I downloaded a theme and it has a package-lock.json file but no package.json file. Is there a way I can generate the package.json from the package-lock.json file. How do I install the node modules with just the package-lock.json file. Is there a way to do that?
44 Answers
Warning: Do not attempt before reading comments below & backup package-lock.json.
Install the latest npm with npm install -g npm
Run npm init and respond to the questions.
The above command will generate a package.json and include the existing packages listed in package-lock.json
I think I figured it out.
I don't think npm init can draw from package-lock.json. However it does seem to pull from what is already in your /node_modules. I believe this is why @Harry B's solution works for some and not at all for others.
For example, if you have just cloned your project which contains package-lock.json, no package.json, and empty/non-existence node_modules, npm init won't create any dependencies. However, if you run npm install pkg1 pkg2 pkg3 ... then run npm init it will create the dependencies in package.json.
seems to work. Copy your package lock file text in, hit the button, copy out the text into a new package.json file.
3package-lock.json file relies on the presence of a package.json file, So it's not possible to retrieve package.json (happy to be proved wrong).
So a possible solution left is to use a module like auto-install which is capable of generating package.json from the project file dependencies.
First, you need to install the module globally npm install -g auto-install. Then run npm init and answer the basic requirements.
Then, run auto-install in your project root directory. All the dependencies should reflect in package.json file.
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Or Install node modules directly from package-lock.json
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Run npm ci which bypasses a package’s package.json to install modules from a package’s lockfile.
