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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)