npm-author

View documentation for the original command

$ tldr npm owner

The npm-author command does not exist.

The npm-author command, as a standalone executable or direct npm subcommand, does not exist within the standard npm CLI. Instead, author-related functionalities and information are managed through various other mechanisms and commands in the npm ecosystem.

This primarily includes the author field in a project's package.json file, which serves as metadata about the primary developer. For managing actual ownership and publishing permissions of a package on the npm registry, the npm owner command is used. Additionally, user accounts on the npm registry, which are necessary for anyone to publish packages or become an owner, are created and managed via the npm adduser command.

Therefore, while the concept of an 'npm author' is central to package development and distribution, it is facilitated by a combination of file metadata and specific npm registry interaction commands, rather than a single npm-author command.

The command npm-author is not a recognized command in the npm CLI. Users attempting to manage package authors or owners should refer to the documentation for npm owner (for registry-level package ownership) or the author and contributors fields within the package.json file (for package metadata). Creating a new npm user account is done via npm adduser.

The author field in a project's package.json file is a metadata field that describes the primary developer or organization responsible for the package. It typically contains a string in the format "Name <email> (url)" or an object with name, email, and url properties. This field is for informational purposes and does not directly control publishing permissions. The contributors field is similar but allows for an array of multiple individuals.

The npm owner command is used to manage the list of users who have publishing access to a specific package on the npm registry. It provides subcommands like: npm owner add <user> [<package>] to grant publishing rights; npm owner rm <user> [<package>] to revoke rights; and npm owner ls [<package>] to list current owners. These commands are crucial for collaborative package development and maintenance, allowing teams to share control over publishing.

Before a user can be added as an owner of a package or publish a package themselves, they must have an account on the npm registry. The npm adduser command (also aliased as npm login) facilitates this process by prompting the user for a username, password, and email address, thereby creating or authenticating their npm account. This command is a prerequisite for any user-specific actions on the npm registry, including becoming a package author or owner.

Historically, author information for npm packages was primarily managed via the author field in package.json, a simple metadata entry. As npm grew, the need for finer-grained control over package publishing permissions arose, leading to the introduction of the npm owner command. This command allows multiple users to be designated as 'owners' of a package on the npm registry, granting them publishing rights. The concept of an 'author' evolved from a complex system involving registry-level permissions and user accounts, all without the need for a specific npm-author command.

npm owner(1), npm adduser(1), npm package.json(5)