Node JS dependencies

petermein

Dear Developers, 

I was looking at the created Homey Apps on Github and i was wondering how dependencies are managed throughout Apps. The library itself has a package.json defining dependencies. But others have complete libraries checked into the repository (example).
Mainly the second part looks a bit odd to me.

Any insights? 

Emile

Apps must check-in their dependencies, because Homey or the App Store does not do an npm install. This makes sure that apps keep working, even if a dependency changes or is removed from the registry.

petermein

Ah very well, will do. 

To follow up on that, a Homey app has a app.json wich consists of Homey specific information but also some features used in a standard package.json. Like dependencies, But npm can't read an app.json file by default. What workflow do you use to pull dependencies or later on update a dependency on an existing project. 

MatjaLipu

So what's the point of app.json dependencies?

Emile

I advice to add a package.json as well to manage dependencies.