How to fix npm ERR! code EAUTHUNKNOWN npm ERR! Unable to parse authentication config from .npmrc in npm | DevErrors

How to fix "npm ERR! code EAUTHUNKNOWN npm ERR! Unable to parse authentication config from .npmrc"

1Verify your .npmrc file syntax

Locate and inspect your .npmrc file:

bash

cat ~/.npmrc

Verify the syntax matches this correct format:

bash

registry=https://your-registry.com
//your-registry.com:_authToken=your-token-here

2Scope authentication credentials (npm v8+)

If using npm v8 or newer, all auth values must be scoped:

Before (won't work in npm v8+):

bash

_authToken=your-token-here

After (npm v8+):

bash

//private-registry.com:_authToken=your-token-here

3Remove deprecated global auth fields

npm v8+ warns about unscoped auth. Remove any global auth settings:

bash

npm config delete _auth
npm config delete _authToken
npm config delete always-auth

4Regenerate your authentication token

The token may be expired. For npm:

bash

npm logout
npm login

For Azure DevOps:

bash

npx vsts-npm-auth -config .npmrc

5Verify registry URL protocol consistency

Ensure .npmrc and package-lock.json use matching protocols:

bash

grep -i 'registry' ~/.npmrc
grep -i 'registry' package-lock.json | head -5

Both should use the same protocol (http vs https).

6Clean install with corrected configuration

Once fixed, perform a clean install:

bash

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

How to fix npm ERR! code EAUTHUNKNOWN npm ERR! Unable to parse authentication config from .npmrc in npm