Detect undeclared (phantom) dependencies before publishing an npm package
domain: docs.npmjs.com · 5 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Documented steps
During development use npm install --install-strategy=linked (or set install-strategy=linked) so node_modules is isolated and only declared dependencies are exposed
Write and run your tests/imports under this isolated layout so importing an undeclared package fails instead of resolving via the hoisted tree
Check the publish surface with npm pack --dry-run to confirm node_modules or local artifacts are not included
Run npm install --package-lock-only with bundleDependencies in mind if any linked packages should be snapshotted into the tarball on publish
Use npm ls --all to audit the full dependency graph and spot anything not declared in package.json
Known gotchas
Default install-strategy is hoisted, which can make undeclared dependencies resolve by accident and hide a bug until CI or consumers hit it
--install-strategy=linked maps to an isolated layout exposing only declared deps — the recommended check for package authors
npm publish snapshots linked packages into the tarball only if they are in bundleDependencies
Run npm audit signatures to verify registry/provenance signatures of what you ship
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