joyent/node

<h1><a href="../cli/npm-link.html">npm-link</a></h1> <p>Symlink a package folder</p>
<h2 id="synopsis">SYNOPSIS</h2>
<pre><code>npm link (in package folder)
npm link [@&lt;scope&gt;/]&lt;pkgname&gt;
npm ln (with any of the previous argument usage)
</code></pre><h2 id="description">DESCRIPTION</h2>
<p>Package linking is a two-step process.</p>
<p>First, <code>npm link</code> in a package folder will create a globally-installed
symbolic link from <code>prefix/package-name</code> to the current folder (see
<code><a href="../misc/npm-config.html">npm-config(7)</a></code> for the value of <code>prefix</code>).</p>
<p>Next, in some other location, <code>npm link package-name</code> will create a
symlink from the local <code>node_modules</code> folder to the global symlink.</p>
<p>Note that <code>package-name</code> is taken from <code>package.json</code>,
not from directory name.</p>
<p>The package name can be optionally prefixed with a scope. See <code><a href="../misc/npm-scope.html">npm-scope(7)</a></code>.
The scope must be preceded by an @-symbol and followed by a slash.</p>
<p>When creating tarballs for <code>npm publish</code>, the linked packages are
&quot;snapshotted&quot; to their current state by resolving the symbolic links.</p>
<p>This is handy for installing your own stuff, so that you can work on it and
test it iteratively without having to continually rebuild.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<pre><code>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
</code></pre><p>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. </p>
<p>You may also shortcut the two steps in one.  For example, to do the
above use-case in a shorter way:</p>
<pre><code>cd ~/projects/node-bloggy  # go into the dir of your main project
npm link ../node-redis     # link the dir of your dependency
</code></pre><p>The second line is the equivalent of doing:</p>
<pre><code>(cd ../node-redis; npm link)
npm link node-redis
</code></pre><p>That is, it first creates a global link, and then links the global
installation target into your project&#39;s <code>node_modules</code> folder.</p>
<p>If your linked package is scoped (see <code><a href="../misc/npm-scope.html">npm-scope(7)</a></code>) your link command must
include that scope, e.g.</p>
<pre><code>npm link @myorg/privatepackage
</code></pre><h2 id="see-also">SEE ALSO</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="../misc/npm-developers.html">npm-developers(7)</a></li>
<li><a href="../misc/npm-faq.html">npm-faq(7)</a></li>
<li><a href="../files/package.json.html">package.json(5)</a></li>
<li><a href="../cli/npm-install.html">npm-install(1)</a></li>
<li><a href="../files/npm-folders.html">npm-folders(5)</a></li>
<li><a href="../cli/npm-config.html">npm-config(1)</a></li>
<li><a href="../misc/npm-config.html">npm-config(7)</a></li>
<li><a href="../files/npmrc.html">npmrc(5)</a></li>
</ul>