{ "name": "apihandlerrestful", "version": "1.0.1", "description": "A simple api handler for nodejs", "main": "handler.js", "scripts": { "test": "mocha --reporter spec" }, "keywords": [ "api", "handler", "restful", "apihandlerrestful" ], "author": "Talon Bragg", "license": "MIT", "repository": { "type": "git", "url": "git+https://github.com/talonbragg/apihandler.git" }, "bugs": { "url": "https://github.com/talonbragg/apihandler/issues" }, "homepage": "https://github.com/talonbragg/apihandler#readme", "devDependencies": { "chai": "^4.1.2", "coveralls": "^3.0.0", "istanbul": "^0.4.5", "mocha": "^5.0.5" }, "directories": { "test": "test" }, "dependencies": {} }
The idea is that anyone can grab a copy and run npm install to get the devDependencies listed in package.json. Not only does that keep your repo cleaner but it also lets the package manager handle the management of packages.
The last part is the important bit. Anyone running npm install after Coveralls 3.0.1 came out, for example, would get the updated version and all the correspondingly updated dependencies. As it stands, anyone who grabs a copy of your repository and uses the included node_modules won't get all the non-breaking incremental updates to all the dev dependencies, their dependencies, etc.