Parse array written to stdout from `npm view x dependencies`

Question

When I run the command

$ npm view JSONStream@^1.3.1 dependencies --json

I get:

[
  {
    "jsonparse": "^1.2.0",
    "through": ">=2.2.7 <3"
  },
  {
    "jsonparse": "^1.2.0",
    "through": ">=2.2.7 <3"
  }
]

my question is, what does each element in the array represent? I am guessing it represents a snapshot of the dependencies for each published version of JSONStream. However, the problem is I don't know which version each element is for! I would have thought it would have looked like this instead:

{
 "2.3.5": {
    "jsonparse": "^1.2.0",
    "through": ">=2.2.7 <3"
  },
  "2.3.6":{
    "jsonparse": "^1.2.0",
    "through": ">=2.2.7 <3"
  }
}

does anyone know how to figure out what each element in the array represents?

Uh, when I run the command I just get `{ "jsonparse": "^1.2.0", "through": ">=2.2.7 <3" }`. What version of `npm` are you using? I'm on 5.6.0 — Patrick Roberts, Jan 19 '18 at 21:48
Yeah I am on npm v5.6.0 too, weird, are you sure you use the --json flag? — Alexander Mills, Jan 19 '18 at 21:50
Yep. If I run without `--json`, I just get a colorized version of the same output in my comment. — Patrick Roberts, Jan 19 '18 at 21:50
check this out: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5xdeuleupa9hm3s/Screenshot%202018-01-19%2013.50.50.png?dl=0 — Alexander Mills, Jan 19 '18 at 21:51
maybe it's the `^` symbol that causes that, did you use that in your command? — Alexander Mills, Jan 19 '18 at 21:52
Here's mine since you seem not to believe me: https://i.stack.imgur.com/48kIp.png — Patrick Roberts, Jan 19 '18 at 21:54
ah you are on Windows, can you try using a bash shell (git bash, perhaps) and run the same command? — Alexander Mills, Jan 19 '18 at 21:55
fyi, this might be useful info: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/48348948/use-semver-package-to-convert-4-2-3-to-4-2-3/48350085 — Alexander Mills, Jan 19 '18 at 21:55
So you got the same output when using the bash terminal instead of the windows terminal? — Alexander Mills, Jan 19 '18 at 22:13

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 19 '18 at 22:03

1

You can use npm view JSONStream@^1.3.1 version --json to determine the respective version for each entry:

[
  "1.3.1",
  "1.3.2"
]

Protip, the argument after the package name is a field from the package.json. You can also omit the argument to see the entire metadata for each version.

answered Jan 19 '18 at 22:03

Patrick Roberts

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thanks good call, I got rid of the caret `^` using `require('semver').clean()`, but yeah – Alexander Mills Jan 19 '18 at 22:14
if you like the semver.clean() question/answer linked in the comments to the OP, let me know – Alexander Mills Jan 19 '18 at 22:15

Parse array written to stdout from `npm view x dependencies`

1 Answers1