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deno install
deno install installs dependencies and caches them for your project. For more
on how Deno handles modules, see
Modules and dependencies.
Examples Jump to heading
deno install Jump to heading
Use this command to install all dependencies defined in
deno.json and/or package.json.
The dependencies will be installed in the global cache, but if your project has
a package.json file, a local node_modules directory will be set up as well.
deno install [PACKAGES] Jump to heading
Use this command to install particular packages and add them to deno.json or
package.json.
deno install jsr:@std/testing npm:express
You can also use deno add which is an alias to deno install [PACKAGES]
If your project has a package.json file, the packages coming from npm will be
added to dependencies in package.json. Otherwise all packages will be added
to deno.json.
deno install --entrypoint [FILES] Jump to heading
Use this command to install all dependencies that are used in the provided files and their dependencies.
This is particularly useful if you use jsr:, npm:, http: or https:
specifiers in your code and want to cache all the dependencies before deploying
your project.
import * as colors from "jsr:@std/fmt/colors";
import express from "npm:express";
deno install -e main.js
Download jsr:@std/fmt
Download npm:express
If you want to set up local node_modules directory, you can pass
--node-modules-dir=auto flag.
Some dependencies might not work correctly without a local node_modules
directory.
deno install --global [PACKAGE_OR_URL] Jump to heading
Use this command to install provide package or script as a globally available binary on your system.
This command creates a thin, executable shell script which invokes deno using
the specified CLI flags and main module. It is placed in the installation root.
Example:
deno install --global --allow-net --allow-read jsr:@std/http/file-server
Download jsr:@std/http/file-server...
✅ Successfully installed file-server.
/Users/deno/.deno/bin/file-server
To change the executable name, use -n/--name:
deno install -g -N -R -n serve jsr:@std/http/file-server
The executable name is inferred by default:
- Attempt to take the file stem of the URL path. The above example would become 'file-server'.
- If the file stem is something generic like 'main', 'mod', 'index' or 'cli', and the path has no parent, take the file name of the parent path. Otherwise settle with the generic name.
- If the resulting name has an '@...' suffix, strip it.
To change the installation root, use --root:
deno install -g -N -R --root /usr/local/bin jsr:@std/http/file-server
The installation root is determined, in order of precedence:
--rootoptionDENO_INSTALL_ROOTenvironment variable$HOME/.deno/bin
These must be added to the path manually if required.
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.deno/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
You must specify permissions that will be used to run the script at installation time.
deno install -g -N -R jsr:@std/http/file-server -- -p 8080
The above command creates an executable called file_server that runs with
network and read permissions and binds to port 8080.
For good practice, use the
import.meta.main idiom to specify the
entry point in an executable script.
Example:
// https://example.com/awesome/cli.ts
async function myAwesomeCli(): Promise<void> {
// -- snip --
}
if (import.meta.main) {
myAwesomeCli();
}
When you create an executable script make sure to let users know by adding an example installation command to your repository:
# Install using deno install
deno install -n awesome_cli https://example.com/awesome/cli.ts
deno install --global --compile [PACKAGE_OR_URL] Jump to heading
Use this command to compile a package or script into a standalone, self-contained binary. The resulting executable can be distributed and run without requiring Deno to be installed on the target system.
deno install --global --compile -A npm:@anthropic-ai/claude-code
This combines the behavior of deno compile
with global installation — producing a native binary placed in the installation
root (same as --global without --compile).
Native Node.js addons Jump to heading
A lot of popular packages npm packages like
npm:sqlite3 or
npm:duckdb depend on
"lifecycle scripts",
eg. preinstall or postinstall scripts. Most often running these scripts is
required for a package to work correctly.
Unlike npm, Deno does not run these scripts by default as they pose a potential security vulnerability.
You can still run these scripts by passing the --allow-scripts=<packages> flag
when running deno install:
deno install --allow-scripts=npm:sqlite3
Install all dependencies and allow npm:sqlite3 package to run its lifecycle
scripts.
--quiet flag Jump to heading
The --quiet flag suppresses diagnostic output when installing dependencies.
When used with deno install, it will hide progress indicators, download
information, and success messages.
deno install --quiet jsr:@std/http/file-server
This is useful for scripting environments or when you want cleaner output in CI pipelines.
Uninstall Jump to heading
You can uninstall dependencies or binary script with deno uninstall command:
deno uninstall express
Removed express
deno uninstall -g file-server
deleted /Users/deno/.deno/bin/file-server
✅ Successfully uninstalled file-server
See deno uninstall page for more details.
deno install [OPTIONS] [cmd]... [-- [SCRIPT_ARG]...]Installs dependencies either in the local project or globally to a bin directory.
Local installation Jump to heading
Add dependencies to the local project's configuration (deno.json / package.json) and installs them
in the package cache. If no dependency is specified, installs all dependencies listed in the config file.
If the --entrypoint flag is passed, installs the dependencies of the specified entrypoint(s).
deno install
deno install jsr:@std/bytes
deno install npm:chalk
deno install --entrypoint entry1.ts entry2.ts
Global installation Jump to heading
If the --global flag is set, installs a script as an executable in the installation root's bin directory.
deno install --global --allow-net --allow-read jsr:@std/http/file-server
deno install -g https://examples.deno.land/color-logging.ts
To change the executable name, use -n/--name:
deno install -g --allow-net --allow-read -n serve jsr:@std/http/file-server
The executable name is inferred by default:
- Attempt to take the file stem of the URL path. The above example would
become
file_server. - If the file stem is something generic like
main,mod,indexorcli, and the path has no parent, take the file name of the parent path. Otherwise settle with the generic name. - If the resulting name has an
@...suffix, strip it.
To change the installation root, use --root:
deno install -g --allow-net --allow-read --root /usr/local jsr:@std/http/file-server
The installation root is determined, in order of precedence:
--rootoptionDENO_INSTALL_ROOTenvironment variable$HOME/.deno
These must be added to the path manually if required.
Type checking options Jump to heading
--check<CHECK_TYPE>optionalSet type-checking behavior. This subcommand type-checks local modules by default, so adding --check is redundant
If the value of "all" is supplied, remote modules will be included.
Alternatively, the 'deno check' subcommand can be used.
--no-check<NO_CHECK_TYPE>optionalSkip type-checking. If the value of "remote" is supplied, diagnostic errors from remote modules will be ignored.
Dependency management options Jump to heading
--cached-onlyRequire that remote dependencies are already cached.
--frozen<BOOLEAN>optionalError out if lockfile is out of date.
Load import map file from local file or remote URL.
--lock<FILE>optionalCheck the specified lock file. (If value is not provided, defaults to "./deno.lock").
--no-lockDisable auto discovery of the lock file.
--no-npmDo not resolve npm modules.
--no-remoteDo not resolve remote modules.
--node-modules-dir<MODE>optionalSets the node modules management mode for npm packages.
--reload, -r<CACHE_BLOCKLIST>optionalReload source code cache (recompile TypeScript) no value Reload everything jsr:@std/http/file-server,jsr:@std/assert/assert-equals Reloads specific modules npm: Reload all npm modules npm:chalk Reload specific npm module.
--vendor<vendor>optionalToggles local vendor folder usage for remote modules and a node_modules folder for npm packages.
Options Jump to heading
--allow-scripts<PACKAGE>optionalAllow running npm lifecycle scripts for the given packages
Note: Scripts will only be executed when using a node_modules directory (--node-modules-dir).
--cert<FILE>Load certificate authority from PEM encoded file.
--compileInstall the script as a compiled executable.
--conditions<conditions>Use this argument to specify custom conditions for npm package exports. You can also use DENO_CONDITIONS env var. .
Configure different aspects of deno including TypeScript, linting, and code formatting.
Typically the configuration file will be called deno.json or deno.jsonc and
automatically detected; in that case this flag is not necessary.
--dev, -DAdd the package as a dev dependency. Note: This only applies when adding to a package.json file.
--entrypoint, -eInstall dependents of the specified entrypoint(s).
--env-file<FILE>optionalLoad environment variables from local file Only the first environment variable with a given key is used. Existing process environment variables are not overwritten, so if variables with the same names already exist in the environment, their values will be preserved. Where multiple declarations for the same environment variable exist in your .env file, the first one encountered is applied. This is determined by the order of the files you pass as arguments.
--force, -fForcefully overwrite existing installation.
--global, -gInstall a package or script as a globally available executable.
--jsrassume unprefixed package names are jsr packages.
--location<HREF>Value of globalThis.location used by some web APIs.
--lockfile-onlyInstall only updating the lockfile.
--minimum-dependency-age<minimum-dependency-age>(Unstable) The age in minutes, ISO-8601 duration or RFC3339 absolute timestamp (e.g. '120' for two hours, 'P2D' for two days, '2025-09-16' for cutoff date, '2025-09-16T12:00:00+00:00' for cutoff time, '0' to disable).
--name, -n<name>Executable file name.
--no-configDisable automatic loading of the configuration file.
--npmassume unprefixed package names are npm packages.
--preload<FILE>A list of files that will be executed before the main module.
--require<FILE>A list of CommonJS modules that will be executed before the main module.
--root<root>Installation root.
--save-exactSave exact version without the caret (^).
--seed<NUMBER>Set the random number generator seed.
--v8-flags<V8_FLAGS>optionalTo see a list of all available flags use --v8-flags=--help
Flags can also be set via the DENO_V8_FLAGS environment variable.
Any flags set with this flag are appended after the DENO_V8_FLAGS environment variable.
Debugging options Jump to heading
--inspect<HOST_PORT>optionalActivate inspector on host:port [default: 127.0.0.1:9229]. Host and port are optional. Using port 0 will assign a random free port.
--inspect-brk<HOST_PORT>optionalActivate inspector on host:port, wait for debugger to connect and break at the start of user script.
--inspect-wait<HOST_PORT>optionalActivate inspector on host:port and wait for debugger to connect before running user code.