--- title: How do I use private dependencies with Vercel? description: Information on how to use private dependencies with a Vercel deployment. url: /kb/guide/using-private-dependencies-with-vercel canonical_url: "https://vercel.com/kb/guide/using-private-dependencies-with-vercel" published: 2025-11-03 last_updated: 2026-07-16 authors: Matthew Sweeney related: - /docs/concepts/projects/environment-variables - /docs/cli/env install_vercel_plugin: npx plugins add vercel/vercel-plugin --- ## Related pages > **For AI agents:** Follow these links to understand how this page connects to the rest of the Vercel ecosystem. For the full cross-link map (inbound, outbound, prerequisites, and semantic neighbors), see the .graph.md link below. - [Build Features](https://vercel.com/docs/builds/build-features?from=related) — Learn how to customize your deployments using Vercel's build features. - [Advanced Node.js Usage](https://vercel.com/docs/functions/runtimes/node-js/advanced-node-configuration?from=related) — Learn about advanced configurations for Vercel functions on Vercel. - [Package Managers](https://vercel.com/docs/package-managers?from=related) — Discover the package managers supported by Vercel for dependency management. Learn how Vercel detects and uses npm, Yarn - [Go](https://vercel.com/docs/functions/runtimes/go?from=related) — Learn how to use the Go runtime to run Go APIs on Vercel. - [Bitbucket](https://vercel.com/docs/git/vercel-for-bitbucket?from=related) — ​Vercel for Bitbucket automatically deploys your Bitbucket projects with Vercel, providing Preview Deployment URLs, and - [Vercel](https://turborepo.dev/docs/guides/ci-vendors/vercel?from=related) — Deploy your Turborepo on Vercel with zero-config Remote Caching. - [Dependencies from package.json are missing after install](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/dependencies-from-package-json-missing-after-install?from=related) — Understand why dependencies may not being installed during a build and how to fix. - [How do I use the latest npm version for my Vercel Deployment?](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/how-do-i-use-the-latest-npm-version-for-my-vercel-deployment?from=related) — Learn how to use the latest npm version for Vercel deployments. - [Using private GitHub repositories with Vercel Sandbox](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/sandbox-private-github-repositories?from=related) — Learn how to use Vercel Sandbox with private GitHub repositories using fine-grained tokens, classic tokens, or GitHub Ap - [How can I use AWS SDK Environment Variables on Vercel?](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/how-can-i-use-aws-sdk-environment-variables-on-vercel?from=related) — How to use AWS SDK Environment Variables on Vercel - [How to add and manage environment variables on Vercel](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/how-to-add-vercel-environment-variables?from=related) — Add environment variables to Vercel through the dashboard, CLI, or REST API, scope them to each environment, and pull th Full cross-link map for this page: [/kb/guide/using-private-dependencies-with-vercel.graph.md](/kb/guide/using-private-dependencies-with-vercel.graph.md) The Vercel platform allows you to install private dependencies in your project by assigning public or private repositories formatted as npm packages in your package.json file dependencies. ## Private npm dependencies Adding the `NPM_TOKEN` environment variable to your project allows Vercel to create a `.npmrc` file to install your private npm packages. You can also reference public or private repositories formatted as [npm packages](https://docs.npmjs.com/about-packages-and-modules) in your package.json file [dependencies](https://docs.npmjs.com/specifying-dependencies-and-devdependencies-in-a-package-json-file). Private repository modules require a special link syntax that varies according to the Git provider. For GitHub, create a [GitHub personal access token](https://help.github.com/en/github/authenticating-to-github/creating-a-personal-access-token-for-the-command-line) with read-only access, and include it in the package URL as follows: ```json "package-name": "git+https://:@github.com//.git" ``` For GitHub Enterprise Server, create a [GitHub personal access token](https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise/user/github/authenticating-to-github/creating-a-personal-access-token) with read-only access, and include it in the package URL as follows: ```json "package-name": "git+https://:@//.git" ``` For GitLab, create a [GitLab deploy token](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/deploy_tokens) with read\_repository access, and include it in the package URL as follows: ```json "package-name": "git+https://:@gitlab.com//.git" ``` For GitLab self-managed, create a [GitLab deploy token](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/deploy_tokens) with read\_repository access, and include it in the package URL as follows: ```json "package-name": "git+https://:@//.git" ``` For Bitbucket, create a [Bitbucket access token](https://support.atlassian.com/bitbucket-cloud/docs/access-tokens/) with "read" access to the repository, and include it in the package URL as follows: ```json "package-name": "git+https://x-token-auth:@bitbucket.org//.git"" ``` ## Other package registries To use private packages from registries other than npm such as Github, add the contents of your `.npmrc` file as an [Environment Variable](https://vercel.com/docs/concepts/projects/environment-variables) to your project from the Vercel dashboard. This can be found by selecting the project, and viewing the general tab under the project settings. Select the desired [Environments](https://vercel.com/docs/concepts/projects/environment-variables#environments) and add the key `NPM_RC` with the contents of your `.npmrc` file as the **Value**. If your `.npmrc` contains multiple lines we recommend using [Vercel CLI](https://vercel.com/docs/cli/env) to ensure line breaks are preserved: ```bash vc env add NPM_RC [environment] < /path/to/.npmrc ``` Note that when `NPM_RC` and `NPM_TOKEN` are both present, `NPM_RC` will take precedence. Furthermore, Vercel Runtimes are installed from the canonical npm registry so [`registry.npmjs.org`](http://registry.npmjs.org/) must be one of the lines in your `.npmrc` file: ```bash registry=https://registry.npmjs.org @NAMESPACE:registry=https://npm.pkg.github.com/PACKAGENAME //registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=TOKEN_FOR_NPM //npm.pkg.github.com/PACKAGENAME/:_authToken=TOKEN_FOR_GITHUB ``` ## How this Works At build time, Vercel will dynamically create a `.npmrc` file and then install your dependencies from `package.json`. This allows you access to private packages without having to commit your own `.npmrc` file to source control.