npm stands for Node Package Manager, and it is a package manager for the JavaScript programming language. It is the default package manager for the JavaScript runtime environment Node.js and is included as a recommended feature in the Node.js installer. npm consists of a command-line client, also called npm, and an online database of public and paid-for private packages, called the npm registry. The registry is accessed via the client, and the available packages can be browsed and searched via the npm website.
A package is a file or directory that is described by a package.json file. A package must contain a package.json file in order to be published to the npm registry. Packages can be unscoped or scoped to a user or organization, and scoped packages can be private or public. npm can manage packages that are local dependencies of a particular project, as well as globally-installed JavaScript tools. When used as a dependency manager for a local project, npm can install, in one command, all the dependencies of a project through the package.json file.
The npm registry contains over 800,000 code packages. Open-source developers use npm to share software, and many organizations also use npm to manage private development. npm is free to use, and you can download all npm public software packages without any registration or login. The npm CLI (Command Line Interface) can be used to download and install software.
In summary, npm is a package manager for the JavaScript programming language that allows developers to manage packages and dependencies for their projects. It consists of a command-line client and an online database of public and private packages. Developers can use npm to download and install software, manage dependencies, and share code with other developers.
