npm useful commands

The following command removes all global npm modules. 

npm ls -gp --depth=0 | awk -F/ '/node_modules/ && !/\/npm$/ {print $NF}' | xargs npm -g rm

Here is how it works:

• npm ls -gp --depth=0 lists all global top level modules (see the cli documentation for ls)
• awk -F/ '/node_modules/ && !/\/npm$/ {print $NF}' prints all modules that are not actually npm itself (does not end with /npm)
• xargs npm -g rm removes all modules globally that come over the previous pipe

For those using Windows, the easiest way to remove all globally installed npm packages is to delete the contents of:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\npm

You can get here quickly by typing %appdata% (either in explorer, run prompt, or start menu).