--- title: package-spec section: 7 description: Package name specifier --- ### Description Commands like `npm install` and the dependency sections in the `package.json` use a package name specifier. This can be many different things that all refer to a "package". Examples include a package name, git url, tarball, or local directory. These will generally be referred to as `<package-spec>` in the help output for the npm commands that use this package name specifier. ### Package name * `[<@scope>/]<pkg>` * `[<@scope>/]<pkg>@<tag>` * `[<@scope>/]<pkg>@<version>` * `[<@scope>/]<pkg>@<version range>` Refers to a package by name, with or without a scope, and optionally tag, version, or version range. This is typically used in combination with the [registry](/using-npm/config#registry) config to refer to a package in a registry. Examples: * `npm` * `@npmcli/arborist` * `@npmcli/arborist@latest` * `npm@6.13.1` * `npm@^4.0.0` ### Aliases * `<alias>@npm:<name>` Primarily used by commands like `npm install` and in the dependency sections in the `package.json`, this refers to a package by an alias. The `<alias>` is the name of the package as it is reified in the `node_modules` folder, and the `<name>` refers to a package name as found in the configured registry. See `Package name` above for more info on referring to a package by name, and [registry](/using-npm/config#registry) for configuring which registry is used when referring to a package by name. Examples: * `semver:@npm:@npmcli/semver-with-patch` * `semver:@npm:semver@7.2.2` * `semver:@npm:semver@legacy` ### Folders * `<folder>` This refers to a package on the local filesystem. Specifically this is a folder with a `package.json` file in it. This *should* always be prefixed with a `/` or `./` (or your OS equivalent) to reduce confusion. npm currently will parse a string with more than one `/` in it as a folder, but this is legacy behavior that may be removed in a future version. Examples: * `./my-package` * `/opt/npm/my-package` ### Tarballs * `<tarball file>` * `<tarball url>` Examples: * `./my-package.tgz` * `https://registry.npmjs.org/semver/-/semver-1.0.0.tgz` Refers to a package in a tarball format, either on the local filesystem or remotely via url. This is the format that packages exist in when uploaded to a registry. ### git urls * `<git:// url>` * `<github username>/<github project>` Refers to a package in a git repo. This can be a full git url, git shorthand, or a username/package on GitHub. You can specify a git tag, branch, or other git ref by appending `#ref`. Examples: * `https://github.com/npm/cli.git` * `git@github.com:npm/cli.git` * `git+ssh://git@github.com/npm/cli#v6.0.0` * `github:npm/cli#HEAD` * `npm/cli#c12ea07` ### See also * [npm-package-arg](https://npm.im/npm-package-arg) * [scope](/using-npm/scope) * [config](/using-npm/config)
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