NPM-SHRINKWRAP.JSON(5) NPM-SHRINKWRAP.JSON(5)

# [NAME](#NAME)

**npm-shrinkwrap.json** - A publishable lockfile

## [Description](#Description)

**npm-shrinkwrap.json** is a file created by npm help shrinkwrap. It is identical to **package-lock.json**, with one major caveat: Unlike **package-lock.json**, **npm-shrinkwrap.json** may be included when publishing a package.

The recommended use-case for **npm-shrinkwrap.json** is applications deployed through the publishing process on the registry: for example, daemons and command-line tools intended as global installs or **devDependencies**. It's strongly discouraged for library authors to publish this file, since that would prevent end users from having control over transitive dependency updates.

If both **package-lock.json** and **npm-shrinkwrap.json** are present in a package root, **npm-shrinkwrap.json** will be preferred over the **package-lock.json** file.

For full details and description of the **npm-shrinkwrap.json** file format, refer to the manual page for **package-lock.json** *⟨/configuring-npm/package-lock-json⟩*.

## [See also](#See_also)

- npm help shrinkwrap
- **package-lock.json** *⟨/configuring-npm/package-lock-json⟩*
- **package.json** *⟨/configuring-npm/package-json⟩*
- npm help install

October 2026 NPM@11.20.0

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Document: npm-shrinkwrap-json(5) from npm-11 11.20.0-r4 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://github.com/npm/cli