Can I add arbitrary data to package.json and how?

Question

I have a browser-based application that has a package.json (for managing dependencies using node.js).

However, I'd like to add some json meta-data to my app and I have two options: either create a new json file and add the data, or add it to the package.json.

The question is:

1. Is it recommended to add application-specific non-standard meta-data to package.json?

2. Where can I add this data? Under which key? _my_data seems to be a good key, but I couldn't find any standard documentation about this.

Answer 1

You are free to add arbitrary fields to package.json (and npm will not complain). So long as the file is valid JSON, npm will look for the relevant fields (e.g. dependencies for npm install) and won't complain about additional fields

Assuming your dependencies are standard, the "recommended" approach is to keep a separate JSON file for non-standard data. This way, you can just copy or link to the standard package.json (and you are free to use arbitrary fields in your specific JSON file)