npm package list puzzle.md

Here's a puzzle to noodle on:

Let's say package.json contains this:

{
  "files": [
    "lib",
    "!lib/one",
    "lib/two"
  ]
}

Files in lib/ are: .npmignore, one, two, tre

The file at lib/.npmignore contains:

two

Which files will be included in the package?

• 🅰️: lib/two, lib/tre, package.json
• 🅱️: lib/tre, lib/.npmignore, package.json

(Please don't look it up, the point of the exercise is to gauge expectations.)

Argument for 🅰️:

The package.json file specifies what files are to be included. This supersedes any ignore files found throughout the tree.

Argument for 🅱️:

There's an ignore file right there! It says to ignore two, so two should be ignored.

Where this landed: https://github.com/npm/npm-packlist/pulls

I'm somewhat leaning towards 🅰️ for a slightly different reason.

I don't publish NPM packages, so I suppose my opinion doesn't matter too much, but I read files array "sequentially" and being processed in the following;

1. We include lib, its a directory, its got an ignore file, lets do (all files) then subtract the .npmignore.
2. Specifically remove a file.
3. Specifically include a file, its a file. So lets ignore the .npmignore