Connect your npm project to Azure Artifacts

Azure DevOps Services | Azure DevOps Server 2022 - Azure DevOps Server 2019

Azure Artifacts enables developers to manage their packages from various sources, including both public registries like npmjs.com and private feeds. To authenticate with Azure Artifacts, you'll need to configure your npm config file. This file contains feed URLs and credentials used by npm, offering options to customize your npm client behavior, such as setting up proxies, defining default package locations, or configuring private package feeds. The .npmrc file is typically located in the user's home directory but can also be created at the project level to override default settings.

Prerequisites

• An Azure DevOps organization. Create one for free.

• An Azure DevOps project. Create a new project if you don't have one already.

• An Azure Artifacts feed. Create one for free.

• Download and install Node.js and npm.

Connect to Feed

Azure Artifacts recommends using two separate configuration files. The first is dedicated to authenticating with Azure Artifacts, while the second should be kept locally to store your credentials. This approach allows you to share your configuration file while keeping your credentials secure.

To set up the second file, simply place it in your home directory on your development machine and include all your registry credentials. This enables the npm client to easily access your credentials for authentication.

The following steps will guide you through setting up the first configuration file. Select the tab that corresponds to your development environment:

Windows

1. Sign in to your Azure DevOps organization, and then navigate to your project.

2. Select Artifacts, and then select Connect to Feed.

   

3. Select npm from the left sidebar. If this is the first time using Azure Artifacts with npm, make sure you've installed the prerequisites.

4. Follow the instructions in the Project setup section to connect to your feed.

   

Linux/MacOS

1. Add a .npmrc file in your project's directory, in the same directory as your package.json file, and paste the following snippet into it.

   registry=https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/<PROJECT_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/registry/ 
   
   always-auth=true
   

Setup credentials

1. Copy the following snippet and paste it into your user-level npmrc file:

   • Organization-scoped feed:

     ; begin auth token
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/registry/:username=[ENTER_ANY_VALUE_BUT_NOT_AN_EMPTY_STRING]
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/registry/:_password=[BASE64_ENCODED_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN]
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/registry/:email=npm requires email to be set but doesn't use the value
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/:username=[ANY_VALUE_BUT_NOT_AN_EMPTY_STRING]
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/:_password=[BASE64_ENCODED_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN]
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/:email=npm requires email to be set but doesn't use the value
     ; end auth token
     

   • Project-scoped feed:

     ; begin auth token
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/<PROJECT_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/registry/:username=[ENTER_ANY_VALUE_BUT_NOT_AN_EMPTY_STRING]
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/<PROJECT_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/registry/:_password=[BASE64_ENCODED_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN]
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/<PROJECT_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/registry/:email=npm requires email to be set but doesn't use the value
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/<PROJECT_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/:username=[ENTER_ANY_VALUE_BUT_NOT_AN_EMPTY_STRING]
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/<PROJECT_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/:_password=[BASE64_ENCODED_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN]
     //pkgs.dev.azure.com/<ORGANIZATION_NAME>/<PROJECT_NAME>/_packaging/<FEED_NAME>/npm/:email=npm requires email to be set but doesn't use the value
     ; end auth token
     

2. Generate a personal access token with packaging read and write scopes.

3. Run the following command in a command prompt window, and then paste your personal access token when prompted. Once done, copy the generated Base 64 encoded value.

   node -e "require('readline') .createInterface({input:process.stdin,output:process.stdout,historySize:0}) .question('PAT> ',p => { b64=Buffer.from(p.trim()).toString('base64');console.log(b64);process.exit(); })"
   

4. If you're on Linux/Mac, you can alternatively use the following command to convert your personal access token to Base 64. Copy the resulting Base64 encoded value.

   echo -n "YOUR_PERSONAL_ACCESS-TOKEN" | base64
   

5. Replace the placeholders [BASE64_ENCODED_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN] in your user .npmrc file with the encoded personal access token obtained from the previous step.

Tip

Using multiple registries in .npmrc files is supported with scopes and upstream sources.

Pipeline authentication

To authenticate with your pipeline, Azure Artifacts recommends using the npm authenticate task.

When using task runners such as gulp or Grunt, it's to prioritize setting your npm authenticate task at the beginning of your pipeline. This step guarantees that your credentials are injected into your project's .npmrc file and retained throughout the pipeline run, enabling subsequent steps to access the credentials in the configuration file.

Classic

1. Navigate to your project, select Pipelines, and then select your pipeline definition.

2. Select Edit to modify your pipeline.

3. Select + to add a new task to your pipeline.

   

4. Search for the npm Authenticate task, and then select Add.

   

5. Select your .npmrc file, and then select Save & queue when you're done.

   

YAML

- task: npmAuthenticate@0
  inputs:
    workingFile: .npmrc                ## Path to the npmrc file
    customEndpoint: #Optional          ## Comma-separated list of npm service connection names for registries from external organizations. For registries in your org, leave this blank

Note

To access your feed from your pipeline, make sure that the build service role is set to Feed And Upstream Reader (Contributor) in your Feed settings > Permissions.

Note

If your organization is using a firewall or a proxy server, make sure you allow the appropriate domain URLs. See Allowed IP addresses and domain URLs for details.

Troubleshoot

vsts-npm-auth is not recognized

This error indicates that the npm modules folder hasn't been added to your path. Rerun the Node.js setup and make sure to select the Add to PATH option. Alternatively, you can add the npm modules folder to your path by modifying the PATH variable to %APPDATA%\npm in Command Prompt or $env:APPDATA\npm in PowerShell.

Unable to authenticate

• Error: code E401 npm ERR! Unable to authenticate: -> Run the vsts-npm-auth command with -F flag to reauthenticate:

  vsts-npm-auth -config .npmrc -F
  

Reset vsts-npm-auth

Follow these steps to reset your vsts-npm-auth credentials:

1. Uninstall vsts-npm-auth:

   npm uninstall -g vsts-npm-auth
   

2. Clear your npm cache:

   npm cache clean --force
   

3. Delete your .npmrc file.

4. Reinstall vsts-npm-auth:

   npm install -g vsts-npm-auth --registry https://registry.npmjs.com --always-auth false
   

Unable to publish

If you encounter a 403 error, it may indicate a name conflict. In Azure Artifacts, packages are immutable, meaning that once you publish a package to your feed, its version number is permanently reserved. Even if you delete it, you cannot publish a new package with the same version number. To address this issue, update the package version in your package.json file, and then try again.

Related articles

• Publish and restore npm packages (CLI)
• Publish npm packages (YAML/Classic)
• Use packages from npmjs.com