Feature request: Avoid loading linked modules multiple times

We run into the following issue with quite a large dependency tree:

When linking packages with npm link that share a dependency, Browserify loads the module twice because they are in different paths. This leads to various problems from multiple socket connections to instanceof not working anymore.

It would be great if Browserify could consider the package.json’s name / version to detect this case.

Thanks!

[ericsoco]

Finally found a reusable solution to the problem of duplicated deps when npm linking, and it’s not specific to any build tool: http://stackoverflow.com/a/36464203/222356

In short, remove secondary dependencies from the npm linked module, add your downstream project’s node_modules to NODE_PATH, and resolve secondary dependencies in your downstream project.

e.g. NODE_PATH=$(pwd)/node_modules/ npm start

Curious to hear your thoughts.

[oztune]

I found the solution @ericsoco suggested to work perfectly without requiring any project changes.

For future readers, to make this fit into our existing workflow I put together a node module you may find useful and save you some keystrokes: https://github.com/oztune/gn