NPM-SHRINKWRAP.JSON(5)

✨ NAME ✨

okay bestie, welcome to NPM-SHRINKWRAP.JSON(5) — the manual page for npm-shrinkwrap.json, aka A publishable lockfile 💅

🎀 Description 🎀

So npm-shrinkwrap.json is a file created by npm help shrinkwrap. It’s literally identical to package-lock.json, with one major caveat: unlike package-lock.json, npm-shrinkwrap.json may be included when publishing a package 👀✨

The recommended use-case for npm-shrinkwrap.json is applications deployed through the publishing process on the registry — for example, daemons and command-line tools intended as global installs or devDependencies. It’s giving “deploy me with my exact dependency situation, pls” 🫶

🚨 ngl, it’s strongly discouraged for library authors to publish this file, since that would prevent end users from having control over transitive dependency updates. Not the move for libraries, bestie 😭

If both package-lock.json and npm-shrinkwrap.json are present in a package root, npm-shrinkwrap.json will be preferred over the package-lock.json file. Yes, it wins the vibe check 👑

For full details and description of the npm-shrinkwrap.json file format, refer to the manual page for package-lock.json (/configuring-npm/package-lock-json) 💖

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💅 See also 💅

• npm help shrinkwrap
• package-lock.json (/configuring-npm/package-lock-json)
• package.json (/configuring-npm/package-json)
• npm help install

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Catch you later, bestie 🫶 — this page is NPM@11.19.1, dated August 2026, and it’s literally the NPM-SHRINKWRAP.JSON(5) manual. Mwah 💋✨