NAME

       npm-update - Update a package

SYNOPSIS

       npm update [-g] [<pkg>...]

DESCRIPTION

       This  command  will update all the packages listed to the latest version (specified by the
       tag config), respecting semver.

       It will also install missing packages. As with all commands  that  install  packages,  the
       --dev flag will cause devDependencies to be processed as well.

       If the -g flag is specified, this command will update globally installed packages.

       If  no package name is specified, all packages in the specified location (global or local)
       will be updated.

       As of npm@2.6.1, the npm update will only inspect top-level packages.  Prior  versions  of
       npm  would  also  recursively  inspect  all dependencies. To get the old behavior, use npm
       --depth 9999 update, but be warned that simultaneous asynchronous update of all  packages,
       including  npm  itself  and  packages that npm depends on, often causes problems up to and
       including the uninstallation of npm itself.

       To restore a missing npm, use the command:

           curl -L https://npmjs.com/install.sh | sh

EXAMPLES

       IMPORTANT VERSION NOTE: these examples assume npm@2.6.1 or later. For  older  versions  of
       npm, you must specify --depth 0 to get the behavior described below.

       For  the  examples  below,  assume  that  the  current  package  is  app and it depends on
       dependencies, dep1 (dep2, .. etc.). The published versions of dep1 are:

           {
             dist-tags: { latest: "1.2.2" },
             versions: { "1.2.2",
                         "1.2.1",
                         "1.2.0",
                         "1.1.2",
                         "1.1.1",
                         "1.0.0",
                         "0.4.1",
                         "0.4.0",
                         "0.2.0"
             }
           }

   Caret Dependencies
       If app´s package.json contains:

           dependencies: {
             dep1: "^1.1.1"
           }

       Then npm update will install dep1@1.2.2, because  1.2.2  is  latest  and  1.2.2  satisfies
       ^1.1.1.

   Tilde Dependencies
       However, if app´s package.json contains:

           dependencies: {
             dep1: "~1.1.1"
           }

       In  this  case,  running  npm  update  will install dep1@1.1.2. Even though the latest tag
       points to 1.2.2, this version does not satisfy ~1.1.1,  which  is  equivalent  to  >=1.1.1
       <1.2.0. So the highest-sorting version that satisfies ~1.1.1 is used, which is 1.1.2.

   Caret Dependencies below 1.0.0
       Suppose app has a caret dependency on a version below 1.0.0, for example:

           dependencies: {
             dep1: "^0.2.0"
           }

       npm  update  will  install  dep1@0.2.0,  because there are no other versions which satisfy
       ^0.2.0.

       If the dependence were on ^0.4.0:

           dependencies: {
             dep1: "^0.4.0"
           }

       Then npm update will install dep1@0.4.1, because that is the highest-sorting version  that
       satisfies ^0.4.0 (>= 0.4.0 <0.5.0)

   Recording Updates with <code>--save</code>
       When  you  want  to  update  a  package  and  save the new version as the minimum required
       dependency in package.json, you can use npm update -S or npm update --save. For example if
       package.json contains:

           dependencies: {
             dep1: "^1.1.1"
           }

       Then  npm  update  --save will install dep1@1.2.2 (i.e., latest), and package.json will be
       modified:

           dependencies: {
             dep1: "^1.2.2"
           }

       Note that npm will only write an updated version to package.json  if  it  installs  a  new
       package.

   Updating Globally-Installed Packages
       npm  update  -g  will  apply the update action to each globally- installed package that is
       outdated -- that is, has a version that is different from latest.

       NOTE: If a package has  been  upgraded  to  a  version  newer  than  latest,  it  will  be
       downgraded.

SEE ALSO

       •   npm help install

       •   npm help outdated

       •   npm help shrinkwrap

       •   npm help 7 registry

       •   npm help 5 folders

       •   npm help ls

                                          December 2015                             NPM-UPDATE(1)