npm2git

Use Git as an npm registry

Why

Managing npm registries sucks. (And arguably, depending on a central privately-controlled npm registry also sucks.) If you're thinking you want or need to run one, then you almost certainly already have a Git server available with all the appropriate users and permissions and everything. npm supports resolving semver ranges against Git tags, so there's no longer a good reason not to abuse Git to deliver built assets.

How

This shell script creates and tags an orphaned commit that includes only the files that would be included by npm publish. Before doing so, it also removes the prepare script from package.json, if present. When npm installs from a Git repository with a prepare script, it will also temporarily install devDependencies and run the prepare script, which generally would build the project. What they're getting is already the built files, so we don't want that to happen.

Usage

1. Make sure you're ready to go. The version field in your package.json should already be incremented, and the files field should point to everything you want to publish.
2. Run npm2git.sh. This creates the orphaned commit and tags it vX.X.X, but does not push it. Inspect the tag to make sure all seems well.
3. Push the tag.

Installing from Git

See the npm docs on npm install for more on how to install from Git repositories. Specify a version either by tag (#vX.X.X) or by semver specification (#semver:*).

License

Copyright (c) 2018 Conduitry

• MIT