What is NPM

NPM (Node Package Manager) is the package manager that comes integrated with Node.js, and that is widely used in the JavaScript development ecosystem.

In fact, NPM has become an essential tool for software development. Logically, it is especially used in Web application development, but it is not exclusive to this field.

In itself, NPM is a command line application. This means that we interact with it by writing commands in our terminal.

NPM allows us to install, update, and uninstall packages from the command line. It also provides us with tools to efficiently manage the dependencies of our projects.

It also contains commands and tools for project management, such as project initialization, or the execution of scripts for automation.

NPM is not the only package manager that exists. But, in general, they all work more or less the same. So, if you know how to use NPM, it will be very easy for you to learn how to use another one if necessary.

Therefore, it is very interesting to learn how to use this package manager if you want to enter the programming world. And that’s why we are going to dedicate a series of posts to it.

Advantages of using NPM

NPM offers several advantages that make it a fundamental tool for development:

• Dependency management: NPM allows us to specify the dependencies of our project in the package.json file. It also automatically manages the dependencies of our installed packages.

• Versioning: NPM allows us to specify the version of the packages we want to install. This ensures that we are always using the correct versions and avoids conflicts between different versions of the same dependency.

• Scripts: NPM allows us to define scripts in our package.json, which allows us to automate common tasks, such as running tests, compiling code, or starting the server.

• Large number of packages: NPM has a very extensive repository that hosts a wide variety of packages and libraries. This allows us to access a large number of resources to add to our project.