Why does "npm start" work but not "react-scripts start" which is what "npm start" apparently executes?

Question

In my package.json I have the following scripts block:

      "scripts": {
        "start": "react-scripts start",
        "build": "react-scripts build",
        "test": "react-scripts test",
        "eject": "react-scripts eject"
      },

I understand that when we type npm start or npm run start it executes the command listed in the scripts block under start .

When I type npm start it starts my React app.

Why is it then when I type react-scripts start , that it says:

bash: react-scripts: command not found

Answer 1

If you globally installed react-scripts you can run it.

npm install -g react-scripts

But in your setup, it is under node modules. So, only npm can run it.

Answer 2

If you dont prefer to install react-scripts globally, you can go to the project / repository directory containing .node_modules and then run:

node ./node_modules/.bin/react-scripts start