Why You Must Commit Your Package Lock Files

It might seem like unnecessary clutter, but your package-lock.json (or equivalent lock file like yarn.lock) is absolutely crucial for reproducible builds. While package.json specifies version *ranges* (e.g., ^4.0.0), the lock file pins the exact version installed during development. Committing it guarantees that when your teammate or the CI/CD pipeline runs npm install, they get the exact same dependency tree that you developed and tested against, preventing frustrating 'it worked on my machine' bugs caused by minor dependency updates.