man npm-shrinkwrap (1): Lock down dependency versions

SYNOPSIS

npm shrinkwrap

DESCRIPTION

This command locks down the versions of a package's dependencies so that you can control exactly which versions of each dependency will be used when your package is installed. The "package.json" file is still required if you want to use "npm install".

By default, "npm install" recursively installs the target's dependencies (as specified in package.json), choosing the latest available version that satisfies the dependency's semver pattern. In some situations, particularly when shipping software where each change is tightly managed, it's desirable to fully specify each version of each dependency recursively so that subsequent builds and deploys do not inadvertently pick up newer versions of a dependency that satisfy the semver pattern. Specifying specific semver patterns in each dependency's package.json would facilitate this, but that's not always possible or desirable, as when another author owns the npm package. It's also possible to check dependencies directly into source control, but that may be undesirable for other reasons.

As an example, consider package A:

{
  "name": "A",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "dependencies": {
    "B": "<0.1.0"
  }
}

package B:

{
  "name": "B",
  "version": "0.0.1",
  "dependencies": {
    "C": "<0.1.0"
  }
}

and package C:

{
  "name": "C,
  "version": "0.0.1"
}

If these are the only versions of A, B, and C available in the registry, then a normal "npm install A" will install:

[email protected]
`-- [email protected]
    `-- [email protected]

However, if [email protected] is published, then a fresh "npm install A" will install:

[email protected]
`-- [email protected]
    `-- [email protected]

assuming the new version did not modify B's dependencies. Of course, the new version of B could include a new version of C and any number of new dependencies. If such changes are undesirable, the author of A could specify a dependency on [email protected]. However, if A's author and B's author are not the same person, there's no way for A's author to say that he or she does not want to pull in newly published versions of C when B hasn't changed at all.

In this case, A's author can run

npm shrinkwrap

This generates npm-shrinkwrap.json, which will look something like this:

{
  "name": "A",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "dependencies": {
    "B": {
      "version": "0.0.1",
      "dependencies": {
        "C": {
          "version": "0.1.0"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

The shrinkwrap command has locked down the dependencies based on what's currently installed in node_modules. When "npm install" installs a package with a npm-shrinkwrap.json file in the package root, the shrinkwrap file (rather than package.json files) completely drives the installation of that package and all of its dependencies (recursively). So now the author publishes [email protected], and subsequent installs of this package will use [email protected] and [email protected], regardless the dependencies and versions listed in A's, B's, and C's package.json files.

Using shrinkwrapped packages

Using a shrinkwrapped package is no different than using any other package: you can "npm install" it by hand, or add a dependency to your package.json file and "npm install" it.

Building shrinkwrapped packages

To shrinkwrap an existing package:

1.: Run "npm install" in the package root to install the current versions of all dependencies.
2.: Validate that the package works as expected with these versions.
3.: Run "npm shrinkwrap", add npm-shrinkwrap.json to git, and publish your package.

To add or update a dependency in a shrinkwrapped package:

1.: Run "npm install" in the package root to install the current versions of all dependencies.
2.: Add or update dependencies. "npm install" each new or updated package individually and then update package.json. Note that they must be explicitly named in order to be installed: running npm install with no arguments will merely reproduce the existing shrinkwrap.
3.: Validate that the package works as expected with the new dependencies.
4.: Run "npm shrinkwrap", commit the new npm-shrinkwrap.json, and publish your package.

npm help You can use npm-outdated to view dependencies with newer versions available.

Other Notes

A shrinkwrap file must be consistent with the package's package.json file. "npm shrinkwrap" will fail if required dependencies are not already installed, since that would result in a shrinkwrap that wouldn't actually work. Similarly, the command will fail if there are extraneous packages (not referenced by package.json), since that would indicate that package.json is not correct.

Since "npm shrinkwrap" is intended to lock down your dependencies for production use, devDependencies will not be included unless you explicitly set the --dev flag when you run npm shrinkwrap. If installed devDependencies are excluded, then npm will print a warning. If you want them to be installed with your module by default, please consider adding them to dependencies instead.

If shrinkwrapped package A depends on shrinkwrapped package B, B's shrinkwrap will not be used as part of the installation of A. However, because A's shrinkwrap is constructed from a valid installation of B and recursively specifies all dependencies, the contents of B's shrinkwrap will implicitly be included in A's shrinkwrap.

Caveats