NodeJS includs NPM but these are two different applications. NPM is known to be the best package management system for javascript but it is not the only option for doing so. Yarn, Webpack are the latest trends.

Latest (LTS) version : NodeJS.org ➥ Download

node -v
npm -v

• https://nvm.sh

« nvm » is the common alternative to quickly install and use different versions of node via CLI. It allow developers to switch to different versions of node (and npm) for specific repositories on your workstation using command line « nvm ls-remote » to list all the versions of NodeJs available to install.

nvm install 18
nvm use 18
  ## Now using node v18.19.0 (npm v10.2.3)
nvm use 14
  ## Now using node v14.18.0 (npm v6.14.15)
nvm use 18
  ## Now using node v18.19.0 (npm v10.2.3)
  ## You can confirm by looking for the node and/or npm version
node -v
npm -v

Type nvm --help to see all the options

• To update to latest npm version : npm install npm@latest -g
  
• To launch NPM in a project : npm init

• NPM keeps track of all the packages and their versions and allows the developer to easily update or remove these dependencies.

  « Best package management system for javascript », « Open-source » and « Great community » are the key factors why developers consider npm.

• Yarn is a superset of NPM

  It solves many problems that npm has.

• Webpack

  « Most powerful bundler », « Built-in dev server with livereload » and « Can handle all types of assets » are the primary reasons why Webpack is favored.

• NPM vs Webpack: https://stackshare.io/stackups/npm-vs-webpack

This example is for a new Wordpress Theme

1. cd /wp-content/theme/{MY_THEME}
2. npm init -y
3. npm install {-g} {PACKAGE_NAME}
4. npm install

Note: At the 2nd command line above, the «-y» stands for «answer yes to all questions»

List which package depend on a specific package

npm ls {PACKAGE_NAME}

Get an overview of your packages

npm audit

If you get an error message about Access Rights (on macOS probebly) copy/paste the following line. You can read more here : « How to fix the "Missing write access" error when using npm ».

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/lib/node_modules

If you get the following message from npm it simply means that you are missing {whatever} in your « package.json➥devDependencies ». To fix this simply use the following command line syntaxe.

« npm WARN {this} requires a peer of {whatever} but none is installed. You must install peer dependencies yourself. »

npm install --save-dev "{whatever}"

Both files are automatically generated but at different moment.

package.json

package-lock.json

By default a package is saved as a core dependency for the solution. Therefor it is expected as required on the server either for build scripts or simply for the solution to run on the servers.

If you don't need the package on the remote server for any reason; Example maybe your Sass files are compiled locally so only CSS are required on server. Then it is a good practice to set that package as a « save for development only » by adding the following --save-dev instruction at the end of the install command line of a package.

• Shorthands and Other CLI Niceties related to npm-config.

For versioning node_modules listed in package.json

• serve
• bootstrap
• cli-real-favicon generates a multiplatform favicon with RealFaviconGenerator.
• concat to Concatenate multiple files into one.
• dart sass but install it globally : npm install -g node-sass.
• eslint
• fontawesome
• npm-run-all
• prettier
• webp-converter to convert base64, gif, png, jpg image files to or from *.webp. images.

• Manage Node.js and JavaScript dependencies for build