the package manager for JavaScript
One of the following versions of Node.js must be installed to run npm
:
18.x.x
>= 18.17.0
20.5.0
or highernpm
comes bundled with node
, & most third-party distributions, by default. Officially supported downloads/distributions can be found at: nodejs.org/en/download
You can download & install npm
directly from npmjs.com using our custom install.sh
script:
curl -qL https://www.npmjs.com/install.sh | sh
If you’re looking to manage multiple versions of Node.js
&/or npm
, consider using a node version manager
npm <command>
npm help-search <query>
npm
is configured to use the npm Public Registry at https://registry.npmjs.org by default; Usage of this registry is subject to Terms of Use available at https://npmjs.com/policies/termsnpm
to use any other compatible registry you prefer. You can read more about configuring third-party registries herenpm
should never be capitalized unless it is being displayed in a location that is customarily all-capitals (ex. titles on man
pages).
Contrary to popular belief, npm
is not in fact an acronym for “Node Package Manager”; It is a recursive bacronymic abbreviation for “npm is not an acronym” (if the project was named “ninaa”, then it would be an acronym). The precursor to npm
was actually a bash utility named “pm”, which was the shortform name of “pkgmakeinst” - a bash function that installed various things on various platforms. If npm
were to ever have been considered an acronym, it would be as “node pm” or, potentially “new pm”.