Node.js modules are a type of package that can be published to npm. To create a new module, start by creating a package.json
file.
Use npm init
to create package.json
. It will prompt you for values for fields. The two required fields are 'name' and 'version'. You'll also need to set a value for 'main'. You can use the default, index.js
. These steps are described in detail in Chapter 5.
If you want to add information for the author field, use the following format (email and website are both optional):
Your Name <[email protected]> (http://example.com)
Once your package.json
file is created, you'll want to create the file that will be loaded when your module is required. The default name for this file is index.js
.
In that file, add a function as a property of the exports
object. This will make the function available to other code.
exports.printMsg = function() {
console.log("This is a message from the demo package");
}
Test:
cd
)npm install <package>
.node test.js
. The message sent to the console.log should appear.To understand types of packages, click here.
Last modified December 22, 2017 Found a typo? Send a pull request!