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npm-developers(1) -- Developer Guide
====================================
## DESCRIPTION
So, you've decided to use npm to publish your project.
Fantastic!
There are a few things that you need to do above the simple steps
that your users will do to install your program.
## About These Documents
These are man pages. If you install npm, you should be able to
then do `man npm-thing` to get the documentation on a particular
topic.
Any time you see "see npm-whatever(1)", you can do `man npm-whatever`
to get at the docs.
## The package.json File
You need to have a `package.json` file in the root of your project.
See npm-json(1) for details about what goes in that file. At the very
least, you need:
* name:
This should be a string that identifies your project. Please do not
use the name to specify that it runs on node, or is in JavaScript.
You can use the "engines" field to explicitly state the versions of
node (or whatever else) that your program requires, and it's pretty
well assumed that it's javascript.
It does not necessarily need to match your github repository name.
So, `node-foo` and `bar-js` are bad names. `foo` or `bar` are better.
* version:
A semver-compatible version.
* engines:
Specify the versions of node (or whatever else) that your program
runs on. The node API changes a lot, and there may be bugs or new
functionality that you depend on. Be explicit.
* author:
Take some credit.
* scripts:
If you have a special compilation or installation script, then you
should put it in the `scripts` hash. See npm-scripts(1).
* main:
If you have a single module that serves as the entry point to your
program (like what the "foo" package gives you at require("foo")),
then you need to specify that in the "main" field.
* directories:
This is a hash of folders. The best ones to include are "lib" and
"doc", but if you specify a folder full of man pages in "man", then
they'll get installed just like these ones.
## Make Sure Your Package Installs and Works
**This is important.**
If you can not install it locally, you'll have
problems trying to publish it. Or, worse yet, you'll be able to
publish it, but you'll be publishing a broken or pointless package.
So don't do that.
In the root of your package, do this:
npm install
That'll show you that it's working. If you'd rather just create a symlink
package that points to your working directory, then do this:
npm link
Use `npm ls installed` to see if it's there.
Then go into the node-repl, and try using require() to bring in your module's
main and libs things. Assuming that you have a package like this:
node_foo/
lib/
foo.js
bar.js
and you define your package.json with this in it:
{ "name" : "foo"
, "directories" : { "lib" : "./lib" }
, "main" : "./lib/foo"
}
then you'd want to make sure that require("foo") and require("foo/bar") both
work and bring in the appropriate modules.
## Create a User Account
Create a user with the adduser command. It works like this:
npm adduser
and then follow the prompts.
This is documented better in npm-adduser(1). So do this to get the
details:
npm help adduser
## Publish your package
This part's easy. IN the root of your folder, do this:
npm publish
You can give publish a url to a tarball, or a filename of a tarball,
or a path to a folder.
## Brag about it
Send emails, write blogs, blab in IRC.
Tell the world how easy it is to install your program!
|
