How do I install a module globally using npm?

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If you want to install a npm module globally, make sure to use the new -g flag, for example:

npm install forever -g

The general recommendations concerning npm module installation since 1.0rc (taken from blog.nodejs.org):

  • If you’re installing something that you want to use in your program, using
    require(‘whatever’), then install it
    locally    , at the root of your
    project.
  • If you’re installing something that you want to use in your shell, on the
    command line or something, install
    it globally    , so that its binaries
    end up in your PATH environment
    variable.

I just recently used this recommendations and it went down pretty smoothly. I installed forever globally (since it is a command line tool) and all my application modules locally.

However, if you want to use some modules globally (i.e. express or mongodb), take this advice (also taken from blog.nodejs.org):

Of course, there are some cases where
you want to do both. Coffee-script and
Express both are good examples of apps
that have a command line interface, as
well as a library. In those cases, you
can do one of the following:

  • Install it in both places. Seriously, are you that short on disk
    space? It’s fine, really. They’re tiny
    JavaScript programs.
  • Install it globally, and then npm link coffee-script or npm link express
    (if you’re on a platform that supports
    symbolic links.) Then you only need to
    update the global copy to update all
    the symlinks as well.

The first option is the best in my
opinion. Simple, clear, explicit. The
second is really handy if you are
going to re-use the same library in a
bunch of different projects. (More on
npm link in a future installment.)

I did not test one of those variations, but they seem to be pretty straightforward.

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