Does Webpack install -g, automatically install to nodeJS's package.json? Or is this only for local installs?

Question

Does Webpack install -g, automatically install to nodeJS's package.json? Or is this only for local installs?

So I'm tired of trying to find workarounds for require() is not defined. Meaning I would need a module loader for my project to include modules client side. Well, I've downloaded the famous 'webpack' module loader, globally

     npm install -g webpack

and I noticed it didn't install to "devDependencies" in my package.json file. But I also install webpack-dev-server, but locally,

     npm install webpack-dev-server --save-dev

and it was saved into my package.json. Was this saved because I used --save-dev or because I installed locally?

I'm getting an error stating my webpack module I downloaded doesn't have a configuration file, so I'm assuming I install webpack wrong, and maybe it shouldn't have been installed globally. Please help with the understanding of globally and locally, as well as why this -g webpack install didnt get saved to the package.json?

Answer 1

The command npm install --gloabl will install a package in global scope and make it's bin command available to you globally. This has nothing to do with the folder or project your are in right now. That means a global install will not leave anything in any package.json files.

Learn more about npm install: https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/install

Answer 2

npm install -g webpack will save your files in your OS file system.

npm install webpack-dev-server --save-dev will save your package in your project directory inside a folder called node_modules.

The later one will make an entry in package.json file so that next time you can install all dependdencies with just npm install command. This command installs all your packages listed in package.json.

Missing Config file: Its looking for a file called webpack.config.js. More info can be found here: https://webpack.js.org/configuration/