Publishing your own NPM Package is too simple!!

Introduction

Isn't it cool if you can run a command like npx <your_name> in someone’s terminal, and they instantly get access to your portfolio, your works, or social handles — right from the CLI?

Or maybe you've built a dope React component. Wouldn't it be even cooler if other devs could use it just by installing it from npm?

That’s the power of open-source and npm — and yes, it’s ridiculously simple to get started!

Before diving into the how-to, try these in your terminal: npx karthikmudunuri or npx get-response — just to see what "cool" looks like.

🚀 Create your NPM account

Go to npmjs.com and sign up for a free account. Don’t skip 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) — it keeps your packages safe. Use an app like TOTP Authenticator for better security.

🧠 Pick a Package Name

This must be unique! Visit the NPM Registry and search your desired name to make sure it's available.

If it’s already taken, get creative — maybe add a prefix or use a scoped package (@yourname/package).

⚒️ Start Building the Package

✅ Install Node.js and NPM

If Node isn’t installed yet, head to nodejs.org and install the latest LTS version. You’ll get npm bundled with it.

✅ Initialize Git

Create a project folder:

mkdir my-package && cd my-package
git init

✅ Initialize NPM

npm init

Answer the prompts:

• name: lowercase, hyphenated name.
• version: start with 0.1.0
• description: what your package does
• entry point: usually index.js
• keywords: optional
• license: use default ISC

Add this manually to package.json:

"type": "module"

✍️ Write Your Code

Create index.js:

#!/usr/bin/env node

console.log(
  "Follow karthikmudunuri on GitHub: https://github.com/karthikmudunuri"
);

That first line allows execution from CLI using npx.

🧪 Add Executable Command

In package.json, add:

"bin": {
  "test": "./index.js"
}

Your full package.json should look like:

{
  "name": "test",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "just to test how to publish npm package",
  "main": "./index.js",
  "type": "module",
  "bin": {
    "test": "./index.js"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
  },
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "git+https://github.com/karthikmudunuri/test.git"
  },
  "author": "Karthik Mudunuri",
  "license": "ISC",
  "bugs": {
    "url": "https://github.com/karthikmudunuri/test/issues"
  },
  "homepage": "https://github.com/karthikmudunuri/test#readme"
}

🔐 Make it Executable

Linux/macOS:

chmod +x index.js

Windows (via Git Bash):

git update-index --chmod=+x index.js

🧪 Test Locally with npm link

Run:

npm link

Test globally outside the project:

npx test

📦 Publish to NPM

Login:

npm login

Publish:

npm publish

Now your package is live! 🎉

Visit npmjs.com (replace test with your package name).

🔄 Update Your Package

1. Bump version in package.json:

"version": "1.1.0"

2. Re-publish:

npm publish

Make sure to follow Semantic Versioning.

✅ Conclusion

Now you’ve published an NPM package that can be installed and run from anywhere in the world. Whether it’s a React component or a personal CLI — you’ve contributed to open source.

If you found this helpful or want to improve it, ping me on GitHub
@karthikmudunuri