NPM-DIST-TAG(1)

NAME
npm-dist-tag - Modify package distribution tags

SYNOPSIS

    npm dist-tag add <pkg>@<version> [<tag>]
    npm dist-tag rm <pkg> <tag>
    npm dist-tag ls [<pkg>]
    aliases: dist-tags

DESCRIPTION

Add, remove, and enumerate distribution tags on a package:

    •   add: Tags the specified version of the package with the specified tag, or the config if not specified. The tag you're adding is and you have two-factor authentication on auth-and-writes then you'll need to include an otp on the command line with .

    •   rm: Clear a tag that is no longer in use from the package.

    •   ls: Show all of the dist-tags for a package, defaulting to the package in the current prefix.

A tag can be used when installing packages as a reference to a version instead of using a specific version number:

    npm install <name>@<tag>

When installing dependencies, a preferred tagged version may be specified:

    npm install --tag <tag>

This also applies to .

Publishing a package sets the tag to the published version unless the option is used. For example, .

By default, (without any or specifier) installs the tag.

PURPOSE

Tags can be used to provide an alias instead of version numbers.

For example, a project might choose to have multiple streams of development and use a different tag for each stream, e.g., , , , .

By default, the tag is used by npm to identify the current version of a package, and (without any or specifier) installs the tag. Typically, projects only use the tag for stable release versions, and use other tags for unstable versions such as prereleases.

The tag is used by some projects to identify the upcoming version.

By default, other than , no tag has any special significance to npm itself.

CAVEATS

This command used to be known as , which only created new tags, and so had a different syntax.

Tags must share a namespace with version numbers, because they are specified in the same slot: vs .

Tags that can be interpreted as valid semver ranges will be rejected. For example, cannot be used as a tag, because it is interpreted by semver as . See https://github.com/npm/npm/issues/6082.

The simplest way to avoid semver problems with tags is to use tags that do not begin with a number or the letter .

SEE ALSO

    •   npm help publish

    •   npm help install

    •   npm help dedupe

    •   npm help 7 registry

    •   npm help config

    •   npm help 7 config

    •   npm help 5 npmrc