🚀 Captain.js — Complete npm Publishing Guide

This document contains everything needed to build, structure, and publish captain.js to npm professionally.

1️⃣ Prerequisites

Make sure you have:

• Node.js installed
• npm installed
• Git installed
• GitHub account
• npm account

Check versions:

node -v
npm -v
git --version

2️⃣ Create Project Folder

mkdir captain-js
cd captain-js

3️⃣ Create Library File

Create:

captain.js

Add:

(function (global) {

  const Captain = {

    sum: function(a, b) {
      return a + b;
    },

    multiply: function(a, b) {
      return a * b;
    },

    capitalize: function(str) {
      return str.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + str.slice(1);
    }

  };

  global.Captain = Captain;

})(typeof window !== "undefined" ? window : global);

4️⃣ Initialize npm

npm init -y

Edit package.json:

{
  "name": "captain-js",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "A tiny OG JavaScript utility library",
  "main": "captain.js",
  "keywords": ["javascript", "utility", "library"],
  "author": "Your Name",
  "license": "MIT"
}

⚠️ Note: Package name must be unique on npm.

5️⃣ Create README.md

Create:

README.md

Example content:

# Captain.js

A tiny OG JavaScript utility library.

## Installation

```bash
npm install captain-js

CDN Usage

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/captain.js"></script>

Example

Captain.sum(2, 3); // 5

---

# 6️⃣ Create .gitignore

Create:

.gitignore

Add:

Dependencies

node_modules/

Logs

npm-debug.log* yarn-debug.log* yarn-error.log*

Environment files

.env .env.local

OS files

.DS_Store Thumbs.db

Optional future build folders

dist/ build/ coverage/

### Why `.gitignore`?

It prevents unnecessary files (like `node_modules`) from being committed to GitHub.

---

# 7️⃣ Create LICENSE (MIT)

Create:

LICENSE

Add:

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 Your Name

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software...

(Use full MIT template from https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)

### Why License?

Without a license, legally no one can use your code.

MIT allows:
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Private use

Requires:
- Keeping copyright notice

---

# 8️⃣ Initialize Git

```bash
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

9️⃣ Push to GitHub

Create a repository on GitHub named captain-js.

Then:

git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/captain-js.git
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main

🔟 Login to npm

npm login

Enter username, password, email, and OTP if required.

Check login:

npm whoami

1️⃣1️⃣ Publish to npm

npm publish

If successful:

+ [email protected]

1️⃣2️⃣ CDN Usage (Automatic)

After publishing, your package is automatically available on CDN:

https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/captain.js

Use in HTML:

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/captain.js"></script>

1️⃣3️⃣ Updating Version

You cannot overwrite a published version.

Update version in package.json:

"version": "1.0.1"

Then:

npm publish

1️⃣4️⃣ Semantic Versioning

Format:

MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

Examples:

• 1.0.1 → Bug fix
• 1.1.0 → New feature
• 2.0.0 → Breaking change

📁 Final Folder Structure

captain-js/
│
├── captain.js
├── package.json
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
└── .gitignore

🏁 You Are Now

✔ A published npm package author
✔ CDN-distributed globally
✔ Properly licensed
✔ Professionally structured

🚀 Optional Next Steps

• Add minified build
• Add TypeScript definitions
• Add CI/CD auto publish
• Add automated version bumping
• Convert to ES Module + UMD

Captain.js is now officially live-ready.