit for details on what is submitted.249.SS "\fBbin-links\fR"250.RS 0251.IP \(bu 4252Default: true253.IP \(bu 4254Type: Boolean255.RE 0256 257.P258Tells npm to create symlinks (or \fB.cmd\fR shims on Windows) for package executables.259.P260Set to false to have it not do this. This can be used to work around the fact that some file systems don't support symlinks, even on ostensibly Unix systems.261.SS "\fBfund\fR"262.RS 0263.IP \(bu 4264Default: true265.IP \(bu 4266Type: Boolean267.RE 0268 269.P270When "true" displays the message at the end of each \fBnpm install\fR acknowledging the number of dependencies looking for funding. See npm help fund for details.271.SS "\fBdry-run\fR"272.RS 0273.IP \(bu 4274Default: false275.IP \(bu 4276Type: Boolean277.RE 0278 279.P280Indicates that you don't want npm to make any changes and that it should only report what it would have done. This can be passed into any of the commands that modify your local installation, eg, \fBinstall\fR, \fBupdate\fR, \fBdedupe\fR, \fBuninstall\fR, as well as \fBpack\fR and \fBpublish\fR.281.P282Note: This is NOT honored by other network related commands, eg \fBdist-tags\fR, \fBowner\fR, etc.283.SS "\fBworkspace\fR"284.RS 0285.IP \(bu 4286Default:287.IP \(bu 4288Type: String (can be set multiple times)289.RE 0290 291.P292Enable running a command in the context of the configured workspaces of the current project while filtering by running only the workspaces defined by this configuration option.293.P294Valid values for the \fBworkspace\fR config are either:295.RS 0296.IP \(bu 4297Workspace names298.IP \(bu 4299Path to a workspace directory300.IP \(bu 4301Path to a parent workspace directory (will result in selecting all workspaces within that folder)302.RE 0303 304.P305When set for the \fBnpm init\fR command, this may be set to the folder of a workspace which does not yet exist, to create the folder and set it up as a brand new workspace within the project.306.P307This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.308.SS "\fBworkspaces\fR"309.RS 0310.IP \(bu 4311Default: null312.IP \(bu 4313Type: null or Boolean314.RE 0315 316.P317Set to true to run the command in the context of \fBall\fR configured workspaces.318.P319Explicitly setting this to false will cause commands like \fBinstall\fR to ignore workspaces altogether. When not set explicitly:320.RS 0321.IP \(bu 4322Commands that operate on the \fBnode_modules\fR tree (install, update, etc.) will link workspaces into the \fBnode_modules\fR folder. - Commands that do other things (test, exec, publish, etc.) will operate on the root project, \fIunless\fR one or more workspaces are specified in the \fBworkspace\fR config.323.RE 0324 325.P326This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.327.SS "\fBinclude-workspace-root\fR"328.RS 0329.IP \(bu 4330Default: false331.IP \(bu 4332Type: Boolean333.RE 0334 335.P336Include the workspace root when workspaces are enabled for a command.337.P338When false, specifying individual workspaces via the \fBworkspace\fR config, or all workspaces via the \fBworkspaces\fR flag, will cause npm to operate only on the specified workspaces, and not on the root project.339.P340This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.341.SS "\fBinstall-links\fR"342.RS 0343.IP \(bu 4344Default: false345.IP \(bu 4346Type: Boolean347.RE 0348 349.P350When set file: protocol dependencies will be packed and installed as regular dependencies instead of creating a symlink. This option has no effect on workspaces.351.SS "See Also"352.RS 0353.IP \(bu 4354npm help "package spec"355.IP \(bu 4356npm help developers357.IP \(bu 4358\fBpackage.json\fR \fI\(la/configuring-npm/package-json\(ra\fR359.IP \(bu 4360npm help install361.IP \(bu 4362npm help folders363.IP \(bu 4364npm help config365.IP \(bu 4366npm help npmrc367.RE 0368