npm Registry

npm (Node Package Manager) is the default package manager for the JavaScript runtime environment Node.js, and the world largest software registry. Launched in 2010 by Isaac Z. Schlueter, npm has grown to host over 4.1 million packages (as of 2026) with over 17 billion package downloads per week. npm consists of three components: the npm CLI (the command-line tool for installing, publishing, and managing packages), the npm registry (the public database of JavaScript packages accessible at the npmjs website), and the npm website (the web interface for browsing, searching, and managing packages). Key features include: package.json (the manifest file defining project metadata, dependencies, scripts, and configuration), semantic versioning (using semver ranges like ^1.2.3 for compatible versions and ~1.2.3 for patch-level updates), package-lock.json and npm-shrinkwrap.json (locking dependency versions for reproducible installs), scoped packages (using @scope/package naming for organizational packages), npm scripts (defining custom commands in package.json with lifecycle hooks like pretest, postinstall), npm workspaces (managing monorepos with multiple packages in a single repository), npm ci (clean install for CI/CD with exact versions from lockfile), npm audit (scanning dependencies for known vulnerabilities), npm publish (publishing packages to the public registry or private registries), npm organizations (team-based package management with scoped namespaces), npm Pro/Teams/Enterprise (private packages, SSO, and advanced access control), .npmrc configuration (registry URLs, authentication tokens, and proxy settings), and integration with CDNs (packages served via global CDN for fast downloads).