npm-search

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• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

# NPM Search

Before writing custom code to solve a problem, check if an npm package already exists.
This saves time, reduces bugs, and leverages community-tested solutions.

## When to use this skill

   * The project has a package.json file and uses NPM/Node
   * User asks for functionality that sounds like a common problem (date formatting,
     validation, HTTP requests, etc.)
   * You're about to write > 100 lines of utility code
   * A package that solves the problem is not already in package.json
   * User explicitly asks to find a package

## How to search

Run `npm search` with relevant keywords:

```bash
npm search <keywords> --long
```

The `--long` flag shows additional details including description, author, date, version,
and keywords.

### Search tips

- Use multiple keywords to narrow results: `npm search date format timezone --long`
- Try synonyms if initial search yields poor results
- Search for the problem, not the solution (e.g., "csv parse" not "string split comma")

## Evaluating packages

When presenting options to the user, consider:

1. **Popularity** - Higher download counts generally indicate reliability and community
   support
2. **Maintenance** - Check the publish date; prefer packages updated within the last year
3. **Fit** - Does it solve the exact problem without excessive overhead?

### Present to user

When the user is looking for a package, include:

   * Package name
   * Description
   * Version
   * Weekly downloads (if available via `npm view <pkg> --json`)
   * Last publish date
   * License

### Acceptable trade-offs

For niche problems, less popular or less recently maintained packages are acceptable if:

   * They solve the specific problem well
   * No better alternatives exist
   * The code is simple enough to fork/maintain if needed

## Example workflow

1. User asks: "I need to validate email addresses"
2. Check if a package is already in package.json. If not:
   1. Search: `npm search email validate --long`
   2. Evaluate top results for popularity and maintenance
   3. Recommend 1-3 options with rationale
   4. If user approves, install with `npm install --save-exact <package>` (or --save-dev
      if it's a dev dependency)

From yokuze/aix-config, MIT.

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