How to fix npm ERR! code ENOFILES npm ERR! No files to pack in npm

Verify your built files actually exist:

# Run the build
npm run build

# Check output directory exists
ls -la dist/
# or
ls -la lib/

If dist/ is empty or missing, your build step failed or wasn't run.

The simplest fix—create an empty .npmignore to override .gitignore:

touch .npmignore

When .npmignore exists (even empty), npm ignores .gitignore rules entirely. This allows dist/ to be included even if it's in .gitignore.

Use the files field to explicitly whitelist what to publish:

{
  "name": "my-package",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "files": [
    "dist",
    "lib",
    "README.md"
  ]
}

Important:
- No ./ prefix (use dist, not ./dist)
- Directories include all subdirectories automatically
- package.json and README are auto-included

Ensure build runs automatically before publishing:

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsc --outDir dist",
    "prepublishOnly": "npm run build"
  },
  "files": ["dist"]
}

npm automatically runs prepublishOnly before npm publish, so the build output will exist.

Always verify before publishing:

# Build first
npm run build

# Create tarball
npm pack

# Inspect contents
tar -tzf my-package-1.0.0.tgz

# Extract to verify
tar -xzf my-package-1.0.0.tgz
ls -la package/

If the tarball only contains package.json, your files field or ignore patterns are wrong.

npm v9+ respects nested .gitignore files which can block your files:

# Find all .gitignore files
find . -name ".gitignore" -type f

# Check subdirectory gitignore contents
cat dist/.gitignore

If a nested .gitignore blocks your files, remove it or use .npmignore at root level to override.