Perform Checks for Common Problems of npm

When working with npm, it's not uncommon to encounter various issues related to environment setup or configuration. These issues may include outdated versions of Node.js and npm, network connectivity problems, incorrect permissions, etc. By identifying and resolving these common issues, we can ensure a stable and efficient development workflow with npm. This tutorial explains how to perform checks for common problems of npm.

The npm itself provides a built-in way to perform a series of checks on the npm installation and configuration through the use of the npm doctor command. This command serves as a diagnostic tool that helps identify and diagnose common problems within the npm environment.

npm doctor

The command scans the npm setup and provides feedback on any detected problems. It is a powerful resource to ensure the health and stability of the npm environment.

Here's an example of a possible output:

Check                               Value   Recommendation/Notes
npm ping                            ok
npm -v                              ok      current: v9.8.0, latest: v9.8.0
node -v                             ok      current: v18.16.1, recommended: v18.16.1
npm config get registry             ok      using default registry (https://registry.npmjs.org/)
which git                           ok      /usr/bin/git
Perms check on cached files         ok
Perms check on local node_modules   ok
Perms check on global node_modules  ok
Perms check on local bin folder     ok
Perms check on global bin folder    ok
Verify cache contents               ok      verified 15 tarballs