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12 <h1><a href="../cli/npm-link.html">npm-link</a></h1> <p>Symlink a package folder</p>
13 <h2 id="synopsis">SYNOPSIS</h2>
14 <pre><code>npm link (in package folder)
15 npm link [@<scope>/]<pkgname>
16 npm ln (with any of the previous argument usage)
17 </code></pre><h2 id="description">DESCRIPTION</h2>
18 <p>Package linking is a two-step process.</p>
19 <p>First, <code>npm link</code> in a package folder will create a globally-installed
20 symbolic link from <code>prefix/package-name</code> to the current folder (see
21 <code><a href="../misc/npm-config.html"><a href="../misc/npm-config.html">npm-config(7)</a></a></code> for the value of <code>prefix</code>).</p>
22 <p>Next, in some other location, <code>npm link package-name</code> will create a
23 symlink from the local <code>node_modules</code> folder to the global symlink.</p>
24 <p>Note that <code>package-name</code> is taken from <code>package.json</code>,
25 not from directory name.</p>
26 <p>The package name can be optionally prefixed with a scope. See <code><a href="../misc/npm-scope.html"><a href="../misc/npm-scope.html">npm-scope(7)</a></a></code>.
27 The scope must be preceded by an @-symbol and followed by a slash.</p>
28 <p>When creating tarballs for <code>npm publish</code>, the linked packages are
29 "snapshotted" to their current state by resolving the symbolic links.</p>
30 <p>This is handy for installing your own stuff, so that you can work on it and
31 test it iteratively without having to continually rebuild.</p>
33 <pre><code>cd ~/projects/node-redis # go into the package directory
34 npm link # creates global link
35 cd ~/projects/node-bloggy # go into some other package directory.
36 npm link redis # link-install the package
37 </code></pre><p>Now, any changes to ~/projects/node-redis will be reflected in
38 ~/projects/node-bloggy/node_modules/redis/</p>
39 <p>You may also shortcut the two steps in one. For example, to do the
40 above use-case in a shorter way:</p>
41 <pre><code>cd ~/projects/node-bloggy # go into the dir of your main project
42 npm link ../node-redis # link the dir of your dependency
43 </code></pre><p>The second line is the equivalent of doing:</p>
44 <pre><code>(cd ../node-redis; npm link)
46 </code></pre><p>That is, it first creates a global link, and then links the global
47 installation target into your project's <code>node_modules</code> folder.</p>
48 <p>If your linked package is scoped (see <code><a href="../misc/npm-scope.html"><a href="../misc/npm-scope.html">npm-scope(7)</a></a></code>) your link command must
49 include that scope, e.g.</p>
50 <pre><code>npm link @myorg/privatepackage
51 </code></pre><h2 id="see-also">SEE ALSO</h2>
53 <li><a href="../misc/npm-developers.html"><a href="../misc/npm-developers.html">npm-developers(7)</a></a></li>
54 <li><a href="../misc/npm-faq.html"><a href="../misc/npm-faq.html">npm-faq(7)</a></a></li>
55 <li><a href="../files/package.json.html"><a href="../files/package.json.html">package.json(5)</a></a></li>
56 <li><a href="../cli/npm-install.html"><a href="../cli/npm-install.html">npm-install(1)</a></a></li>
57 <li><a href="../files/npm-folders.html"><a href="../files/npm-folders.html">npm-folders(5)</a></a></li>
58 <li><a href="../cli/npm-config.html"><a href="../cli/npm-config.html">npm-config(1)</a></a></li>
59 <li><a href="../misc/npm-config.html"><a href="../misc/npm-config.html">npm-config(7)</a></a></li>
60 <li><a href="../files/npmrc.html"><a href="../files/npmrc.html">npmrc(5)</a></a></li>
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74 <p id="footer">npm-link — npm@2.1.18</p>