What naming convention do I use for scripts in package.json?

Question

In package.json I have this script name with two words lint and fix. How should I make a right name?

There are options:

lowerCamelCase - lintFix
UpperCamelCase - LintFix
snake_case - lint_fix
kebab-case - lint-fix
gulp-style with a colon delimiter - lint:fix
Any another delimiter.

What option is right? And why?

Please see the link for more information: https://github.com/voorhoede/npm-style-guide — Vasyl Nahuliak, Jan 23 '21 at 09:12

score 22 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 25 '22 at 18:05

22

Please always use kebab case. The colon is a throwback to gulp, and it looks terrible. I hate it.

Disclaimer: My opinions are often wrong.

edited Jul 25 '22 at 18:05

thiagowfx

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answered Dec 13 '18 at 15:16

John Henckel

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score 20 · Accepted Answer · edited May 30 '20 at 02:28

20

There is no official naming convention. Before npm@v4 standard scripts had only one word, for example test, start, prestart. npm@v4 introduced a new script prepublishOnly*.

So now, the best practice is use lowerCamelCase.

*Reference: https://iamakulov.com/notes/npm-4-prepublish/

edited May 30 '20 at 02:28

friederbluemle

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answered Jul 11 '17 at 12:05

galkin

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Any reference for this? – carraua Jun 19 '19 at 09:48
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https://www.dropbox.com/s/2kd0v71xto2mbaj/Screenshot%202019-12-31%2006.04.33.png?dl=0 `-` appears to be the 'norm' now. `:` for some select cases. As with most things in JS, this sort of thing can vary and is based on 'style guides' for organization/individual. – CodeFinity Dec 31 '19 at 12:06

Carsten Führmann · Answer 3 · 2020-11-17T11:26:02.497

Looking at npm itself, as in galkin's answer, seems like a good idea. But ironically, while the npm script prepublishOnly is lowerCamelCase, most scripts in the npm GitHub project are in kebab-case: https://github.com/npm/cli/blob/latest/package.json.

One may also want to look at the most depended-on npm packages: https://www.npmjs.com/browse/depended. Many of the top packages there use kebab case, with the notable exception of lodash, which uses colons.

Update: There is also a convenience aspect which can matter more than one might think: it is more pleasant to type delimiters that don't need the shift key. At least on US, UK, and German keyboards, this too speaks for kebab-case.

score 8 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 04 '22 at 23:26

8

You can use a mix of both dash and colon. Dash for chaining words, colon for grouping similar scripts. Example:

lint:check
lint:fix:all
lint:fix:staged-only

answered Mar 04 '22 at 23:26

Yanfeng Liu

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What naming convention do I use for scripts in package.json?

4 Answers4