culls

CLI to optimize package.json for NPM

culls is a minimal CLI that removes unnecessary fields from package.json intended to be run before publishing to NPM. The changes to package.json should not be checked into source control. The goal of culls is to create the absolute smallest possible package.json file for publishing to NPM.

For example, culls will remove devDependencies from package.json, which, while automatically excluded during package installation, still adds unnecessary bulk to your published package. Other development-specific fields that can be removed include linting or testing configs, like for Prettier, Jest, or ESLint.

Usage

The CLI must be run with a valid package.json file in the current working directory.

# NPM
npx culls

# Bun
bunx culls

Preserved fields

By default, culls preserves fields that are typically required for publishing NPM packages.

• author
• bin
• browser
• bugs
• contributors
• dependencies
• description
• engines
• exports
• files
• funding
• homepage
• keywords
• license
• main
• maintainers
• module
• name
• optionalDependencies
• peerDependencies
• private
• publishConfig
• repository
• scripts
• sideEffects
• type
• types
• typesVersions
• version
• workspaces

To specify fields to preserve, use the --preserve flag.

# NPM
npx culls --preserve=svelte

# Bun
bunx culls --preserve=svelte

Multiple fields should be comma-separated.

# NPM
npx culls --preserve=svelte,prettier

# Bun
bunx culls --preserve=svelte,prettier

Sample GitHub Actions workflow

This sample workflow demonstrates using culls when automating package publishing.

# .github/workflows/publish.yml
on:
  push:
    # Trigger on tag push.
    # E.g., `git tag v1.0.0; git push origin v1.0.0`
    tags:
      - "v*"

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: read
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: "20.x"
          registry-url: "https://registry.npmjs.org"

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm install

      # Run any necessary build steps.
      # In this case, `scripts` are still needed.
      - name: Build package
        run: npm run build

      # Run `culls` to remove unnecessary fields.
      - name: Prune package.json
        run: npx culls

      - name: Publish package
        env:
          NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_AUTH_TOKEN }}
        run: npm publish --provenance --access public

Changelog

CHANGELOG.md

License

MIT