02、Record how to publish a npm package

Record a Quick 3-Minute Process for Publishing an NPM Package

1. Project Preparation

• Local development, following the guide: 01. Build a Global CLI Tool with Node.js.
• Pay special attention to the package.json file. Refer to this package.json as an example:

{
  "name": "@alucpro/note-tool",
  "version": "0.0.2",
  "description": "A NodeJS script that deals with markdown notes.",
  "type": "module",
  "main": "src/index.js",
  // Sometimes, the npm homepage might not properly detect the README file, so you need to manually specify it
  "readme": "README.md",
  // Specify that this is a public package
  "publishConfig": {
    "access": "public"
  },
  // If this is a CLI package, specify the bin command and corresponding JS file
  "bin": {
    "note": "src/index.js"
  },
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "git+https://github.com/AlucPro/note-tool.git"
  },
  "keywords": [
    "note",
    "obsidian",
    "flomo",
    "logseq",
    "markdown",
    "roamresearch"
  ],
  "author": "Ming (alucpro)",
  "license": "MIT",
  "bugs": {
    "url": "https://github.com/AlucPro/note-tool/issues"
  },
  "homepage": "https://github.com/AlucPro/note-tool#readme"
}

2. Publishing

# Log in to npm locally
npm login
 
# Bump the version number
npm version patch
 
# Publish as a public package
npm publish --access public
 
# ------
# Others
# Check if the documentation is recognized correctly
npm docs

Notes and Common Issues:

• If the name field in package.json is too similar to an existing package, the publication will be rejected. → You can use a scoped package name like @alucpro/packagename to avoid conflicts.
• Packages with a scope are private by default, requiring a paid account. Therefore, for free accounts, you must add --access public when publishing.
• Sometimes, the npm package page cannot detect the README.md file automatically. To fix this, specify the readme field explicitly in the package.json.