Do I commit the package-lock.json file created by npm 5?

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Whether to commit the package-lock.json file created by npm 5 (and later versions) depends on your project and workflow. In general, it's recommended to commit the package-lock.json file along with your source code to ensure consistent dependency resolution for everyone working on the project.

The package-lock.json file helps ensure that the same versions of packages are installed across different environments and by different developers, which helps in avoiding "works on my machine" issues.

Here's an example of how to commit the package-lock.json file:

  1. Navigate to Your Project Directory: Open your terminal or command prompt and navigate to your project directory.

  2. Install Dependencies: If you haven't already, install the project dependencies using the npm install command. This will generate the package-lock.json file if it doesn't exist.

  3. Commit Files: Use the following commands to commit the package-lock.json file along with your source code:

sh
git add .
git commit -m "Add package-lock.json"

By committing the package-lock.json file, you ensure that other developers who clone the repository or switch to different branches will have the exact same dependency versions as you.

However, there might be cases where you want to exclude the package-lock.json file from version control. For example, if you're developing a library that is intended to be consumed by other projects, you might not want to commit it. In such cases, you would typically include a .gitignore rule to exclude it.

Here's an example of how you might add a .gitignore rule to exclude the package-lock.json file:

  1. Create or edit the .gitignore file in your project directory.

  2. Add the following line to exclude the package-lock.json file:

csharp
package-lock.json
  1. Save the .gitignore file.

Remember that if you exclude the package-lock.json file from version control, developers will need to run npm install after cloning the repository to generate the correct package-lock.json based on your package.json file.

In most cases, committing the package-lock.json file is a good practice to ensure consistency across different environments and to avoid unexpected dependency version conflicts.

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