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https://github.com/hackergrrl/peer-npm

:honeybee: Publish and install node packages from the swarm.
https://github.com/hackergrrl/peer-npm

Last synced: 24 days ago
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:honeybee: Publish and install node packages from the swarm.

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README 

        
# peer-npm



> an npm-compatible registry backed by peer-to-peer networks



**NOTE**: Very unstable and mad science-y. Use at your own discretion.



## WHY would someone want something like this?



- I want an easy way to use/publish/install packages when I'm offline

- I want to be able to install/share packages /w my friends over LAN

- I want my packages to be available & resistant to censorship & network failure

- I want a fail-safe in case npm Inc ever goes away or is seized by the

  government

- I want a package manager whose backend is 100% permissively open source



## Usage



To be used just like vanilla `npm`, but with a subset of commands: `install`,

`remove`, and `publish`.



```

USAGE:



  peer-npm i, install [-S] [-D]



    Works like `npm install`. Accepts a peer-npm package name to install from

    the swarm.



  peer-npm publish



    Works like `npm publish`. Publish the current package to the swarm.

    Generates a new keypair if one is not already present.



```



## Getting started



### Install



With [npm](https://npmjs.org/) installed, run



```

$ npm install --global peer-npm

```



### Join the swarm



In another window run



```

$ peer-npm daemon

```



so that you can download packages from others and share the ones you publish.



### Publish a module to the swarm



Let's grab a package from github and try to publish it:



```

$ cd /tmp



$ git clone https://github.com/noffle/resync-srt



$ cd resync-srt



$ npm install



$ peer-npm publish

+ resync-srt_hyperdrive_c5abee5fd496620499c3d203f15c95d24a51d16ec05dea4a8ab2c88368c296b9

Published 3.1.0

```



`resync-srt` is now in the swarm! The name of the package is made of three

parts, concatenated by underscores: the package name, the peer network its

shared on, and the public key of the publisher.



### Install a swarm dependency



Let's make a new package that depends on `resync-srt`:



```

$ cd /tmp

$ mkdir foobar

$ cd foobar



$ npm init



# you'll want to use the package name generated from the last step

$ peer-npm install --save resync-srt_hyperdrive_c5abee5fd496620499c3d203f15c95d24a51d16ec05dea4a8ab2c88368c296b9

```



If you look in your `package.json` you'll see a new section called

`swarmDependencies`. This lets `peer-npm` know what packages you depend on in

the swarm, but in a way that keeps vanilla `npm` working.



In fact, you can have a package in both `swarmDependencies` *and* regular

`dependencies`. Using `peer-npm` won't break your package for non-`peer-npm`

users.



## How does it work?



`peer-npm` pretends to be an npm registry, but running on your local machine.

When you run `peer-npm daemon` it runs this registry (and also does the peering

logic).



`peer-npm install` is mostly a wrapper for something like `npm install

--registry=http://localhost:9000`.



When you publish or try to install a package, `peer-npm` looks at its name to

decide whether it is a package from the central npm registry, or from the swarm.



npm packages have a name like `field-trip`, whereas swarm packages have a name

like `field-trip_hyperdrive_79cf7ecc9baf627642099542b3714bbef`. The part after

the name is the public key of the author. This makes packages resiliant against

impersonation or malicious peers.



`peer-npm` can work with different peer networks; right now there is only a

[hyperdrive](https://github.com/mafintosh/hyperdrive) driver, which is the

default.



When you run `peer-npm install` it will find other peers with the packages you

want and download them, recursively down the dependency tree. Similarly, when

you run `peer-npm publish`, the new package's key is shared amongst other

`peer-npm` peers for future discovery.



## IRC



Come hang out in `#peer-npm` on Freenode to help test and develop!



## License



ISC