NAME

       npm-doctor - Check your environments

   Synopsis
         npm doctor

   Description
       npm  doctor  runs  a  set of checks to ensure that your npm installation has what it needs to manage your
       JavaScript packages. npm is mostly a standalone tool, but it does have some basic requirements that  must
       be met:

       • Node.js and git must be executable by npm.

       • The  primary  npm  registry,  registry.npmjs.com,  or  another  service  that uses the registry API, is
         available.

       • The directories that npm uses, node_modules (both locally and globally), exist and can  be  written  by
         the current user.

       • The npm cache exists, and the package tarballs within it aren't corrupt.

       Without  all of these working properly, npm may not work properly.  Many issues are often attributable to
       things that are outside npm's code base, so npm doctor confirms that the npm installation is  in  a  good
       state.

       Also, in addition to this, there are also very many issue reports due to using old versions of npm. Since
       npm is constantly improving, running npm@latest is better than an old version.

       npm doctor verifies the following items in your environment, and if there are any recommended changes, it
       will display them.

   npm ping
       By  default,  npm  installs from the primary npm registry, registry.npmjs.org.  npm doctor hits a special
       ping endpoint within the registry. This can also be checked with npm ping. If this check fails,  you  may
       be  using  a  proxy  that needs to be configured, or may need to talk to your IT staff to get access over
       HTTPS to registry.npmjs.org.

       This check is done against whichever registry you've configured (you can see what that is by running  npm
       config  get  registry),  and if you're using a private registry that doesn't support the /whoami endpoint
       supported by the primary registry, this check may fail.

   npm -v
       While Node.js may come bundled with a particular version of npm, it's the policy of the CLI team that  we
       recommend all users run npm@latest if they can. As the CLI is maintained by a small team of contributors,
       there are only resources for a single line of  development,  so  npm's  own  long-term  support  releases
       typically  only  receive critical security and regression fixes. The team believes that the latest tested
       version of npm is almost always likely to be the most functional and defect-free version of npm.

   node -v
       For most users, in most circumstances, the best version of Node will  be  the  latest  long-term  support
       (LTS) release. Those of you who want access to new ECMAscript features or bleeding-edge changes to Node's
       standard library may be running a newer version, and some of you may be required to run an older  version
       of Node because of enterprise change control policies. That's OK! But in general, the npm team recommends
       that most users run Node.js LTS.

   npm config get registry
       Some of you may be installing from private package registries for your project or company. That's  great!
       Others of you may be following tutorials or StackOverflow questions in an effort to troubleshoot problems
       you may be having. Sometimes, this may entail changing the registry you're pointing at.  This part of npm
       doctor  just  lets  you,  and  maybe  whoever's  helping you with support, know that you're not using the
       default registry.

   which git
       While it's documented in the README, it may not be obvious that npm needs Git installed to do many of the
       things  that it does. Also, in some cases – especially on Windows – you may have Git set up in such a way
       that it's not accessible via your PATH so that npm can find it. This check ensures that Git is available.

   Permissions checks
       • Your cache must be readable and writable by the user running npm.

       • Global package binaries must be writable by the user running npm.

       • Your local node_modules path, if you're running npm doctor with a project directory, must  be  readable
         and writable by the user running npm.

   Validate the checksums of cached packages
       When  an  npm  package is published, the publishing process generates a checksum that npm uses at install
       time to verify that the package didn't get corrupted in transit.  npm  doctor  uses  these  checksums  to
       validate  the  package  tarballs  in  your  local cache (you can see where that cache is located with npm
       config get cache, and see what's in that  cache  with  npm  cache  ls  –  probably  more  than  you  were
       expecting!).  In  the  event  that  there are corrupt packages in your cache, you should probably run npm
       cache clean and reset the cache.

   See Also
       • npm help bugs

       • npm help help

       • npm help ping

                                                   April 2020                                      NPM-DOCTOR(1)