How to Create and Publish Your First Private NPM Package

In this article, I want to show how we can easily create our first . private npm package We are going to create and publish a private package on , so make sure you have got acquainted with before starting this article. So let’s get started. GitHub prerequisites Prerequisites: create a account ( ) GitHub if you don’t have yet read the article How to Setup a Node Express with TypeScript read the article ( ) How to Setup a CI CD Pipeline From Scratch with GitHub Actions I strongly recommend that you read this article to understand how GitHub Actions works if you are not familiar with GitHub Actions What is private npm packages and where it can be used? With private npm packages, you can host code that is only visible to you and those with access, allowing you to manage and use private code alongside public code in your projects. Project Structure math-lib/ --.github/ --workflows/ --main.yml --build/ this is autogenerated folder --src/ --app.ts --types/ --index.d.ts --.gitignore --package.json --tsconfig.json Building a Private npm Package Part 1: Init a Node.js project with TypeScript. Step 1: Note: You can learn how to do this by following this article How to Setup a Node Express with TypeScript or you can just clone this repo https://github.com/YuraAbharian/node-express-typescript Now let’s create GitHub Actions workflows. Step 2: Create a directory .github/workflows In the directory, create a file .github/workflows main.yml You can get acquainted with GitHub Actions workflows by following this article How to Setup a CI CD Pipeline From Scratch with GitHub Let’s add some configurations: name: Node.js Private Package on: push: branches: - master jobs: publish-gpr: runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - uses: actions/checkout@v2 - uses: actions/setup-node@v2 with: node-version: '14.x' registry-url: 'https://npm.pkg.github.com/' - run: npm install - run: npm run build - run: npm publish env: NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN}} : Note Remember we’ll talk more about it a bit later GITHUB_TOKEN, Let’s create/update the file Step 3: src/app.ts export function sum(a: number, b: number): number { return a + b; } export function minus(a: number, b: number): number { return a - b; } export function divide(a: number, b: number): number { return a / b; } export function multiple(a: number, b: number): number { return a * b; } Now we need to declare a module for our package Step 4: Create a directory at the root of your project types Create an file in the directory index.d.ts types Add declare types for this module declare module "@GITHUB_USERNAME/PACKAGE_NAME" { function sum(a: number, b: number): number; function minus(a: number, b: number): number; function divide(a: number, b: number): number; function multiple(a: number, b: number): number; } Note: - it is your github username GITHUB_USERNAME - it is your private package name PACKAGE_NAME Example: "@yuraabharian/math-lib" Let’s work on package.json file Step 5: { "name": "@GITHUB_USERNAME/PACKAGE_NAME", "version": "1.0.0", "description": "", "main": "./build/app.js", "author": "", "license": "ISC", "types": "./types/index.d.ts", "publishConfig": { "registry": "https://npm.pkg.github.com/" }, "repository": { "url": "git://github.com/GITHUB_USERNAME/PACKAGE_NAME.git" }, "scripts": { "build": "npx tsc" }, "devDependencies": { "@types/node": "^18.0.0", "typescript": "^4.7.4" } } Example: git://github.com/yuraabharian/math-lib.git (this will be a link to you GitHub repository) Note: These @GITHUB_USERNAME/PACKAGE_NAME fieds are the same as in Step 4 Let’s configure our repository environment before pushing the code Step 6: In the I asked you to remember because this variable is very important. Step 2 GITHUB_TOKEN Go to GitHub Repository - Settings Then Go to Step 7: Secrets Open Step 8: Actions Click New repository secret Follow by this link to generate a new token. Required: https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/creating-a-personal-access-token . Note: Save the elsewhere because we'll need them in Part 2 of this article GITHUB_TOKEN Note: Give only write:packages access for this token Now let’s push our code to Step 9: GitHub Open the and you should see that your package has been deployed Step 10: Repository → Actions To find your package, go to your Step 11: GitHub profile → Packages Conclusion of the first part: at this point you should see your package deployed In the second part of this article, we will learn how to install a private package because it requires some actions, besides . npm install package Installation and Testing Part 2: Set up Node.js project Step 1: You can see how to do that in Note: Part 1 → Step 1 Then at the root of the project intsall your package. The link to your package you can take by (this is your package name) Step 2: GitHub profile → Packages → math-lib Now go to src/app.ts file and update it Step 3: import express, {Application, Request, Response} from 'express'; import {sum, minus, multiple, divide} from '@yuraabharian/math-lib'; const app: Application = express(); const PORT: number = 3001; app.use('/sum', (req: Request, res: Response): void => { res.send(`RESULT: ${sum(5, 2)}`, ); }); app.use('/minus', (req: Request, res: Response): void => { res.send(`RESULT: ${minus(2, 2)}`); }); app.use('/multiple', (req: Request, res: Response): void => { res.send(`RESULT: ${multiple(12, 2)}`); }); app.use('/divide', (req: Request, res: Response): void => { res.send(`RESULT: ${divide(10, 2)}`); }); app.listen(PORT, (): void => { console.log('SERVER IS UP ON PORT:', PORT); }); Keep in mind that I'm importing math-lib from my @yuraabharian/math-lib repository to make your template look like @GITHUB_USERNAME/PACKAGE_NAME Note: Run your project Step 4: npm start node-express-typescript % npm start > express-typescript@1.0.0 start > npx tsc && node build/app.js SERVER IS UP ON PORT: 3001 : Go to your browser and open Step 5 http://localhost:3001/sum This works, so now let's test all the methods: http://localhost:3001/multiple http://localhost:3001/minus http://localhost:3001/divide In this article, we created and tested your first private npm package, I hope you enjoyed my article. If you have any questions, you can contact me via email, LinkedIn or in the comments. Best wishes Summary: