nodejs-commands.md

NodeJS Commands

Notes:

• npm install --save (-S) and npm install --save-dev (-D) flags are the default behaviour since npm v5 — the flags are still valid but optional.
• Prefer npx <package> over global (-g) installs for one-off CLI tools to always use the latest version.
• Use the node: protocol prefix for built-in module imports in modern Node.js: import { readFile } from 'node:fs/promises'.

Sl.No.	Commands	Description
01.	npm install node@22	Install Node.js v22 (current LTS as of 2026). Use nvm / fnm for version management on your machine.
02.	npm init	Creates package.json interactively
03.	npm init -y	Creates package.json with defaults (skip prompts)
04.	npm install	Install all dependencies listed in package.json into node_modules
05.	npm ci	Clean install from package-lock.json (faster, deterministic – use in CI/CD pipelines)
06.	npm install -g live-server	Install live-server globally
07.	npm install -g grunt-cli	Install Grunt CLI globally
08.	live-server	Start a local dev HTTP server with live reload
09.	npm install express	Install express into local project (--save is default since npm v5)
10.	npm install cors	Cross Origin Resource Sharing – allows API access from other domains
11.	npm install express-session	Install express-session
12.	npm install mongoose	Install Mongoose (MongoDB ODM)
13.	npm install ws	Install WebSocket library
14.	npm install socket.io	WebSocket abstraction with fallbacks
15.	npm install underscore	Utility library (consider lodash or native ES2024 alternatives)
16.	npm uninstall underscore	Remove a package
17.	npm install --save-dev mocha	JavaScript unit-testing framework
18.	npx mocha	Run Mocha tests via npx (no global install needed)
19.	npm install --save-dev nock	HTTP server mocking for tests
20.	npm install --save-dev rewire	Dependency injection for tests
21.	npm install --save-dev sinon	Mocks, stubs and spies for tests
22.	npm install --save-dev supertest	HTTP assertion library for integration tests
23.	npm install --save-dev cheerio	Server-side jQuery-like HTML parsing
24.	npm install --save-dev c8	Native V8 code-coverage tool (replaces the deprecated istanbul/nyc)
25.	npx c8 mocha	Run Mocha with V8 coverage report
26.	npm install --save-dev eslint	JavaScript/TypeScript linter (replaces the legacy jshint)
27.	npx eslint --init	Interactive ESLint configuration wizard
28.	npm install -g typescript	Install TypeScript compiler globally
29.	npm install -g webpack-cli	Install Webpack CLI globally
30.	npx webpack	Run Webpack via npx
31.	npm install -g sass	Install Dart Sass (the current implementation – Ruby Sass is end-of-life)
32.	sass --watch src/styles:dist/css	Watch and compile Sass to CSS
33.	sass --style=compressed input.scss output.css	Compile and minify a Sass file
34.	gulp develop	Start dev server (Gulp task)
35.	gulp build	Clean and minify into a single file
36.	gulp watch	Watch for file changes
37.	gulp test:tdd	Run unit tests in TDD mode
38.	npm start	Run the start script defined in package.json
39.	node app.js	Run app.js on Node.js
40.	node --watch app.js	Run app.js and auto-restart on file changes (built-in since Node.js 18, replaces nodemon for basic use)
41.	node --inspect app.js	Start Node.js with Chrome DevTools debugger enabled
42.	node --inspect-brk app.js	Start with debugger and break on first line
43.	node -v	Print Node.js version
44.	npm -v	Print npm version
45.	tsc -v	Print TypeScript compiler version
46.	git version	Print Git version
47.	webpack -v	Print Webpack version
48.	npm -l	Display full npm usage info
49.	npm config list	List npm configuration
50.	npm config rm proxy	Remove proxy setting
51.	npm config rm https-proxy	Remove HTTPS proxy setting
52.	npm cache clean --force	Clear the npm cache (--force required since npm v5)
53.	npm audit	Scan installed packages for known security vulnerabilities
54.	npm audit fix	Automatically fix vulnerabilities where possible
55.	npm outdated	List packages that have newer versions available
56.	npm update	Update all packages to their latest compatible versions
57.	npm run <script>	Run a script defined in the scripts field of package.json
58.	npm pack	Create a tarball of the package (useful before publishing)
59.	npm publish	Publish the package to the npm registry
60.	npm link	Create a symlink in the global folder
61.	npm link <package>	Link-install a package from another local directory
62.	npx <package>	Execute a package binary without installing it globally
63.	corepack enable	Enable Corepack (built-in Node.js 16.9+ tool that manages Yarn and pnpm versions)
64.	ng add @angular/material	Add Angular Material to an Angular project
65.	npm install rxjs	Reactive Extensions Library for JavaScript (current: v7.x)
66.	npm install jsonwebtoken	JSON Web Token implementation
67.	npm install dotenv	Load environment variables from a .env file
68.	npm install helmet	Secure Express apps by setting various HTTP headers
69.	npm install --save-dev jest	JavaScript testing framework with built-in coverage
70.	npx jest --coverage	Run Jest tests with coverage report
71.	npm install --save-dev @types/node	TypeScript type definitions for Node.js
72.	npm install grunt-contrib-watch --save-dev	Grunt plugin to watch files for changes