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# `npm:` specifiers

Since version 1.28, Deno has native support for importing npm packages. This is
done by importing using `npm:` specifiers. For example the following code:
done by importing using `npm:` specifiers.

```ts
import { emojify } from "npm:node-emoji@2";

console.log(emojify(":t-rex: :heart: NPM"));
```
The way these work is best described with an example that you can run with
`deno run --allow-env`:

Can be run with:
```ts, ignore
import chalk from "npm:chalk@5";
```sh
$ deno run main.js
🦖 ❤️ NPM
console.log(chalk.green("Hello!"));
```

When doing this, no `npm install` is necessary and no `node_modules` folder is
created. These packages are also subject to the same
[permissions](../basics/permissions.md) as other code in Deno.

npm specifiers have the following format:
These npm specifiers have the following format:

```
```ts, ignore
npm:<package-name>[@<version-requirement>][/<sub-path>]
```

Several examples using popular npm modules can be found in our
[tutorials](/runtime/tutorials) section.

## TypeScript types

Many packages ship with types, which will be available to Deno's TypeScript
compiler without configuration.

```ts
import chalk from "npm:chalk@5";
```

Some packages do not include types. However, you can specify their types with a
[`@deno-types`](../advanced/typescript/types.md) directive. For example, using a
[`@types`](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/2/type-declarations.html#definitelytyped--types)
package:
Another example with express:

```ts
// @deno-types="npm:@types/express@^4.17"
```js, ignore
// main.js
import express from "npm:express@^4.17";
```

### Module resolution

The official TypeScript compiler `tsc` supports different
[moduleResolution](https://www.typescriptlang.org/tsconfig#moduleResolution)
settings. Deno only supports the modern `node16` resolution. Unfortunately many
NPM packages fail to correctly provide types under node16 module resolution,
which can result in `deno check` reporting type errors that `tsc` does not
report.
const app = express();
If a default export from an `npm:` import appears to have a wrong type (with the
right type seemingly being available under the `.default` property), it's most
likely that the package provides incorrect types under node16 module resolution
for imports from ESM. You can verify this by checking if the error also occurs
with `tsc --module node16` and `"type": "module"` in `package.json` or by
consulting the [Are the types wrong?](https://arethetypeswrong.github.io/)
website (particularly the "node16 from ESM" row).
app.get("/", (req, res) => {
res.send("Hello World");
});
If you want to use a package that doesn't support TypeScript's node16 module
resolution, you can:

1. Use a [CDN](./cdns.md), that rebuilds the packages for Deno support, rather
than using an `npm:` specifier.
2. Ignore type errors with`// @ts-expect-error` or `// @ts-ignore`.

### Including Node types
app.listen(3000);
console.log("listening on http://localhost:3000/");
```

Node ships with many built-in types like `Buffer` that might be referenced in an
npm package's types. To load these, you must add a types reference directive to
the `@types/node` package:
Then doing the following will start a simple express server:

```ts
/// <reference types="npm:@types/node" />
```sh
$ deno run -A main.js
listening on http://localhost:3000/
```

Note that it is fine to not specify a version for this in most cases because
Deno will try to keep it in sync with its internal Node code, but you can always
override the version used if necessary.
When doing this, no `npm install` is necessary and no `node_modules` folder is
created. These packages are also subject to the same permissions as Deno
applications.

## npm executable scripts

npm packages with `bin` entries can be executed from the command line without an
`npm install` using a specifier in the following format:

```
```ts, ignore
npm:<package-name>[@<version-requirement>][/<binary-name>]
```

For example:

```sh
$ deno run --allow-read npm:[email protected] Hello there!
$ deno run --allow-env --allow-read npm:[email protected] Hello there!
______________
< Hello there! >
--------------
Expand All @@ -108,7 +66,7 @@ $ deno run --allow-read npm:[email protected] Hello there!
||----w |
|| ||

$ deno run --allow-read npm:[email protected]/cowthink What to eat?
$ deno run --allow-env --allow-read npm:[email protected]/cowthink What to eat?
______________
( What to eat? )
--------------
Expand All @@ -119,9 +77,42 @@ $ deno run --allow-read npm:[email protected]/cowthink What to eat?
|| ||
```

## TypeScript types

Many packages ship with types out of the box, you can import those and use them
with types easily:

```ts, ignore
import chalk from "npm:chalk@5";
```

Some packages do not though, but you can specify their types with a
[`@deno-types`](../advanced/typescript/types.md) directive. For example, using a
[`@types`](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/2/type-declarations.html#definitelytyped--types)
package:

```ts, ignore
// @deno-types="npm:@types/express@^4.17"
import express from "npm:express@^4.17";
```

### Including Node types

Node ships with many built-in types like `Buffer` that might be referenced in an
npm package's types. To load these you must add a types reference directive to
the `@types/node` package:

```ts, ignore
/// <reference types="npm:@types/node" />
```

Note that it is fine to not specify a version for this in most cases because
Deno will try to keep it in sync with its internal Node code, but you can always
override the version used if necessary.

## `--node-modules-dir` flag

`npm:` specifiers resolve npm packages to a central global npm cache. This works
npm specifiers resolve npm packages to a central global npm cache. This works
well in most cases and is ideal since it uses less space and doesn't require a
node_modules directory. That said, you may find cases where an npm package
expects itself to be executing from a `node_modules` directory. To improve
Expand All @@ -145,9 +136,9 @@ deno run --node-modules-dir main.ts
...will create a `node_modules` folder in the current directory with a similar
folder structure to npm.

![screenshot of generated node_modules folder](../images/node_modules_dir.png)
![](../images/node_modules_dir.png)

Note that this is all done automatically when calling `deno run` and there is no
Note that this is all done automatically when calling deno run and there is no
separate install command necessary.

Alternatively, if you wish to disable the creation of a `node_modules` directory
Expand Down

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