Verdaccio Has a Free Private npm Registry — Host Your Own Packages Locally

#npm #node #devops #javascript

Verdaccio is a lightweight private npm proxy registry you can run anywhere.

What You Get for Free

Private packages — publish internal packages without npm Pro
npm proxy — caches public packages locally (faster installs)
Scoped packages — @your-org/package-name support
Authentication — htpasswd, LDAP, GitHub OAuth, custom plugins
Offline mode — install packages without internet
Docker — single container, 5-minute setup
Web UI — browse packages, view READMEs

Quick Start

# Docker
docker run -d -p 4873:4873 verdaccio/verdaccio

# Or npm
npm install -g verdaccio && verdaccio

# Publish private packages
npm set registry http://localhost:4873
npm publish

# Install (falls through to npmjs.org for public packages)
npm install @your-org/private-package

Why Teams Use It

npm Teams costs $7/user/month. GitHub Packages has storage limits:

Verdaccio is free — no per-user pricing
Cache proxy — CI installs 3-5x faster (local cache)
Air-gapped networks — works without internet
Simple — one Docker container, zero config needed

A development team of 20 was paying $1,680/year for npm Teams. They deployed Verdaccio — same private package workflow, plus CI installs dropped from 90 seconds to 15 seconds thanks to local caching.