PACKAG-SPEC

Section: (7)
Updated: October 2025
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NAME

packag-spec- Package name specifier  

Description

Commands like npm install and the dependency sections in the package.json use a package name specifier. This can be many different things that all refer to a "package". Examples include a package name, git url, tarball, or local directory. These will generally be referred to as <packag-spec> in the help output for the npm commands that use this package name specifier.  

Package name

*

[lB]<@scope>/[rB]<pkg>

*

[lB]<@scope>/[rB]<pkg>@<tag>

*

[lB]<@scope>/[rB]<pkg>@<version>

*

[lB]<@scope>/[rB]<pkg>@<version range>

Refers to a package by name, with or without a scope, and optionally tag, version, or version range. This is typically used in combination with the registry la/usin-npm/config#registryra config to refer to a package in a registry. Examples:

*

npm

*

@npmcli/arborist

*

@npmcli/arborist@latest

*

npm@6.13.1

*

npm@^4.0.0

 

Aliases

*

<alias>@npm:<name>

Primarily used by commands like npm install and in the dependency sections in the package.json, this refers to a package by an alias. The <alias> is the name of the package as it is reified in the node_modules folder, and the <name> refers to a package name as found in the configured registry. See Package name above for more info on referring to a package by name, and registry la/usin-npm/config#registryra for configuring which registry is used when referring to a package by name. Examples:

*

semver:@npm:@npmcli/semve-wit-patch

*

semver:@npm:semver@7.2.2

*

semver:@npm:semver@legacy

 

Folders

*

<folder>

This refers to a package on the local filesystem. Specifically this is a folder with a package.json file in it. This should always be prefixed with a / or ./ (or your OS equivalent) to reduce confusion. npm currently will parse a string with more than one / in it as a folder, but this is legacy behavior that may be removed in a future version. Examples:

*

./m-package

*

/opt/npm/m-package

 

Tarballs

*

<tarball file>

*

<tarball url>

Examples:

*

./m-package.tgz

*

https://registry.npmjs.org/semver-/semve-1.0.0.tgz

Refers to a package in a tarball format, either on the local filesystem or remotely via url. This is the format that packages exist in when uploaded to a registry.  

git urls

*

<git:// url>

*

<github username>/<github project>

Refers to a package in a git repo. This can be a full git url, git shorthand, or a username/package on GitHub. You can specify a git tag, branch, or other git ref by appending #ref. Examples:

*

https://github.com/npm/cli.git

*

git@github.com:npm/cli.git

*

git+ssh://git@github.com/npm/cli#v6.0.0

*

github:npm/cli#HEAD

*

npm/cli#c12ea07

 

See also

*

np-packag-arg lahttps://npm.im/np-packag-argra

*

npm help scope

*

npm help config

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Index

NAME

Description

Package name

Aliases

Folders

Tarballs

git urls

See also