<h1><a href="../files/npmrc.html">npmrc</a></h1> <p>The npm config files</p> <h2 id="description">DESCRIPTION</h2> <p>npm gets its config settings from the command line, environment variables, and <code>npmrc</code> files.</p> <p>The <code>npm config</code> command can be used to update and edit the contents of the user and global npmrc files.</p> <p>For a list of available configuration options, see <a href="../misc/npm-config.html">npm-config(7)</a>.</p> <h2 id="files">FILES</h2> <p>The four relevant files are:</p> <ul> <li>per-project config file (/path/to/my/project/.npmrc)</li> <li>per-user config file (~/.npmrc)</li> <li>global config file ($PREFIX/etc/npmrc)</li> <li>npm builtin config file (/path/to/npm/npmrc)</li> </ul> <p>All npm config files are an ini-formatted list of <code>key = value</code> parameters. Environment variables can be replaced using <code>${VARIABLE_NAME}</code>. For example:</p> <pre><code>prefix = ${HOME}/.npm-packages </code></pre><p>Each of these files is loaded, and config options are resolved in priority order. For example, a setting in the userconfig file would override the setting in the globalconfig file.</p> <p>Array values are specified by adding "[]" after the key name. For example:</p> <pre><code>key[] = "first value" key[] = "second value" </code></pre><p><strong>NOTE:</strong> Because local (per-project or per-user) <code>.npmrc</code> files can contain sensitive credentials, they must be readable and writable <em>only</em> by your user account (i.e. must have a mode of <code>0600</code>), otherwise they <em>will be ignored by npm!</em></p> <h3 id="per-project-config-file">Per-project config file</h3> <p>When working locally in a project, a <code>.npmrc</code> file in the root of the project (ie, a sibling of <code>node_modules</code> and <code>package.json</code>) will set config values specific to this project.</p> <p>Note that this only applies to the root of the project that you're running npm in. It has no effect when your module is published. For example, you can't publish a module that forces itself to install globally, or in a different location.</p> <h3 id="per-user-config-file">Per-user config file</h3> <p><code>$HOME/.npmrc</code> (or the <code>userconfig</code> param, if set in the environment or on the command line)</p> <h3 id="global-config-file">Global config file</h3> <p><code>$PREFIX/etc/npmrc</code> (or the <code>globalconfig</code> param, if set above): This file is an ini-file formatted list of <code>key = value</code> parameters. Environment variables can be replaced as above.</p> <h3 id="built-in-config-file">Built-in config file</h3> <p><code>path/to/npm/itself/npmrc</code></p> <p>This is an unchangeable "builtin" configuration file that npm keeps consistent across updates. Set fields in here using the <code>./configure</code> script that comes with npm. This is primarily for distribution maintainers to override default configs in a standard and consistent manner.</p> <h2 id="see-also">SEE ALSO</h2> <ul> <li><a href="../files/npm-folders.html">npm-folders(5)</a></li> <li><a href="../cli/npm-config.html">npm-config(1)</a></li> <li><a href="../misc/npm-config.html">npm-config(7)</a></li> <li><a href="../files/package.json.html">package.json(5)</a></li> <li><a href="../cli/npm.html">npm(1)</a></li> </ul>