How to fix npm ERR! code ECONNRESET npm ERR! network tunneling socket could not be established in npm

First, inspect what proxy settings npm currently has configured:

# View all npm config
npm config list

# Check specific proxy settings
npm config get proxy
npm config get https-proxy

Also check for environment variables:

# Linux/macOS
echo $HTTP_PROXY
echo $HTTPS_PROXY
echo $http_proxy
echo $https_proxy

# Windows (Command Prompt)
echo %HTTP_PROXY%
echo %HTTPS_PROXY%

If you see proxy values but you're not behind a proxy, that's likely the problem.

If you're not behind a corporate proxy, remove any proxy configuration:

# Remove npm proxy settings
npm config delete proxy
npm config delete https-proxy

# Also remove http-proxy if set
npm config delete http-proxy

Clear environment variables for the current session:

# Linux/macOS
unset HTTP_PROXY
unset HTTPS_PROXY
unset http_proxy
unset https_proxy

# Windows (Command Prompt)
set HTTP_PROXY=
set HTTPS_PROXY=

Then retry your npm command.

If you ARE behind a corporate proxy, configure npm with the correct settings:

# Set proxy (use http:// even for https-proxy)
npm config set proxy http://proxy.company.com:8080
npm config set https-proxy http://proxy.company.com:8080

If your proxy requires authentication:

npm config set proxy http://username:[email protected]:8080
npm config set https-proxy http://username:[email protected]:8080

Important: Use http:// (not https://) as the protocol for both proxy settings, even for https-proxy. The proxy connection itself uses HTTP; only the tunneled traffic is HTTPS.

Note: If your password contains special characters like @, :, or %, you need to URL-encode them (e.g., @ becomes %40).

Test if you can reach the npm registry through your proxy:

# Test direct connection to npm registry
curl -v https://registry.npmjs.org/

# Test through proxy
curl -v --proxy http://proxy.company.com:8080 https://registry.npmjs.org/

If curl works but npm doesn't, the issue is likely in npm's configuration. If curl also fails, the problem is with the proxy or network.

You can also try accessing https://registry.npmjs.org in your browser to verify the registry is accessible.

If SSL/TLS issues are causing the problem, you can temporarily switch to HTTP:

npm config set registry http://registry.npmjs.org/

Warning: Using HTTP instead of HTTPS is less secure and should only be used for debugging. Switch back to HTTPS once the issue is resolved:

npm config set registry https://registry.npmjs.org/

Some corporate proxies perform SSL inspection, which can cause certificate errors. If you trust your network, you can disable strict SSL:

npm config set strict-ssl false

You might also need to set the CA certificate to null:

npm config set cafile null

Security Warning: Disabling SSL verification makes you vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. Only use this in trusted corporate environments and re-enable when possible:

npm config set strict-ssl true
npm config delete cafile

Cached data can sometimes cause connection issues. Clear the cache:

npm cache clean --force

Then delete node_modules and package-lock.json if needed:

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

npm reads configuration from multiple .npmrc files. Check all locations for conflicting settings:

# Project-level
cat .npmrc

# User-level
cat ~/.npmrc

# Global
cat /etc/npmrc  # Linux/macOS
# or
type %APPDATA%\npm\etc\npmrc  # Windows

Remove or comment out any conflicting proxy settings in these files.

On Windows 10/11, automatic proxy detection can interfere with npm:

1. Open Settings > Network & Internet > Proxy
2. Turn off Automatically detect settings
3. If you need a proxy, configure it manually instead

After changing these settings, restart your terminal and try npm again.