NAME

       npm-link - Symlink a package folder

SYNOPSIS

       npm link (in package folder)
       npm link <pkgname>
       npm ln (with any of the previous argument usage)

DESCRIPTION

       Package linking is a two-step process.

       First,  npm  link  in a package folder will create a globally-installed symbolic link from
       prefix/package-name to the current folder.

       Next, in some other location, npm link package-name will create a symlink from  the  local
       node_modules folder to the global symlink.

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

       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/redis/

       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.

SEE ALSO

       •   npm help  developers

       •   npm help  faq

       •   npm help  package.json

       •   npm help install

       •   npm help  folders

       •   npm help config

       •   npm help  config

       •   npm help  npmrc

                                           October 2013                               NPM-LINK(1)