npm Scripts Cheat Sheet: Commands, Lifecycle & CI Flags

npm commands, lifecycle scripts, and the CI-friendly flags in one reference.

Install, run, and version with npm - plus the pre/post script lifecycle.

Core commands

Command	Does
npm ci	Clean, lockfile-exact install (CI)
npm install	Install + update lockfile
npm run <script>	Run a package.json script
npm test	Shorthand for run test
npm exec / npx pkg	Run a binary without installing
npm outdated	List stale deps

Lifecycle hooks

Script	Runs
pre<name>	Before <name>
post<name>	After <name>
prepare	After install, before publish
prepublishOnly	Before publish only

Useful flags

Flag	Effect
--workspaces	Run across all workspaces
-w <pkg>	Target one workspace
--if-present	Skip if script missing
--silent	Quiet output

Example

package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc && vite build",
    "prebuild": "npm run lint",
    "test": "vitest run",
    "ci": "npm run build && npm test"
  }
}

Key takeaways

Use npm ci in pipelines - it is faster and fails on lockfile drift.
prebuild/postbuild hooks fire automatically around build.
--if-present avoids failing when a workspace lacks a script.

Related guides

pnpm Cheat Sheet: Install, Workspaces & FiltersA pnpm cheat sheet - install, add, run, frozen-lockfile, workspace filters, and the store commands that make… Yarn Cheat Sheet: Classic & Berry CommandsA Yarn cheat sheet - install, add, run, workspaces, and the immutable-install flag, covering both Yarn Classi… Semantic Versioning Cheat Sheet: SemVer Rules & RangesA semantic versioning cheat sheet - MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH rules, prerelease and build metadata, and the npm range…