Link a local package for development
Low risk
What do risk levels mean?
- Read-only
- Inspects state without changing anything.
- Low risk
- Reversible with a routine follow-up command.
- Medium risk
- Changes state; undo path documented.
- Destructive
- Deletes or overwrites; confirmation required.
Symlinks a locally checked-out package into a consuming project so changes are picked up immediately, without publishing to a registry.
nodenpmlinkdevelopment
Parameters
The name field of the local package being linked, e.g. my-lib.
Commands
In the library's directory, confirm the package name to link
npm pkg get nameIn the library's directory, register a global symlink to it
npm link --ignore-scriptsIn the consuming project, symlink the library into node_modules
npm link --ignore-scripts "<package_name>"Verification
npm ls "<package_name>"The package resolves to a symlinked local path, not a registry version.
Undo
In the consuming project, remove the symlink and restore the registry version
npm unlink "<package_name>" && npm install --ignore-scriptsPitfalls
- Lifecycle scripts are disabled during link and reinstall; packages that rely on build or install scripts may need those run separately after review.
- Run the second step inside the library checkout and the third inside the consuming project — the order and location matter.
- A plain npm install in the consuming project silently replaces the symlink with the registry version.
- Duplicate React (or similar singleton) instances across the link boundary cause invalid-hook-call style errors; align peer dependencies.