npm install not creating a new package-lock.json

Question

I accidentally deleted my package-lock.json file. npm install is not generating a new one. How do I get npm to recreate this file.

Finance

what node version are you using? – Hardcastle

@Hardcastle I am using v6.10.2 – Finance

I think below 8.0, they use shrinkwrap.json instead of package-lock.json – Hardcastle

@Hardcastle it originally created a package-lock.json and I don't have a shrinkwrap.json either. Never seen it before. – Finance

Also, npm only creates/updates the lock file when it modifies your node_modules folder, so in theory you could delete your node_modules folder, run npm i and it should regenerate the file for you – Mozellamozelle

Yes. if you remove node_modules and reinstall with node version 8.0 above, you will see lock file. – Hardcastle

@Hardcastle I just upgraded to v8.4.0 and ran npm install and it created the package-lock.json – Finance

@emil, a proper answer would go a long way to resolving this question. – Thighbone

For other people experiencing this problem: also ensure that .npmrc does not contain package-lock=false. This is another reason why package-lock.json might not exist. – Bootstrap

Check your .gitignore. I accidentally had package-lock.json in the .gitignore somehow and because package-lock.json wasn't showing up in the git status it was throwing me off. – Nurture

None of the solutions so far has worked for me. I use node v16.14.* . I am running this in a sub-package ( workspace ), but it should work regardless, because it has a local package.json in the subfolder that my current working directory is. – Behest

Answer 1

There might be a file called .npmrc which can contain

package-lock=false

which will cause the package lock file to not be generated.

In theory you could also have turned on npm config set package-lock false globally (change to true to turn on again), but that's less likely to happen unintentionally.

Pretext

Yep, this is it. Thanks for adding this as a proper answer. – Nurture

What's the purpose of this? I'm working with a project that requires running npm ci which fails because there's no package-lock file - so why would the maintainers add this setting to npmrc? – Gaskin

@Gaskin Some people do not see the benefits of version lock files and thus hate the fact that it generates a new lock file each time that 'pollutes' their commits from their perspective. – Pretext

Can this also be specified in package.json (without additional files). I mean, it's about package.json. It's a required file to install node packages... – Hawkie

Answer 2

The package-lock.json file was introduced in npm v5, so the steps you need to take to regenerate package-lock.json depend on which version of npm you're using.

FYI. Let's verify what version of node and npm.

npm -v

prints: x.x.x

node -v

prints: x.x.x

I believe for package-lock.json is auto-generated if the 2 conditions npm version > 5.x.x and node version > 7.x.x are met

Then, try the following steps depending on which version you have:

npm v5+:

Regenerate the package-lock.json by running npm install. You may also regenerate the file without actually downloading dependencies by using npm install --package-lock-only

npm v4.x & earlier:

1. Generate a npm-shrinkwrap.json by running npm shrinkwrap. This file has the same format as package-lock.json and achieves essentially the same purpose in earlier versions of npm (see https://docs.npmjs.com/files/package-lock.json and https://docs.npmjs.com/files/shrinkwrap.json for detailed information on this point)
2. Rename the npm-shrinkwrap.json to package-lock.json

Derosier

Node 8.9.1 and npm 6.4.0. Not generating package-lock.json on npm install here. – Eudy

Ah, just learned from comments above that .npmrc could have package-lock=false, which our project happened to have. – Eudy

Answer 3

To resolve this issue I have tried below mentioned things and it worked for me :

Make sure your package-lock globally enabled, you can enable it using:

npm config set package-lock true

To make sure your .npmrc is not blocking the creation of package-lock file, set this to your .npmrc

echo 'package-lock=true' >> .npmrc

note: package-lock.json is automatically generated for any operations where npm modifies either the node_modules tree, or package.json for npm -v > 5.x.x.

check your npm version: npm -v

update your npm to latest version using:

npm install -g npm@latest

npm i -g npm-upgrade

@will

Alvaroalveolar

Answer 4

Make sure you are in the right folder in the command line (use pwd in Linux/macOS to get the current path you're in).

I've run npm install many times, just to find out later I was doing it in the wrong folder.

Bracket

Answer 5

I was also facing the same issue

I just removed the package-lock=false from .npmrc and now it is creating the lock file

Triley

This seems like a duplicate of @DavidMulder's answer – Milklivered

Duplicate of the real answer – Ombre

Answer 6

If your npm version is <5 you will have a shrinkwrap.json file created when running npm install.

Otherwise package-lock will be created on npm versions 5 and above.

Pd

It generates nothing after running npm i for me. Using node 6.12.2 npm 3.10.10 – Ragnar

don't know if this depends that much on the npm version, since for my project we use version 14.xx and it still generated a shrinkwrap.json most probably some setting. But it's worth checking if there is such a file if you can't find the package-lock.json – Juarez