Syncing an NPM Package Between Multiple Registries
Photo by Nicolas Radzimski on Unsplash
The Problem
Our team relies on an internal GitLab NPM registry for managing packages. This works perfectly for internal distribution, but there are instances where a package needs to be shared with external collaborators. Syncing the package from the internal registry to an external one became a new challenge.
I set out to find a solution and, as usual, encountered a series of hurdles that turned this into another chapter in my developer struggles.
Attempt 1: Using HTTP Requests to Mimic NPM CLI
Initially, I thought I could handle this with raw HTTP requests, essentially mimicking what the NPM CLI does under the hood. The idea was simple: query the source registry for package metadata, fetch the tarball, and upload it to the target registry.
Why it failed:
• The process was too complex and fragile.
• It required manually constructing the entire package.json manifest for every version.
• Every small misstep led to broken packages.
Attempt 2: Leveraging npm-registry-sync
Next, I discovered npm-registry-sync, a library designed for syncing NPM registries. This tool almost solved the problem; it could monitor changes and replicate them across registries.
Why it didn’t work for me:
• It operates in “daemon mode,” polling for updates continuously.
• In a GitLab CI pipeline, I needed a one-off execution, controlled entirely by the pipeline — no background processes allowed.
The Winning Solution: The NPM CLI
Eventually, I realized I could stick to the tried-and-true NPM CLI. The steps were straightforward:
- Install the package locally from Registry A.
- Reconfigure NPM to point to Registry B.
- Publish the package to Registry B.
While this worked like a charm, there were a few extra steps needed to make it CI-friendly.
Configuring NPM for Multiple Registries
Managing registry configurations dynamically in a CI pipeline was a bit tricky.
Here’s how I solved it:
General Configuration
Using the npm CLI, you can set parameters for each registry:
npm config set "//my.awesome.registry.com:<parameter name>=<parameter value>"
Important Gotcha:
The URL in the config must exclude the protocol (https:).
Package-to-Registry Association
To associate a specific namespace or package with a registry:
npm config set "<your namespace>:registry" "<your registry url with https:>"
Handling Authentication in CI Pipelines
Some registries required a username/password combo, while others used tokens. Here’s what I learned:
Tokens
Tokens are straightforward, but ensure you strip the protocol when configuring the auth URL:
npm config set "//my.awesome.registry.com:<parameter name>=<parameter value>"
Basic Auth
Generating a basic auth hash (username:password) required attention to detail. In some distros, the base64 command has quirks that differ from others.
On macOS:
npm config set "<your namespace>:registry" "<your registry url with https:>"
Will give you (as expected):
npm config set "//my.registry.com:_authToken=<token>"
With docker linuxkit:
echo -n "<my username & password hash>" | base64
What is going on here? There is a line break!
On some distros, the wrap parameter has a default set to 76 chars for formatting private keys etc.
It works like this:
d2hhdCBhcmUgeW91IGRvaW5nIGhlcmU/IGdvdCB5YSEgc29tZSBtb3JlIHRleHQgdG8gbWFrZSB0aGlzIHJlYWxseSByZWFsbHkgbG9uZw==
The echo -n is very important. If omitted, echo will add a linebreak to the end of the string and this will manipulate your hash.
The finished script
Putting it all together, the script could look like this:
d2hhdCBhcmUgeW91IGRvaW5nIGhlcmU/IGdvdCB5YSEgc29tZSBtb3JlIHRleHQgdG8gbWFrZSB0 aGlzIHJlYWxseSByZWFsbHkgbG9uZw==
So you could use it like this:
echo -n "<my username & password hash>" | base64 --wrap 0
Key Lessons Learned
Stick to Simple Tools:
The npm CLI might not be fancy for this task, but it’s reliable and gets the job done.Mind the Details:
Configuring authentication, especially with base64, can have subtle platform-specific quirks.Keep It CI-Friendly:
Avoid solutions like daemons or background tasks when working in CI/CD pipelines. Keep the process under pipeline control.
Syncing npm packages between registries was a frustrating but rewarding learning experience. If you’re facing a similar challenge, I hope these lessons help you navigate the struggle with a bit more ease!
The above is the detailed content of Syncing an NPM Package Between Multiple Registries. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Hot AI Tools

Undresser.AI Undress
AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover
Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Undress AI Tool
Undress images for free

Clothoff.io
AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap
Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Article

Hot Tools

Notepad++7.3.1
Easy-to-use and free code editor

SublimeText3 Chinese version
Chinese version, very easy to use

Zend Studio 13.0.1
Powerful PHP integrated development environment

Dreamweaver CS6
Visual web development tools

SublimeText3 Mac version
God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)

Hot Topics











JavaScript is the cornerstone of modern web development, and its main functions include event-driven programming, dynamic content generation and asynchronous programming. 1) Event-driven programming allows web pages to change dynamically according to user operations. 2) Dynamic content generation allows page content to be adjusted according to conditions. 3) Asynchronous programming ensures that the user interface is not blocked. JavaScript is widely used in web interaction, single-page application and server-side development, greatly improving the flexibility of user experience and cross-platform development.

The latest trends in JavaScript include the rise of TypeScript, the popularity of modern frameworks and libraries, and the application of WebAssembly. Future prospects cover more powerful type systems, the development of server-side JavaScript, the expansion of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the potential of IoT and edge computing.

Different JavaScript engines have different effects when parsing and executing JavaScript code, because the implementation principles and optimization strategies of each engine differ. 1. Lexical analysis: convert source code into lexical unit. 2. Grammar analysis: Generate an abstract syntax tree. 3. Optimization and compilation: Generate machine code through the JIT compiler. 4. Execute: Run the machine code. V8 engine optimizes through instant compilation and hidden class, SpiderMonkey uses a type inference system, resulting in different performance performance on the same code.

Python is more suitable for beginners, with a smooth learning curve and concise syntax; JavaScript is suitable for front-end development, with a steep learning curve and flexible syntax. 1. Python syntax is intuitive and suitable for data science and back-end development. 2. JavaScript is flexible and widely used in front-end and server-side programming.

JavaScript is the core language of modern web development and is widely used for its diversity and flexibility. 1) Front-end development: build dynamic web pages and single-page applications through DOM operations and modern frameworks (such as React, Vue.js, Angular). 2) Server-side development: Node.js uses a non-blocking I/O model to handle high concurrency and real-time applications. 3) Mobile and desktop application development: cross-platform development is realized through ReactNative and Electron to improve development efficiency.

This article demonstrates frontend integration with a backend secured by Permit, building a functional EdTech SaaS application using Next.js. The frontend fetches user permissions to control UI visibility and ensures API requests adhere to role-base

I built a functional multi-tenant SaaS application (an EdTech app) with your everyday tech tool and you can do the same. First, what’s a multi-tenant SaaS application? Multi-tenant SaaS applications let you serve multiple customers from a sing

The shift from C/C to JavaScript requires adapting to dynamic typing, garbage collection and asynchronous programming. 1) C/C is a statically typed language that requires manual memory management, while JavaScript is dynamically typed and garbage collection is automatically processed. 2) C/C needs to be compiled into machine code, while JavaScript is an interpreted language. 3) JavaScript introduces concepts such as closures, prototype chains and Promise, which enhances flexibility and asynchronous programming capabilities.
