How to get npm to favor local linked dependency over its published install

Question

I've searched through other questions such as this one, but they all seem to be about a local npm link stopping working for another reason than mine. I assume this is a common use-case issue, so if I'm doing something methodically wrong, I'm more than happy to take suggestions on how I should be doing it.

Principally, I have a private npm module that I'm working on called @organisation/module. When working locally, I'll run npm link on it, and use it within my 'host' project as npm link @organisation/module — this all works great with hot-reloading, etc. I'll also import it as import module from '@organisation/module.

However, since I also want to publish my local changes to npm (as @organisation/module) from time to time, for build testing and production code, I need to run npm install @organisation/module on the host project.

This then seems to break the implicit npm link I set up earlier... I assume mainly because they are the same name, and npm favors an install over a link?

When I want to make live, local changes again, the only way I can currently get it to work is via npm uninstall @organisation/module and then to re-link it.

Is there a way to keep the published module installed (in order to avoid careless mistakes, like forgetting to reinstall it for build testing), but always favour the local, linked instance?

Diagram for ref:

Answer 1

Since npm link creates a symlink in the global folder, while npm install is local to the project npm install takes precedence. You can read about npm link here: https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/link

To avoid this, my suggestion would be to use npm install <path to local> and when you need to use the production code use npm install @organization/module. This would update your node_modules per code basis. Read about npm install here: https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/install

Hope this helps :)

Answer 2

Have you tried locally installing with the other method npm provides.

npm install /absolute/path/packageName

I believe this will change your entry in package.json to look like this:

"dependencies" {
    ...
    "packageName": "file:../../path/to/packageName",
    ...
}

Answer 3

1. Go to the directory where your local package is located open package.json change the name from original_name to "original_name_local".

2. write npm link on terminal at the same location.

3. After this go to your working directory and write npm install <path to local>

4. Now whereever you're requiring or importing update the name to "original_name_local"

for example if it's require('space-cleaner') then change it to require('space-cleaner_local')

Like this you can have both local as well as production package just change the name wherever required.

Otherwise you can remove package by removing it from package.json and deleting from node_modules.

if local is needed go to local package directory and on terminal write npm link and then on your working directory write npm install ./path/to/package

if production then again delete the package as told above and write npm install package_name