The best way to run npm install for nested folders?

Question

What is the most correct way to install npm packages in nested sub folders?

my-app
  /my-sub-module
  package.json
package.json

<

Answer 1

If you want to run a single command to install npm packages in nested subfolders, you can run a script via npm and main package.json in your root directory. The script will visit every subdirectory and run npm install.

Below is a .js script that will achieve the desired result:

var fs = require('fs');
var resolve = require('path').resolve;
var join = require('path').join;
var cp = require('child_process');
var os = require('os');
    
// get library path
var lib = resolve(__dirname, '../lib/');
    
fs.readdirSync(lib).forEach(function(mod) {
    var modPath = join(lib, mod);
    
    // ensure path has package.json
    if (!fs.existsSync(join(modPath, 'package.json'))) {
        return;
    }

    // npm binary based on OS
    var npmCmd = os.platform().startsWith('win') ? 'npm.cmd' : 'npm';

    // install folder
    cp.spawn(npmCmd, ['i'], {
        env: process.env,
        cwd: modPath,
        stdio: 'inherit'
    });
})

Note that this is an example taken from a StrongLoop article that specifically addresses a modular node.js project structure (including nested components and package.json files).

As suggested, you could also achieve the same thing with a bash script.

EDIT: Made the code work in Windows