Avoid downloading node JS modules over and over for all projects

Question

I am learning NodeJS and Electron app dev and currently every sample app I work on has me run the command npm install which results in the node_modules downloading to the project folder. This results in a really large amount of disk usage as many app use the same node modules over and over.

Is there a way to install all the required node modules for all projects to a central location and make them all use that 1 source of modules?

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UPDATE

Another concern of mine. If the Electron apps I am building are packaged as an install-able .exe file. Will they be able to package the functionality needed from those global Node packages wwhen the app is ran on another users PC?

Answer 1

There are two ways to install npm packages: locally or globally. To download packages globally, you simply use the command npm install -g This is recommended if you want to use module as a command line tool.

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UPDATE

You can always use: npm link (in package dir) and npm link [<@scope>/]<pkg>[@<version>] which will install module on your disk only once and every additional time will just make symlink to that module.