Control exactly which files ship in an npm package using the files field and npm pack --dry-run
domain: docs.npmjs.com · 6 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Documented steps
Add a `"files"` array to package.json with the globs/entries to include in the tarball; directories are walked recursively and only the listed entries ship.
Set up entry points: define main for require("pkg") and a bin map (each bin file starting with #!/usr/bin/env node) for CLI executables.
Preview exactly what will be published with `npm pack --dry-run` (or `npm pack` to produce the actual <name>-<version>.tgz and list files).
The files field acts as a whitelist, but npm always includes package.json, README, LICENSE, and main/bin files regardless.
Use .npmignore (or fall back to .gitignore) in subdirectories to exclude files there; note .npmignore does NOT override the root files field.
Inspect the tarball with `npm pack` then `tar -tzf <name>-<version>.tgz` to confirm no unwanted files leak (e.g. secrets, tests).
Known gotchas
package-lock.json, .npmrc, node_modules, yarn.lock, pnpm-lock.yaml can never be included even via files globs.
Symlinks are never included in npm packages.
If both .npmignore and .gitignore exist at the root, npm uses .npmignore; *.orig, .DS_Store, ._*, .git, .svn, CVS are always ignored by default.
The files field (whitelist) takes precedence — .npmignore at root does not override it.
Reference: https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v10/configuring-npm/package-json and https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v10/commands/npm-pack
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