Understanding NPM Packages ​

Where Does NPM Install Packages? ​

NPM packages can be either global or local to a project. To install a packge globally use npm i -g <package>; to see the global packages use npm list -g. Usually it is advisable to not install packages globally and install install them with npm i <package>. In this case they will be installed into the node_modules/ folder in the package where they're used. Use npm list to see the local packages in your current project.

Note: Having the same package installed both globally and locally can cause dependency conflicts.

To make dependency management easier, when you install a new package with npm i <package> it will add it to the "dependencies" field in package.json. This allows other developers to run npm i and all of the stated dependencies will be installed without having to specify them individually.

Scoped Packages ​

In NPM there is a concept called scoped packages, which allows packages to be namespaced. Users and organizations on NPM are given a scope to which only they can add packages to. Scoped packages are installed in the node_modules/@scope_specifier/ directory.