Private NPM: How can the latest version of a module be installed?

Question

Using private npm, common commands seem not to work:

npm install without a specific @version :: issue
npm outdated :: issue
npm update :: issue
npm view <private-package-name> versions :: (haven't found issue yet)
- also note that npm v, npm show, and npm info are aliases that likewise don't work

Frequently, I will not know the latest version of a private module my team maintains. I would fall back on one of the commands listed above, but they seem inoperative. How can I install a package without knowing the latest version?

What error do you get using `npm install`? And what happens when you try @jettpleyn solution in the answers? — Colin Rauch, Nov 23 '16 at 16:45
@Syc Error `npm ERR! notarget No compatible version found: `. It does list the available versions I see now, but that gets confusing when when there are many, many versions and I don't think the user should be forced to sort through them all. — 1252748, Nov 23 '16 at 19:56
you can try to clean your npm cache via `npm cache clear` and `npm rebuild` and then try again — Colin Rauch, Nov 24 '16 at 11:44

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 23 '16 at 04:40

3

If I understand your question, installing latest package would be:

npm install <package_name>@latest --save

answered Nov 23 '16 at 04:40

jettpleyn

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Thanks though! Of all the commands I tried, this foolishly slipped my mind! :P – 1252748 Nov 23 '16 at 19:57

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 24 '16 at 03:02

0

According to the documentation, running npm install package-name is supposed to install the latest version the registry knows about. This may be different for private npm instances, but there doesn't appear to be so as they reference private repos in the documentation as well.

npm install [<@scope>/]<name>@<tag>:

Install the version of the package that is referenced by the specified tag. If the tag does not exist in the registry data for that package, then this will fail.

Example:
npm install sax@latest
npm install @myorg/mypackage@latest

From: https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/install on Nov 23, 2016

answered Nov 24 '16 at 03:02

Bob_Gneu

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1
18
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Thanks for the answer! Did you have a read of the issues I linked and comments I've posted? I'll incorporated them into the main question as soon as I'm off mobile: `@latest` doesn't work either :/ – 1252748 Nov 24 '16 at 03:13
Yes I did, Though they are closed, I really don't see why they should be. They look like they are standing issues, esp. in light of you dealing with it. Is your private registry customized or misconfigured at all? – Bob_Gneu Nov 24 '16 at 03:18

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 28 '16 at 16:56

The solution I ultimately arrived at was to use the @* syntax when running the install:

npm install --save my-off_the_hook-module@*

This seems kind of sloppy to me but it does save the latest version of the module in a manner that is, so far as I can tell, equivalent to the more familiar (and my opinion more explicit) @latest syntax.

Private NPM: How can the latest version of a module be installed?

3 Answers3