NPM-ADDUSER(1) NPM-ADDUSER(1)

# [NAME](#NAME)

**npm-adduser** - Add a registry user account

## [Synopsis](#Synopsis)

```
npm adduser
alias: add-user
```

Note: This command is unaware of workspaces.

## [Description](#Description)

Create a new user in the specified registry, and save the credentials to the **.npmrc** file. If no registry is specified, the default registry will be used (see npm help registry).

When you run **npm adduser**, the CLI automatically generates a legacy token of **publish** type. For more information, see **About legacy tokens** *⟨/about-access-tokens#about-legacy-tokens⟩*.

When using **legacy** for your **auth-type**, the username, password, and email are read in from prompts.

## [Configuration](#Configuration)

## **registry**

- Default: "https://registry.npmjs.org/"
- Type: URL

The base URL of the npm registry.

## **scope**

- Default: the scope of the current project, if any, or ""
- Type: String

Associate an operation with a scope for a scoped registry.

Useful when logging in to or out of a private registry:

```
# log in, linking the scope to the custom registry
npm login --scope=@mycorp --registry=https://registry.mycorp.com
# log out, removing the link and the auth token
npm logout --scope=@mycorp
```

This will cause **@mycorp** to be mapped to the registry for future installation of packages specified according to the pattern **@mycorp/package**.

This will also cause **npm init** to create a scoped package.

```
# accept all defaults, and create a package named "@foo/whatever",
# instead of just named "whatever"
npm init --scope=@foo --yes
```

## **auth-type**

- Default: "web"
- Type: "legacy" or "web"

What authentication strategy to use with **login**. Note that if an **otp** config is given, this value will always be set to **legacy**.

## [See Also](#See_Also)

- npm help registry
- npm help config
- npm help npmrc
- npm help owner
- npm help whoami
- npm help token
- npm help profile

October 2026 NPM@11.21.1

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Document: npm-adduser(1) from npm-11 11.21.1-r0 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://github.com/npm/cli