NAME

       npm-link - Symlink a package folder

   Synopsis
         npm link (in package dir)
         npm link [<@scope>/]<pkg>[@<version>]

         alias: npm ln

   Description
       Package linking is a two-step process.

       First,  npm  link  in  a  package  folder  will  create  a  symlink  in  the global folder
       {prefix}/lib/node_modules/<package> that links to the package where the npm  link  command
       was executed. It will also link any bins in the package to {prefix}/bin/{name}.  Note that
       npm link uses the global prefix (see npm prefix -g for its value).

       Next, in some other location, npm link package-name  will  create  a  symbolic  link  from
       globally-installed package-name to node_modules/ of the current folder.

       Note that package-name is taken from package.json, not from directory name.

       The  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.

       When creating tarballs for npm publish, the linked packages  are  "snapshotted"  to  their
       current state by resolving the symbolic links.

       This  is  handy  for  installing  your  own  stuff, so that you can work on it and test it
       iteratively without having to continually rebuild.

       For example:

             cd ~/projects/node-redis    # go into the package directory
             npm link                    # creates global link
             cd ~/projects/node-bloggy   # go into some other package directory.
             npm link redis              # link-install the package

       Now,    any    changes    to    ~/projects/node-redis     will     be     reflected     in
       ~/projects/node-bloggy/node_modules/node-redis/.  Note  that  the  link  should  be to the
       package name, not the directory name for that package.

       You may also shortcut the two steps in one.  For example, to do the above  use-case  in  a
       shorter way:

         cd ~/projects/node-bloggy  # go into the dir of your main project
         npm link ../node-redis     # link the dir of your dependency

       The second line is the equivalent of doing:

         (cd ../node-redis; npm link)
         npm link redis

       That  is,  it  first  creates a global link, and then links the global installation target
       into your project's node_modules folder.

       Note that in this case, you are referring to the directory name, node-redis,  rather  than
       the package name redis.

       If  your linked package is scoped (see npm help scope) your link command must include that
       scope, e.g.

         npm link @myorg/privatepackage

   See Also
       • npm help developers

       • npm help package.json

       • npm help npm- nstall

       • npm help folders

       • npm help config

       • npm help npmrc

                                            April 2020                                NPM-LINK(1)