---
title: npm-dist-tag
section: 1
description: Modify package distribution tags
---

### Synopsis

<!-- AUTOGENERATED USAGE DESCRIPTIONS -->

### Description

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

* add: Tags the specified version of the package with the specified tag,
  or the [`--tag` config](/using-npm/config#tag) if not specified. If you have
  two-factor authentication on auth-and-writes then you’ll need to include a
  one-time password on the command line with
  `--otp <one-time password>`, or at the OTP prompt.

* rm: Clear a tag that is no longer in use from the package. If you have
  two-factor authentication on auth-and-writes then you’ll need to include
  a one-time password on the command line with `--otp <one-time password>`,
  or at the OTP prompt.

* ls: Show all of the dist-tags for a package, defaulting to the package in
  the current prefix. This is the default action if none is specified.

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

```bash
npm install <name>@<tag>
```

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

```bash
npm install --tag <tag>
```

(This also applies to any other commands that resolve and install
dependencies, such as `npm dedupe`, `npm update`, and `npm audit fix`.)

Publishing a package sets the `latest` tag to the published version unless the
`--tag` option is used. For example, `npm publish --tag=beta`.

By default, `npm install <pkg>` (without any `@<version>` or `@<tag>`
specifier) installs the `latest` 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., `stable`, `beta`, `dev`,
`canary`.

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

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

Other than `latest`, no tag has any special significance to npm itself.

### Caveats

This command used to be known as `npm tag`, 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: `npm install <pkg>@<version>` vs
`npm install <pkg>@<tag>`.

Tags that can be interpreted as valid semver ranges will be rejected. For
example, `v1.4` cannot be used as a tag, because it is interpreted by
semver as `>=1.4.0 <1.5.0`.  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 `v`.

### Configuration

<!-- AUTOGENERATED CONFIG DESCRIPTIONS -->

### See Also

* [package spec](/using-npm/package-spec)
* [npm publish](/commands/npm-publish)
* [npm install](/commands/npm-install)
* [npm dedupe](/commands/npm-dedupe)
* [npm registry](/using-npm/registry)
* [npm config](/commands/npm-config)
* [npmrc](/configuring-npm/npmrc)
