Is there a way to install npm packages into target directory?

Even using the configuration specified in the readme the node_modules folder is created at the package.json level:

<execution>
    <id>npm install</id>
    <goals>
        <goal>npm</goal>
    </goals>
    <configuration>
        <arguments>install</arguments>
        <installDirectory>target</installDirectory>
    </configuration>
</execution>

Is it possible to install these packages into a different directory in a smart way (as example without to copy the package.json into such folder)?

[hwellmann]

That still doesn’t answer the original question.

From the Maven point of view, package.json is a source file, whereas node_modules/** is derived, and any derived files should be somewhere under target instead of polluting src or the base directory.

So it doesn’t really matter what the default behaviour of npm is, the question is if this default can or should be overridden by frontend-maven-plugin so that the npm build step behaves like a good citizen in Maven land.

[Nashorn]

What a serious drawback of the NPM architecture, installing any and everything into a hardcoded “node_modules” folder. Thats just shi* design.

How nice it would of been to declare each dependency in package.json, pointing to it’s own target directory?