[QUESTION] How to compare npm install vs npm ci

[jamime]

What / Why

When I run npm ci my tests pass.
When I run npm install my tests fail.

I used npm list but they produced an almost identical list, it doesn't install a few dependencies that are resolved from github. These dependencies are not the cause of my failing test.

How can I work out the difference between the two installation algorithms?

Where

• https://github.com/sage/carbon

Who

• n/a

References

• n/a

[76784]

ci and install are two different commands that do two different things.

They both install dependencies. But install will install from package.json, and if the caret is present (^) it will install the latest version of the major version listed.

ci was introduced later to solve the problems that the above can cause (different installations installing slightly different versions of a package). ci installs exactly what is listed in package-lock.json. In fact, it won't work if package-lock is not present.

install installs and writes to package-lock, or creates package-lock it if it is not present. ci does not write to anything - it just reads and installs.

See https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/ci

[darcyclarke]

npm v6 is no longer in active development; We will continue to push security releases to v6 at our team's discretion as-per our Support Policy.

If your bug is reproducible on v7, please re-file this issue using our new issue template.

If your issue was a feature request, please consider opening a new RRFC or RFC. If your issue was a question or other idea that was not CLI-specific, consider opening a discussion on our feedback repo

Closing: This is an automated message.