npm-publish(1) npm-publish(1)
NAME
npm-publish - Publish a package
Synopsis
npm publish <package-spec>
Description
Publishes a package to the registry so that it can be installed by
name.
Examples
Publish the package in the current directory:
npm publish
Publish a specific workspace:
npm publish --workspace=<workspace-name>
Publish multiple workspaces:
npm publish --workspace=workspace-a --workspace=workspace-b
Publish all workspaces:
npm publish --workspaces
By default npm will publish to the public registry. This can be
overridden by specifying a different default registry or using a npm
help scope in the name, combined with a scope-configured registry (see
\fBpackage.json\fR </configuring-npm/package-json>).
A package is interpreted the same way as other commands (like npm
install) and can be:
o a) a folder containing a program described by a \fBpackage.json\fR
</configuring-npm/package-json> file
o b) a gzipped tarball containing (a)
o c) a url that resolves to (b)
o d) a <name>@<version> that is published on the registry (see npm
help registry) with (c)
o e) a <name>@<tag> (see npm help dist-tag) that points to (d)
o f) a <name> that has a "latest" tag satisfying (e)
o g) a <git remote url> that resolves to (a)
If either (a) or (b) is specified as a relative path, it should begin
with an explicit ./ prefix.
The publish will fail if the package name and version combination
already exists in the specified registry.
Once a package is published with a given name and version, that
specific name and version combination can never be used again, even if
it is removed with npm help unpublish.
As of npm@5, both a sha1sum and an integrity field with a sha512sum of
the tarball will be submitted to the registry during publication.
Subsequent installs will use the strongest supported algorithm to
verify downloads.
Similar to --dry-run see npm help pack, which figures out the files to
be included and packs them into a tarball to be uploaded to the
registry.
Files included in package
To see what will be included in your package, run npm pack --dry-run.
All files are included by default, with the following exceptions:
o Certain files that are relevant to package installation and
distribution are always included. For example, package.json,
README.md, LICENSE, and so on.
o If there is a "files" list in \fBpackage.json\fR </configuring-
npm/package-json>, then only the files specified will be included.
(If directories are specified, then they will be walked recursively
and their contents included, subject to the same ignore rules.)
o If there is a .gitignore or .npmignore file, then ignored files in
that and all child directories will be excluded from the package.
If both files exist, then the .gitignore is ignored, and only the
.npmignore is used.
.npmignore files follow the same pattern rules <https://git-
scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Basics-Recording-Changes-to-the-
Repository#_ignoring> as .gitignore files
o If the file matches certain patterns, then it will never be
included, unless explicitly added to the "files" list in
package.json, or un-ignored with a ! rule in a .npmignore or
.gitignore file.
o Symbolic links are never included in npm packages.
See npm help developers for full details on what's included in the
published package, as well as details on how the package is built.
See \fBpackage.json\fR </configuring-npm/package-json> for more info on
what can and can't be ignored.
Configuration
tag
o Default: "latest"
o Type: String
If you ask npm to install a package and don't tell it a specific
version, then it will install the specified tag.
It is the tag added to the package@version specified in the npm dist-
tag add command, if no explicit tag is given.
When used by the npm diff command, this is the tag used to fetch the
tarball that will be compared with the local files by default.
If used in the npm publish command, this is the tag that will be added
to the package submitted to the registry.
access
o Default: 'public' for new packages, existing packages it will not
change the current level
o Type: null, "restricted", or "public"
If you do not want your scoped package to be publicly viewable (and
installable) set --access=restricted.
Unscoped packages cannot be set to restricted.
Note: This defaults to not changing the current access level for
existing packages. Specifying a value of restricted or public during
publish will change the access for an existing package the same way
that npm access set status would.
dry-run
o Default: false
o Type: Boolean
Indicates that you don't want npm to make any changes and that it
should only report what it would have done. This can be passed into any
of the commands that modify your local installation, eg, install,
update, dedupe, uninstall, as well as pack and publish.
Note: This is NOT honored by other network related commands, eg dist-
tags, owner, etc.
otp
o Default: null
o Type: null or String
This is a one-time password from a two-factor authenticator. It's
needed when publishing or changing package permissions with npm access.
If not set, and a registry response fails with a challenge for a one-
time password, npm will prompt on the command line for one.
workspace
o Default:
o Type: String (can be set multiple times)
Enable running a command in the context of the configured workspaces of
the current project while filtering by running only the workspaces
defined by this configuration option.
Valid values for the workspace config are either:
o Workspace names
o Path to a workspace directory
o Path to a parent workspace directory (will result in selecting all
workspaces within that folder)
When set for the npm init command, this may be set to the folder of a
workspace which does not yet exist, to create the folder and set it up
as a brand new workspace within the project.
This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.
workspaces
o Default: null
o Type: null or Boolean
Set to true to run the command in the context of all configured
workspaces.
Explicitly setting this to false will cause commands like install to
ignore workspaces altogether. When not set explicitly:
o Commands that operate on the node_modules tree (install, update,
etc.) will link workspaces into the node_modules folder. - Commands
that do other things (test, exec, publish, etc.) will operate on
the root project, unless one or more workspaces are specified in
the workspace config.
This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.
include-workspace-root
o Default: false
o Type: Boolean
Include the workspace root when workspaces are enabled for a command.
When false, specifying individual workspaces via the workspace config,
or all workspaces via the workspaces flag, will cause npm to operate
only on the specified workspaces, and not on the root project.
This value is not exported to the environment for child processes.
provenance
o Default: false
o Type: Boolean
When publishing from a supported cloud CI/CD system, the package will
be publicly linked to where it was built and published from.
This config cannot be used with: provenance-file
provenance-file
o Default: null
o Type: Path
When publishing, the provenance bundle at the given path will be used.
This config cannot be used with: provenance
See Also
o npm help "package spec"
o npm-packlist package <http://npm.im/npm-packlist>
o npm help registry
o npm help scope
o npm help adduser
o npm help owner
o npm help deprecate
o npm help dist-tag
o npm help pack
o npm help profile
NPM@11.12.1 March 2026 npm-publish(1)
npm 11.12.1 - Generated Fri Apr 3 15:24:37 CDT 2026