Cannot create bin executable for my npm package

Issue

Based on:

https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v10/configuring-npm/package-json#bin

I am trying to create a "binary" for my npm package. My package.json looks like this:

{
  "name": "@internal/my-exe",
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "type": "commonjs",
  "bin": {
    "my-exe": "./dist/src/index.js"
  },
  "files": [
    "dist",
    "README.md"
  ],
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc --project tsconfig.build.json",
    "ts-node": "ts-node"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "tslib": "^2.3.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "ts-jest": "^29.1.0",
    "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
    "typescript": "^5.0.4"
  },
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=18"
  },
  "volta": {
    "node": "18.16.1"
  },
  "publishConfig": {
    "registry": "https://npm.pkg.github.com/"
  }
}

and the project (including build output/dist):

my-exe
  dist/
    -> src/
      -> index.js
      -> index.d.ts
  src/
    -> index.ts
  package.json
  tsconfig.json
  tsconfig.build.json

And src/index.ts:

#!/usr/bin/env node
// eslint-disable-next-line node/shebang
export * from './src/index';

I build and pack the above locally with:

npm run build
npm pack

so I now have:

my-exe
  dist/
  ...
  internal-my-exe-0.0.0.tgz
  package.json

In another test project I then test that I can install/run the above 'binary':

{
  "name": "test-app",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "index.js",
  "devDependencies": {
    "ts-node": "^10.9.2",
    "typescript": "^5.3.3"
  },
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=18"
  },
  "volta": {
    "node": "18.16.1"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@internal/my-exe": "file:../../../my-exe/internal-my-exe-0.0.0.tgz"
  }
}

with:

cd test-app
npm i

And now have:

test-app
  node_modules/
    -> .bin/
      -> my-exe

so that looks great. But when I try to run it:

cd test-app
npm my-exe

I just get:

Unknown command: "my-exe"

To see a list of supported npm commands, run:
  npm help

If I do:

cat test-app/node_modules/.bin/my-exe
"use strict";
Object.defineProperty(exports, "__esModule", { value: true });
const tslib_1 = require("tslib");
tslib_1.__exportStar(require("./src/index"), exports);

So it seems it removed the #!/usr/bin/env node when installing it but not sure if that the issue.

UPDATE: The above issue was a npm cache "issue" so removing the cache in ~/.npm and deleting the package lock file fixed that when testing locally using npm pack (alternatively update the version each time).

What am I missing?

Solution

You would use the npm exec command to execute executables located in node_modules/.bin:

npm exec my-exe

Explanation

When you use npm my-exe, npm assumes that you're trying to execute a sub-command that's named my-exe rather than an executable with the same name, hence it shows this warning:

Unknown command: "my-exe"

To see a list of supported npm commands, run:
  npm help

Answered By - Edric