Displaying locally installed npm packages in current project

Other Questions NPM
1

Hey everyone, I’m trying to figure out how to see just the packages I’ve installed for this project without the extra dependencies from global installs. When I run npm -g list, it shows every package along with all its dependencies, which is more than what I need. I’m looking for a command or flag that lists only the packages I explicitly added. I’ve scoured the npm documentation but haven’t found the right solution yet. Could someone help me out?

Below is a sample function demonstrating what I’d like to achieve:

function showLocalPackages() {
  // Code to list only the packages installed in the current project
  console.log('Local project packages:');
  // Expected output is a clean list of directly installed packages
}

showLocalPackages();

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

2

yo, try ‘npm list --parseable --depth=0’ in ur project folder. it’ll give ya a clean list of just the packages u installed directly. no extra fluff.

if u wanna get fancy, u can pipe it to ‘sed’ to strip out the full path:

npm list --parseable --depth=0 | sed ‘s/.*node_modules\///’

works like a charm for me. hope it helps!

3

I’ve been in a similar situation, and I found a neat trick that might help you out. Instead of using npm -g list, try running npm list --depth=0 in your project directory. This command will show you only the top-level packages you’ve installed for your project, without all the nested dependencies.

If you want to take it a step further, you can combine it with grep to filter out any extraneous info:

npm list --depth=0 | grep -v 'npm@'

This will give you a clean list of just your project’s direct dependencies. It’s been a lifesaver for me when I need to quickly check what I’ve installed or share my project setup with teammates.

As for your function, you could implement it like this:

const { execSync } = require('child_process');

function showLocalPackages() {
  const output = execSync('npm list --depth=0 | grep -v \'npm@\'', { encoding: 'utf-8' });
  console.log('Local project packages:');
  console.log(output);
}

showLocalPackages();

Hope this helps you streamline your workflow!

4

I’ve found a simple solution that works well for me. Just run npm ls --depth=0 in your project directory. This command lists only the top-level packages you’ve installed, without all the nested dependencies.

If you want to exclude devDependencies, you can add the --production flag: npm ls --depth=0 --production

For your showLocalPackages function, you could implement it like this:

const { execSync } = require('child_process');

function showLocalPackages() {
  try {
    const output = execSync('npm ls --depth=0', { encoding: 'utf-8' });
    console.log('Local project packages:');
    console.log(output);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error listing packages:', error.message);
  }
}

showLocalPackages();

This approach is straightforward and doesn’t require any additional tools or grep commands.