Save the exact version of a module with npm

npm is definitely a very useful tool, but its default behaviour is more tailored for module development than for applications.

What I’d like it to do every time I install a dependency is:

1. save it in my package.json
2. install the exact version of the module, without any caret ^

1 is easily achieved with npm install myModule --save, while to achieve 2 you have to add an additional --save-exact.

Typing this everytime is annoying, but with the use of ~/.npmrc this behaviour can become a default:

$ npm config set save=true
$ npm config set save-exact=true

This will do the trick, and now every time you npm install myModule, it will install the exact version (no ^) and save it in package.json.

Happy dev!