How can I add a .npmrc file?

There are a few different points here:

1. Where is the .npmrc file created.
2. How can you download private packages

Running npm config ls -l will show you all the implicit settings for npm, including what it thinks is the right place to put the .npmrc (the field userconfig), as this is environment/operating system dependant. But if you have never logged in (using npm login) it will be empty. Simply log in to create it.

To just output the path prop, issue npm config get userconfig.

Another thing is #2 – downloading private packages. You can actually do that by putting a .npmrc file in the NPM package’s root. It will then be used by NPM when authenticating. It also supports variable interpolation from your shell so you could do stuff like this:

; Get the auth token to use for fetching private packages from our private scope
; see http://blog.npmjs.org/post/118393368555/deploying-with-npm-private-modules
; and also https://docs.npmjs.com/files/npmrc
//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=${NPM_TOKEN}

Pointers

• http://blog.npmjs.org/post/118393368555/deploying-with-npm-private-modules
• https://docs.npmjs.com/files/npmrc