How to fix npm ERR! code E402 npm ERR! 402 Payment Required - This package requires a paid npm subscription in npm

If your scoped package should be public, the most direct fix is to include the --access flag when publishing:

npm publish --access=public

This tells npm registry that despite the package being scoped, it should be publicly available.

To avoid needing the flag every time, configure your package.json to default to public:

{
  "name": "@your-scope/package-name",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "publishConfig": {
    "access": "public"
  }
}

This ensures that all future publishes default to public access without requiring the CLI flag.

If you're installing private packages or have a legitimate need for private scope packages, verify your npm organization account has active billing:

1. Go to https://www.npmjs.com/settings/your-org/billing
2. Check that your subscription is active and payment method is valid
3. Update billing information if needed
4. Run npm install again after confirming billing is active

If you're attempting to install private packages in CI/CD, ensure your authentication token has the correct permissions:

npm whoami

# For CI/CD, set the token in .npmrc
echo "//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=YOUR_TOKEN_HERE" >> ~/.npmrc

Make sure the token has read-write access for private packages, not just read-only access.

If you don't need to use a scoped package name and don't have an npm organization account, rename your package to remove the scope:

{
  "name": "my-package-name",
  "version": "1.0.0"
}

Unscoped packages are public by default. Rename your package to reflect this change, and publish without the scope prefix.