npm-dist-tag

Modify package distribution tags

npm dist-tag add @ []
npm dist-tag rm
npm dist-tag ls []

aliases: dist-tags

Add, remove, and enumerate distribution tags on a package:

add: Tags the specified version of the package with the specified tag, or the --tag config if not specified. If you have two-factor authentication on auth-and-writes then you’ll need to include a one-time password on the command line with --otp <one-time password>.

rm: Clear a tag that is no longer in use from the package.

ls: Show all of the dist-tags for a package, defaulting to the package in the current prefix.

This is the default action if none is specified.

A tag can be used when installing packages as a reference to a version instead of using a specific version number:

npm install @

When installing dependencies, a preferred tagged version may be specified:

npm install --tag

This also applies to npm dedupe.

Publishing a package sets the latest tag to the published version unless the --tag option is used. For example, npm publish --tag=beta.

By default, npm install (without any @ or @ specifier) installs the latest tag.
PURPOSE

Tags can be used to provide an alias instead of version numbers.

For example, a project might choose to have multiple streams of development and use a different tag for each stream, e.g., stable, beta, dev, canary.

By default, the latest tag is used by npm to identify the current version of a package, and npm install (without any @ or @ specifier) installs the latest tag. Typically, projects only use the latest tag for stable release versions, and use other tags for unstable versions such as prereleases.

The next tag is used by some projects to identify the upcoming version.

By default, other than latest, no tag has any special significance to npm itself.
CAVEATS

This command used to be known as npm tag, which only created new tags, and so had a different syntax.

Tags must share a namespace with version numbers, because they are specified in the same slot: npm install @ vs npm install @.

Tags that can be interpreted as valid semver ranges will be rejected. For example, v1.4 cannot be used as a tag, because it is interpreted by semver as >=1.4.0 <1.5.0. See https://github.com/npm/npm/issues/6082.

The simplest way to avoid semver problems with tags is to use tags that do not begin with a number or the letter v.