npm or the Node Package Manager, is one of the most used tools for any Node.js developer. Here's a list of the most common commands you'll use when working with npm.

Install package.json dependencies

npm install

Shorthand

# install
npm i <package>

# uninstall
npm un <package>

# update
npm up <package>

Flags

-S is the same as --save, and -D is the same as --save-dev.

List globally installed packages

npm list -g --depth=0

Uninstall global package

npm -g uninstall <name>

Upgrade npm on Windows

npm-windows-upgrade

Update global packages

To see which packages need updating, use:

npm outdated -g --depth=0

To update global packages individually you can use:

npm update -g <package> <package> <package>

list available scripts to run

npm run

Update npm

npm install -g npm@latest

# using windows? Then use
npm-windows-upgrade

Installed version

npm list # for local packages

Node Version Manager nvm

nvm makes it easy to switch between different versions of Node.js. Read more about it on the project's GitHub page.

Once you have nvm installed, if you want to install the latest version of Node v12 just run:

nvm install 12

If you have multiple versions of Node.js installed on your workspace, you can switch to a specific version by writing:

nvm use 10.19.0

Make a Node version default

In order to set a default version of Node for your workspace, just type:

nvm alias default 12

Where the latest version of 12 is the version you want to be used by default.

Update npm

If you use Node installed through nvm, it's good practice to update your version of npm with this command:

nvm install-latest-npm

More information: