creating_an_npm_package.md

Creating an npm package

Table of contents

• Setup
• Build and set main, types in package.json
• .npmignore
• Pack
• Installing a local package
• Next steps

Setup

npm init -y
npm install typescript @types/node --save-dev
npx tsc --init

Add a build script to your package.json.

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "npx tsc"
  },
}

Set up your src directory.

Set up your tsconfig.json file, at the very least:

• target
• module
• rootDir
• outDir

In addition set "declaration": true.

Tip: If you are using an external package, consider setting all references to that package in one file, then export/import the function that uses that package as needed.

Build and set main, types in package.json

Once your package is ready to be shared in another project, build it, then set the output index.js as your main file. In addition, add the typescript types file (generated from the "declaration": true option) in your packahe.json.

{
  "main": "dist/index.js",
  "types": "dist/index.d.ts",
}

.npmignore

Use this file in the root directory to identify which files should be excluded from the package:

src
tsconfig.json
notes.txt
node_modules

Pack

Run the command to create a tarball:

npm pack

It will create a -1.0.0.tgz file of your package in the root directory.

Installing a local package

Let's say our package is in the parent directory of our project:

npm install ../my-package-1.0.0.tgz

Next steps

If you want to publish your package on npm, here's some guides:

• Creating and publishing scoped public packages
• Publish to npm