OS independent access to variables in package.json

Question

To access a variable in npm scripts you would do something like this in your package.json:

"scripts": {
    "preinstall": "echo ${npm_package_name}"
}

The problem is that works only in Unix, not Windows, where you have to use %npm_package_name%.

Is there a way to do this OS independent? It will be good if npm could do such a variable expansion, before invoking the command.

Answer 1

To make it cross-platform, use cross-var:

"scripts": {
    "preinstall": "cross-var echo ${npm_package_name}"
}

Answer 2

There's no known way to do this that's OS independent.

A good workaround is to execute the command within a node script:

First, change the preinstall command to execute a node script:

"scripts": {
    "preinstall": "node nameEcho.js"
}

Then you define the command in the nameEcho.js file:

// require the package.json file
var pjson = require('./package.json');

// echo the package's name
console.log(pjson.name);