How do I add comments to package.json for npm install?

Question

I've got a simple package.json file and I want to add a comment. Is there a way to do this, or are there any hacks to make this work?

{   "name": "My Project",   "version": "0.0.1",   "private": true,   "dependencies": {     "express": "3.x",     "mongoose": "3.x"   },   "devDependencies" :  {     "should": "*"     /* "mocha": "*" not needed as should be globally installed */   } } 

The example comment above doesn't work as npm breaks. I've also tried // style comments.

Answer 1

This has recently been discussed on the Node.js mailing list.

According to Isaac Schlueter who created npm:

... the "//" key will never be used by npm for any purpose, and is reserved for comments ... If you want to use a multiple line comment, you can use either an array, or multiple "//" keys.

When using your usual tools (npm, yarn, etc.), multiple "//" keys will be removed. This survives:

{ "//": [   "first line",   "second line" ] } 

This will not survive:

{ "//": "this is the first line of a comment",   "//": "this is the second line of the comment" }