How to fix npm ERR! code EMLINK npm ERR! EMLINK: too many links in npm

Start with a clean slate by removing cached data and installed modules. This eliminates corruption from previous failed installs.

npm cache clean --force
rm -rf node_modules
rm -f package-lock.json

On Windows, use these commands instead:

npm cache clean --force
rmdir /s /q node_modules
del package-lock.json

Before reinstalling, verify there are no broken symlinks. Look for symlinks that point to themselves or create circular references.

On macOS/Linux:

find . -type l -exec sh -c 'file "$1" | grep -q "broken" && echo "$1"' _ {} \;

This shows all broken symlinks. Remove any found in your project directory:

rm -f path/to/broken/symlink

On Windows, use a file explorer tool or PowerShell to inspect junction/symlink targets.

Network filesystems and shared storage often have lower hard link limits. Configure npm to copy dependencies instead of symlinking them.

Create or edit .npmrc in your project root:

install-links=false

Or run npm install with the flag:

npm install --install-links=false

Note: This applies to npm v9+. For older versions, use --no-bin-links (though this only affects binary links, not all symlinks).

Now that you've cleaned up, reinstall with a verbose flag to see exactly where the error occurs if it happens again.

npm install --verbose

If the error persists, the output will show the exact package/path causing the issue. Note this for the next step.

If you use local file references in package.json (e.g., "dependency": "file:../local-package"), these create symlinks that can hit limits. Convert them to copies instead:

In package.json, change:

"mypackage": "file:../mypackage"

To use npm pack instead:

cd ../mypackage
npm pack
cd ../myapp
npm install ../mypackage/mypackage-1.0.0.tgz

This creates a tarball copy instead of a symlink, avoiding link limit issues.