Publish Packages to npm Registry

Intermediate15 min

Prepare, version, and publish npm packages to the public registry with proper metadata, access controls, and automated release workflows.

Prerequisites

-npm account created at npmjs.com
-npm CLI authenticated with 'npm login'

Steps

Prepare package.json metadata

Ensure your package has the required fields for publishing.

$ npm pkg set name='@myorg/utils' description='Shared utility functions' main='dist/index.js' types='dist/index.d.ts' files='["dist"]' license='MIT'

The 'files' field acts as a whitelist for published files. Only include dist/ to keep the package size small.

Preview what will be published

Check exactly which files will be included in the package tarball.

$ npm pack --dry-run

Build and verify the package

Compile the package and run tests before publishing.

$ npm run build && npm test && npm pack

Always run your full test suite before publishing. A broken published version cannot be easily unpublished after 72 hours.

Publish the package

Push the package to the npm registry.

$ npm publish --access public

Scoped packages (@org/pkg) are private by default. Use --access public for open-source packages.

Verify the published package

Confirm the package is live on the registry.

$ npm view @myorg/utils versions --json && npm info @myorg/utils

Full Script

full-script.sh

#!/bin/bash
# npm Package Publish Workflow
set -euo pipefail

echo "=== Pre-Publish Checks ==="

# Verify npm auth
npm whoami || { echo "Not logged in. Run 'npm login' first."; exit 1; }

# Check for required fields
for field in name version description main license; do
  value=$(npm pkg get "$field" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '"')
  if [ -z "$value" ] || [ "$value" = "{}" ]; then
    echo "Missing required field: $field"
    exit 1
  fi
  echo "$field: $value"
done

echo ""
echo "=== Building ==="
npm run build

echo ""
echo "=== Running Tests ==="
npm test

echo ""
echo "=== Package Contents ==="
npm pack --dry-run

echo ""
read -p "Publish this package? (y/n) " -n 1 -r
echo
if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
  npm publish --access public
  echo ""
  PACKAGE_NAME=$(npm pkg get name | tr -d '"')
  echo "Published! View at: https://www.npmjs.com/package/$PACKAGE_NAME"
fi

FAQ

Discussion

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#!/bin/bash # npm Package Publish Workflow set -euo pipefail echo "=== Pre-Publish Checks ===" # Verify npm auth npm whoami || { echo "Not logged in. Run 'npm login' first."; exit 1; } # Check for required fields for field in name version description main license; do value=$(npm pkg get "$field" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '"') if [ -z "$value" ] || [ "$value" = "{}" ]; then echo "Missing required field: $field" exit 1 fi echo "$field: $value" done echo "" echo "=== Building ===" npm run build echo "" echo "=== Running Tests ===" npm test echo "" echo "=== Package Contents ===" npm pack --dry-run echo "" read -p "Publish this package? (y/n) " -n 1 -r echo if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then npm publish --access public echo "" PACKAGE_NAME=$(npm pkg get name | tr -d '"') echo "Published! View at: https://www.npmjs.com/package/$PACKAGE_NAME" fi