grunt js installing packages - npm

I'm building a grunt javascript project with grunt, and I have a package.json file that looks something like:
{
... name, author, etc here ...
"dependencies": {
"grunt-html":"0.2.1"
}
}
I can run npm install to install grunt-html and this works just fine. But when I add new dependencies, all developers on the team must know to run npm install again. Is there a way to automatically install any packages that have not yet been installed? Should I just run npm install always to ensure I'm up to date?

Yes npm install is the easiest way IMO. Getting everyone familiar with the other npm commands makes managing deps easier as well. Such as:
npm ls to list out the currently installed modules.
Or the --save flag ie, npm install grunt-html --save to install and insert the package and version into your package.json.
npm prune to remove modules not included in your package.json.
Other ways to manage dependencies are to commit the node_modules folder in your repository to avoid other devs from having to run npm install. Or for more complex projects consider using npm shrinkwrap to lock down dependencies to specific versions: npm shrinkwrap docs.

I have not tried grunt-install-dependencies (https://github.com/ahutchings/grunt-install-dependencies), but it seems this may fullfill your needs. Just add the command install-dependencies as first task within your custom definfed grunt tasts, e.g.
grunt.registerTask('build', [ 'install-dependencies', 'useminPrepare', ... ]);

Related

how do i add yarn package to react native project installed with npm?

Note: Do guide me if something is missing.
So, I wanted to install a package from https://rnfirebase.io/auth/usage, but I have an npm project. The command on the website has only for yarn. I don't want to add yarn to project because (Is there any harm in using NPM and Yarn in the same project?) it states that it is not recommended.
So, then how do I install it with npm?
You have to use yarn, or you can look for a package that has the functions that you are looking for using npm
You can install it with npm just fine, don't worry. They are all package managers installing npm packages from the same repository. There is no difference in what you are installing or how they are installed. You can get different node_module structures, but for yarn you need config for that.
Yes its not recommended because it generates different lockfiles that will dictate different structures and versions in your node_modules folder. You want multiples devs to have the same "experience". However, lots of JS frameworks will come pre-configured with yarn, like React Native and you just end up having two lockfiles. One for npm and one for yarn. There is no harm in deleting the yarn file and keeping the package-lock. If you delete both, a new lockfile for the package manager you are using will be generated on npm i | yarn i | pnpm anyway.
To install it with npm just use npm i <PACKAGE_NAME> so npm i #react-native-firebase/app.
Here is the npm repo page for that package, https://www.npmjs.com/package/#react-native-firebase/app, notice the install command is npm! Only reason firebase devs only mention yarn is because they are hipsters ;)

npm start install my package, but i'm running my project with yarn start

If I installed some package with NPM it will work and recognize it if I run my project with yarn start instead npm start?
Yes, it will still work after all the required packages are installed.
But you should not switch package Managers like that since you will generate two lock files if you use both to install packages. npm generates the package-lock.json and yarn will generate the yarn.lock file. I recommend you to stay with one or switch completely.
In runtime, it does not make any difference if you use yarn or npm.
npm run start and yarn start will do exactly the same.

Skip a Specific npm Package on Build Definition on ADO

There are some packages that I'd like to skip on build definition. I was wondering if there's any way to skip any specific npm packages on the build definition on ADO?
For example, if I want to ignore the npm package of #microsoft/applicationinsights-common, can I do something like below in the npm
install --ignore #microsoft/applicationinsights-common
There is no possiblity to ignore one specific npm package using npm install.
If you want to skip such npm packages, that are only needed for development, than in package.json move the development specific dependencies to devDependencies and use npm install --production command to install the packages that are defined in dependencies.

How do I force npm to reinstall a single package, even if the version number is the same?

In my Node.js project, I have a dependency on another local project. Oftentimes, I need to make a small change to the dependency and see how it affects my main project. In order to do this, I have to reinstall my dependency using npm.
I can use npm update to try to update my dependency, but this seems like it will only work if the version number has changed on the dependency. I don't want to have to change the version number on my dependency every time I change a line of code or two to make an experimental change in development.
I can rm -rf node_modules/; npm install to ensure that I get the latest versions of all of my dependencies. Downloading all of my non-local dependencies takes several minutes, breaking up my train of thought.
Is there a way to force npm to reinstall a single dependency, even if that dependency's version number hasn't changed?
When you run npm install, it will install any missing dependencies, so you can combine it with an uninstall like this:
npm uninstall some_module; npm install
With npm 5, uninstalled modules are removed from the package.json, so you should use:
npm uninstall some_module; npm install some_module
On npm v 6.14:
npm install module_name --force --no-save
You get a message stating:
npm WARN using --force I sure hope you know what you are doing.
And then it proceeds to uninstall and reinstall the package.
Note: if you don't specify the --no-save option, npm updates the package version on package.json to the highest version that is compatible with the existing SemVer rule.
If you do not want npm to update the package's version on package.json, keep the --no-save option.
Not the best answer, but just for information, you can run
npm ci
It is the same as npm install, but it will remove the existing node_modules folder, if any, and do a fresh install for all packages. This is useful if the files in node_modules have been changed for some reason and you want to revert them to their original state.

How to update package.json dependencies when linking from globally installed packages?

I organize my development projects installing globally all the npm packages I need with:
npm -g install [package]
Then I simlink individually the dependencies I need for each project with:
npm link [package]
This way, I have to update manually each package.json file to add the dependency, and when I upgrade the global node_modules I have to go and update all the package.json projects.
For this first issue I tried npm link [package] --save but it doesn't add the dependency to package.json and if I use npm install [package] --save it installs the package locally, thing I don't want.
Is there any way to be able to not have to configure package.json manually and be able to have an updated configuration of package.json from many different projects in a easier way?
Yes you can install npm-check-updates, you can find the install and guide here:
https://www.npmjs.com/package/npm-check-updates
when running 'ncu' on the command-line in your root-folder where your package.json is, it will list the packages that can be updated and by running 'ncu -u' on the command-line it updates all the packages for you.