How to install multiple npm packages with one command

The npm install command is used to install npm packages to a node_modules/ folder.

To install multiple npm packages at once, you need to specify the package names separated by a space between each name:

npm install vue express gulp

To install multiple packages globally, add the -g or --global flag to your command:

npm install -g vue express gulp
# or
npm install --global vue express gulp

You can also install a specific version of each package by adding the @version keyword after the package names.

Here’s an example of installing specific versions of vue, express, and gulp:

npm install [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

npm will install the exact versions you defined in the example above.

Installing multiple packages using package.json

When you run the npm install command without specifying any package name, then npm will look for an existing package.json file in the current working directory.

npm will install all packages listed as dependencies of the project. This includes dependencies, devDependencies, peerDependencies, optionalDependencies, and bundleDependencies property defined in your package.json file.

Suppose you have the following package.json file:

{
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.8.4",
    "gulp": "^3.9.0",
    "vue": "^2.6.14"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "jest": "^28.1.0",
    "mocha": "^10.0.0"
  },
  "peerDependencies": {
    "cors": "^2.8.5"
  }
}

Then running npm install will install all packages in the node_modules/ folder.

To speed up the build for the production environment, you can also opt to not install packages listed as devDependencies by using the --production flag:

npm install --production

The command above will ignore the devDependencies property of your application.

Uninstall multiple packages with npm

To uninstall multiple packages using npm, use the npm uninstall command followed by the package names:

npm uninstall vue express gulp

To uninstall packages in the global installation, add the -g or --global flag to the command:

npm uninstall -g vue express gulp
# or 
npm uninstall --global vue express gulp

Now you’ve learned how to install multiple packages using npm.

You’ve also learned how to uninstall multiple packages from your node_modules/ folder at once. Good job! 👍