Publish An NPM Package

This is a really quick run through of publishing a simple NPM package, based on my experience of publishing tsUnit to NPM. Because tsUnit is a single file, this provides a great opportunity to see how to publish a package without the distraction of a complicated package – we just want to make our file available.

Step 1 – package.json

Make sure you have a quality package.json file to describe your package.

{
    "author": "Steve Fenton",
    "name": "tsunit.external",
    "description": "Unit testing framework for TypeScript.",
    "keywords": [
        "tsunit",
        "typescript",
        "unit",
        "testing"
    ],
    "version": "1.7.3",
    "homepage": "https://github.com/Steve-Fenton/tsUnit",
    "bugs": "https://github.com/Steve-Fenton/tsUnit/issues",
    "license": "Apache-2.0",
    "files": [ "tsUnit.ts", "tsUnit.js" ],
    "repository": {
        "url": "https://github.com/Steve-Fenton/tsUnit"
    },
    "main": "tsUnit.js",
    "dependencies": { },
    "devDependencies": { },
    "optionalDependencies": { },
    "engines": {
        "node": "*"
    }
}

The name (must be all lower case) and version are the most important fields (you could leave off most of the rest).

The interesting bits are the “files” array and the “main” property. My package.json file is in the same folder as the tsUnit.ts file and the tsUnit.js file – so I’m only dealing with a very simple scenario here.

Step 2 – Add a user

You need to add a user. You just need to run the following command and type in the information you are prompted for:

npm adduser

Step 3 – Publish

You can now publish. This is a simple as running the following command from the directory containing the package.json file:

npm publish

If there are any problems, you’ll get a message telling you what you need to change. Otherwise, your package will show up just like the tsunit.external pacakge on npm here.

Step 3 – Install It

You can install your package using:

npm install tsunit.external

Step 4 – Use It

To use the package, you can use:

import tsUnit = require('./node_modules/tsunit.external/tsUnit');