---
title: "NPM Global Without Sudo"
categories:
  - programming
tags:
  - nodejs
  - npm
  - linux
  - security
---

## Don't Use `sudo` With `npm`

I have seen quite a few programmers install global packages on their machine with `sudo npm`. Generally, that isn't a great idea. I was inspired by Andrew Crites's article "[Don’t Use `sudo` with `npm` …still](https://www.grammarly.com/blog/punctuation-capitalization/italics/)" to post this quick guide on configuring npm prefixes.

Why shouldn't you use `sudo` with `npm`? Go read Crites's article!

### Creating a `npm` Prefix

Set a prefix in your npm configuration using the `npm config` command.

```bash
npm config set prefix '~/.local/'
```

This modifies your `~/.npmrc` to include the following line.

```bash
prefix=~/.local/
```

### Updating `$PATH`

If you intend to run globally installed packages from the command line you must add the new prefix location to your `$PATH`. Replace `~/.zshrc` with the appropriate configuration file for your shell e.g. `~/.bashrc`.

```bash
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin/:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
```

### Installing Global Packages

You can now install global packages in the scope of your user _without_ `sudo`!

```bash
npm i -g packagename
```