How do I add comments to package.json for npm install?

Question

I\'ve got a simple package.json file and I want to add a comment. Is there a way to do this, or are there any hacks to make this work?

Answer 1

For npm's package.json, I have found two ways (after reading this conversation):

  "devDependencies": {
    "del-comment": [
      "some-text"
    ],
    "del": "^5.1.0 ! inner comment",
    "envify-comment": [
      "some-text"
    ],
    "envify": "4.1.0 ! inner comment"
  }

But with the update or reinstall of package with "--save" or "--save-dev, a comment like "^4.1.0 ! comment" in the corresponding place will be deleted. And all this will break npm audit.

Answer 2

As duplicate comment keys are removed running package.json tools (npm, yarn, etc.), I came to using a hashed version which allows for better reading as multiple lines and keys like:

"//": {
  "alpaca": "we use the bootstrap version",
  "eonasdan-bootstrap-datetimepicker": "instead of bootstrap-datetimepicker",
  "moment-with-locales": "is part of moment"
},

which is 'valid' according to my IDE as a root key, but within dependencies it complains expecting a string value.

Answer 3

My take on the frustration of no comments in JSON. I create new nodes, named for the nodes they refer to, but prefixed with underscores. This is imperfect, but functional.

{
  "name": "myapp",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "private": true,
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^16.3.2",
    "react-dom": "^16.3.2",
    "react-scripts": "1.1.4"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "__start": [
        "a note about how the start script works"
    ],
    "start": "react-scripts start",
    "build": "react-scripts build",
    "test": "react-scripts test --env=jsdom",
    "eject": "react-scripts eject"
  },
  "__proxy": [
    "A note about how proxy works",
    "multilines are easy enough to add"
  ],
  "proxy": "http://server.whatever.com:8000"
}

Answer 4

After wasting an hour on complex and hacky solutions, I've found both simple and valid solution for commenting my bulky dependencies section in package.json. Just like this:

{
  "name": "package name",
  "version": "1.0",
  "description": "package description",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "npm install && node server.js"
  },
  "scriptsComments": {
    "start": "Runs development build on a local server configured by server.js"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "ajv": "^5.2.2"
  },
  "dependenciesComments": {
    "ajv": "JSON-Schema Validator for validation of API data"
  }
}

When sorted the same way, it's now very easy for me to track these pairs of dependencies/comments either in Git commit diffs or in an editor while working with file package.json.

And no extra tools are involved, just plain and valid JSON.

Answer 5

I ended up with a scripts like that:

  "scripts": {
    "//-1a": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "//-1b": "---------------------- from node_modules ----------------------",
    "//-1c": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "ng": "ng",
    "prettier": "prettier",
    "tslint": "tslint",
    "//-2a": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "//-2b": "--------------------------- backend ---------------------------",
    "//-2c": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "back:start": "node backend/index.js",
    "back:start:watch": "nodemon",
    "back:build:prod": "tsc -p backend/tsconfig.json",
    "back:serve:prod": "NODE_ENV=production node backend/dist/main.js",
    "back:lint:check": "tslint -c ./backend/tslint.json './backend/src/**/*.ts'",
    "back:lint:fix": "yarn run back:lint:check --fix",
    "back:check": "yarn run back:lint:check && yarn run back:prettier:check",
    "back:check:fix": "yarn run back:lint:fix; yarn run back:prettier:fix",
    "back:prettier:base-files": "yarn run prettier './backend/**/*.ts'",
    "back:prettier:fix": "yarn run back:prettier:base-files --write",
    "back:prettier:check": "yarn run back:prettier:base-files -l",
    "back:test": "ts-node --project backend/tsconfig.json node_modules/jasmine/bin/jasmine ./backend/**/*spec.ts",
    "back:test:watch": "watch 'yarn run back:test' backend",
    "back:test:coverage": "echo TODO",
    "//-3a": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "//-3b": "-------------------------- frontend ---------------------------",
    "//-3c": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "front:start": "yarn run ng serve",
    "front:test": "yarn run ng test",
    "front:test:ci": "yarn run front:test --single-run --progress=false",
    "front:e2e": "yarn run ng e2e",
    "front:e2e:ci": "yarn run ng e2e --prod --progress=false",
    "front:build:prod": "yarn run ng build --prod --e=prod --no-sourcemap --build-optimizer",
    "front:lint:check": "yarn run ng lint --type-check",
    "front:lint:fix": "yarn run front:lint:check --fix",
    "front:check": "yarn run front:lint:check && yarn run front:prettier:check",
    "front:check:fix": "yarn run front:lint:fix; yarn run front:prettier:fix",
    "front:prettier:base-files": "yarn run prettier \"./frontend/{e2e,src}/**/*.{scss,ts}\"",
    "front:prettier:fix": "yarn run front:prettier:base-files --write",
    "front:prettier:check": "yarn run front:prettier:base-files -l",
    "front:postbuild": "gulp compress",
    "//-4a": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "//-4b": "--------------------------- cypress ---------------------------",
    "//-4c": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "cy:open": "cypress open",
    "cy:headless": "cypress run",
    "cy:prettier:base-files": "yarn run prettier \"./cypress/**/*.{js,ts}\"",
    "cy:prettier:fix": "yarn run front:prettier:base-files --write",
    "cy:prettier:check": "yarn run front:prettier:base-files -l",
    "//-5a": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "//-5b": "--------------------------- common ----------------------------",
    "//-5c": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "all:check": "yarn run back:check && yarn run front:check && yarn run cy:prettier:check",
    "all:check:fix": "yarn run back:check:fix && yarn run front:check:fix && yarn run cy:prettier:fix",
    "//-6a": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "//-6b": "--------------------------- hooks -----------------------------",
    "//-6c": "---------------------------------------------------------------",
    "precommit": "lint-staged",
    "prepush": "yarn run back:lint:check && yarn run front:lint:check"
  },

My intent here is not to clarify one line, just to have some sort of delimiters between my scripts for backend, frontend, all, etc.

I'm not a huge fan of 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, ... but the keys are different and I do not have any problem at all like that.

Answer 6

I like this:

  "scripts": {
    "⏬⏬⏬ Jenkins Build - in this order ⏬⏬⏬                                                                                                  ": "",
    "purge": "lerna run something",
    "clean:test": "lerna exec --ignore nanana"
}

There are extra spaces in the command name, so in Visual Studio Code's NPM Scripts plugin you have a better look.