Hey everyone! I’m working on a project and I’ve got this cool npm package I downloaded from GitHub. Now I’m trying to figure out how to use it in my project without publishing it to npm. Is there a simple way to add it as a local dependency? I’ve heard about npm link but I’m not sure if that’s the best option. Any tips or tricks would be super helpful! I’m pretty new to working with local packages, so a step-by-step guide would be awesome. Thanks in advance for your help!
I’ve been in your shoes before, and I can tell you that working with local npm packages can be a bit tricky at first. Here’s what I’ve found to be the most straightforward approach:
In your project’s package.json file, you can actually reference local packages directly. Just use the file: protocol followed by the path to your package. It would look something like this:
“dependencies”: {
“your-local-package”: “file:…/path/to/your/package”
}
After you’ve added this, run npm install in your project directory. npm will create a symlink to your local package.
This method has worked well for me in most cases. It’s simpler than npm link and doesn’t require any global changes. Just remember to keep your local package up to date if you make any changes to it.
Hope this helps you out! Let me know if you run into any issues with this approach.
From my experience, an alternative method involves using the npm pack command to create a tarball of your local package, which you can then install in your project directly. First, navigate to your package directory and run npm pack to generate a .tgz file. Next, in your main project, use npm install with the path to the generated tarball. This method effectively simulates an installation from the npm registry. Just remember that if you make any changes to your local package, you will need to repack and reinstall to see the updates.
hey there! i’ve dealt with this. quickest way: run npm install /path/to/your/package in your project dir. it’ll symlink ur local package. ensure the local package’s package.json is set up correctly and update the symlink after changes. good luck!