nodejs/deps/npm/doc/cli/cache.md

npm-cache(1) -- Manipulates packages cache

SYNOPSIS

npm cache add <tarball file>
npm cache add <folder>
npm cache add <tarball url>
npm cache add <name>@<version>

npm cache ls [<path>]

npm cache clean [<path>]

DESCRIPTION

Used to add, list, or clear the npm cache folder.

• add: Add the specified package to the local cache. This command is primarily intended to be used internally by npm, but it can provide a way to add data to the local installation cache explicitly.

• ls: Show the data in the cache. Argument is a path to show in the cache folder. Works a bit like the find program, but limited by the depth config.

• clean: Delete data out of the cache folder. If an argument is provided, then it specifies a subpath to delete. If no argument is provided, then the entire cache is cleared.

DETAILS

npm stores cache data in $HOME/.npm. For each package that is added to the cache, three pieces of information are stored in {cache}/{name}/{version}:

• .../package/: A folder containing the package contents as they appear in the tarball.
• .../package.json: The package.json file, as npm sees it, with overlays applied and a _id attribute.
• .../package.tgz: The tarball for that version.

Additionally, whenever a registry request is made, a .cache.json file is placed at the corresponding URI, to store the ETag and the requested data.

Commands that make non-essential registry requests (such as search and view, or the completion scripts) generally specify a minimum timeout. If the .cache.json file is younger than the specified timeout, then they do not make an HTTP request to the registry.

CONFIGURATION

cache

Default: $HOME/.npm on Posix, or $HOME/npm-cache on Windows.

The root cache folder.

SEE ALSO

• npm-folders(1)
• npm-config(1)
• npm-install(1)
• npm-publish(1)
• npm-pack(1)