NPM Config Commands Explained Clearly | Generated by AI

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Not quite! Let me clarify what each command does:

npm config ls -l (long format):

• Shows all config settings, including defaults
• Does NOT directly print .npmrc file contents
• Shows where each setting comes from (builtin, global, user, project)
• Shows the merged/effective configuration

npm config ls --json:

• Shows the same information as npm config ls -l but in JSON format
• Also shows all config settings with their sources
• Just formatted as JSON instead of plain text

Neither command directly prints the raw .npmrc file contents. Both show the effective configuration after npm has:

1. Read all .npmrc files (builtin defaults, global, user, project)
2. Merged them together
3. Applied precedence rules

To see the actual .npmrc file contents, you’d use:

cat ~/.npmrc           # user config
cat ./.npmrc           # project config
cat /etc/npmrc         # global config

Key difference between -l and --json:

• -l gives you more verbose output with sources indicated
• --json gives you structured JSON output (easier to parse programmatically)
• Both show all settings, not just the ones you’ve explicitly set

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