NPM, or Node Package Manager, is a powerful tool catering to the JavaScript programming community. It serves as a package manager for JavaScript, providing a convenient platform for programmers to share and reuse code components. Aside from being an online repository of open-source projects, NPM also features command-line utility for interacting with said repository. It facilitates the installation of packages, version management, and dependency management of Node.js software packages, making it an essential tool for JavaScript developers.
Using NPM is quite straightforward. It comes bundled with Node.js installations so make sure to install Node.js first. To verify if it's installed correctly, simply run node -v and npm -v in your terminal. Both commands should return version numbers. Once set up, you can begin using NPM by including npm followed by the desired command in your terminal. For instance, to install a package, you would use npm install <package-name>. This code utilises the install command to download the specified package. Similarly, you can remove packages with npm uninstall <package-name>, update with npm update <package-name> and so forth.
# install a package
npm install <package-name>
# remove a package
npm uninstall <package-name>
# update a package
npm update <package-name>
The official NPM documentation, an extensive repository of guides, how-tos, and reference materials around the functionalities of NPM, can be found at https://docs.npmjs.com/. Users can find information varying from introduction to advanced topics, aiding both beginners and experienced developers in mastering the tool. This documentation is the central place for knowledge and advice on all things NPM, from installing packages to troubleshooting errors. Finally, remember that you can also search the docs locally with the command npm help-search <query>.
