MINI MINI MANI MO
# npm-packlist
[](https://travis-ci.com/npm/npm-packlist)
Get a list of the files to add from a folder into an npm package.
These can be handed to [tar](http://npm.im/tar) like so to make an npm
package tarball:
```js
const packlist = require('npm-packlist')
const tar = require('tar')
const packageDir = '/path/to/package'
const packageTarball = '/path/to/package.tgz'
packlist({ path: packageDir })
.then(files => tar.create({
prefix: 'package/',
cwd: packageDir,
file: packageTarball,
gzip: true
}, files))
.then(_ => {
// tarball has been created, continue with your day
})
```
This uses the following rules:
1. If a `package.json` file is found, and it has a `files` list,
then ignore everything that isn't in `files`. Always include the
readme, license, notice, changes, changelog, and history files, if
they exist, and the package.json file itself.
2. If there's no `package.json` file (or it has no `files` list), and
there is a `.npmignore` file, then ignore all the files in the
`.npmignore` file.
3. If there's no `package.json` with a `files` list, and there's no
`.npmignore` file, but there is a `.gitignore` file, then ignore
all the files in the `.gitignore` file.
4. Everything in the root `node_modules` is ignored, unless it's a
bundled dependency. If it IS a bundled dependency, and it's a
symbolic link, then the target of the link is included, not the
symlink itself.
4. Unless they're explicitly included (by being in a `files` list, or
a `!negated` rule in a relevant `.npmignore` or `.gitignore`),
always ignore certain common cruft files:
1. .npmignore and .gitignore files (their effect is in the package
already, there's no need to include them in the package)
2. editor junk like `.*.swp`, `._*` and `.*.orig` files
3. `.npmrc` files (these may contain private configs)
4. The `node_modules/.bin` folder
5. Waf and gyp cruft like `/build/config.gypi` and `.lock-wscript`
6. Darwin's `.DS_Store` files because wtf are those even
7. `npm-debug.log` files at the root of a project
You can explicitly re-include any of these with a `files` list in
`package.json` or a negated ignore file rule.
Only the `package.json` file in the very root of the project is ever
inspected for a `files` list. Below the top level of the root package,
`package.json` is treated as just another file, and no package-specific
semantics are applied.
### Interaction between `package.json` and `.npmignore` rules
For simplicity, it is best to use _either_ a `files` list in `package.json`
_or_ a `.npmignore` file, and not both. If you only use one of these
methods, you can skip this documentation section.
The `files` list in `package.json` is used to direct the exploration of the
tree. In other words, that's all the walker will ever look at when
exploring that level.
In some cases this can lead to a `.npmignore` file being ignored. If a
_directory_ is listed in `files`, then any rules in a root or nested
`.npmignore` files will be honored.
For example, with this package.json:
```json
{
"files": [ "dir" ]
}
```
a `.npmignore` file at `dir/.npmignore` (and any subsequent
sub-directories) will be honored. However, a `.npmignore` at the root
level will be skipped.
Conversely, with this package.json:
```
{
"files": ["dir/subdir"]
}
```
a `.npmignore` file at `dir/.npmignore` will not be honored.
Any specific file matched by a glob or filename in the package.json `files`
list will be included, and cannot be excluded by any `.npmignore` files in
nested directories, or by a `.npmignore` file in the root package
directory, unless that root `.npmignore` file is also in the `files` list.
The previous (v1) implementation used in npm 6 and below treated
`package.json` as a special sort of "reverse ignore" file. That is, it was
parsed and handled as if it was a `.npmignore` file with `!` prepended to
all of the globs in the `files` list. In order to include children of a
directory listed in `files`, they would _also_ have `/**` appended to them.
This is tricky to explain, but is a significant improvement over the
previous (v1) implementation used in npm 6 and below, with the following
beneficial properties:
- If you have `{"files":["lib"]}` in `package.json`, then the walker will
still ignore files such as `lib/.DS_Store` and `lib/.foo.swp`. The
previous implementation would include these files, as they'd be matched
by the computed `!lib/**` ignore rule.
- If you have `{"files":["lib/a.js","lib/b.js"]}` in `package.json`, and a
`lib/.npmignore` containing `a.js`, then the walker will still include
the two files indicated in `package.json`, and ignore the
`lib/.npmignore` file. The previous implementation would mark these
files for inclusion, but then _exclude_ them when it came to the nested
`.npmignore` file. (Ignore file semantics dictate that a "closer" ignore
file always takes precedence.)
- A file in `lib/pkg-template/package.json` will be included, and its
`files` list will not have any bearing on other files being included or
skipped. When treating `package.json` as just Yet Another ignore file,
this was not the case, leading to difficulty for modules that aim to
initialize a project.
In general, this walk should work as a reasonable developer would expect.
Matching human expectation is tricky business, and if you find cases where
it violates those expectations, [please let us
know](https://github.com/npm/npm-packlist/issues).
## API
Same API as [ignore-walk](http://npm.im/ignore-walk), just hard-coded
file list and rule sets.
The `Walker` and `WalkerSync` classes take a `bundled` argument, which
is a list of package names to include from node_modules. When calling
the top-level `packlist()` and `packlist.sync()` functions, this
module calls into `npm-bundled` directly.
OHA YOOOO