Use bun link in a local directory to register the current package as a "linkable" package.

cd /path/to/cool-pkg
cat package.json
bun link

bun link v1.3.3 (7416672e)
Success! Registered "cool-pkg"

To use cool-pkg in a project, run:
  bun link cool-pkg

Or add it in dependencies in your package.json file:
  "cool-pkg": "link:cool-pkg"

You can now "link" this package into other projects using bun link cool-pkg. This command creates a symlink in the target project's node_modules directory pointing to the local directory.

cd /path/to/my-app
bun link cool-pkg

The --save flag also adds cool-pkg to the dependencies field of your app's package.json, with a version specifier that tells Bun to load from the registered local directory instead of installing from npm:

package.json

{
  "name": "my-app",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "dependencies": {
    "cool-pkg": "link:cool-pkg" // [!code ++]
  }
}

Unlinking

Use bun unlink in the root directory to unregister a local package.

cd /path/to/cool-pkg
bun unlink

bun unlink v1.3.3 (7416672e)
success: unlinked package "cool-pkg"

CLI Usage

bun link <packages>

Installation Scope

--global boolean

Install globally. Alias: -g

Dependency Management

--production boolean

Don't install devDependencies. Alias: -p

--omit string

Exclude dev, optional, or peer dependencies from install

Project Files & Lockfiles

--yarn boolean

Write a yarn.lock file (yarn v1). Alias: -y

--frozen-lockfile boolean

Disallow changes to lockfile

--save-text-lockfile boolean

Save a text-based lockfile

--lockfile-only boolean

Generate a lockfile without installing dependencies

--no-save boolean

Has no effect. bun link updates package.json and the lockfile only with --save

--save boolean

Save to package.json

--trust boolean

Add to trustedDependencies in the project's package.json and install the package(s)

Installation Control

--force boolean

Always request the latest versions from the registry & reinstall all dependencies. Alias: -f

--no-verify boolean

Skip verifying integrity of newly downloaded packages

--backend string

Platform-specific optimizations for installing dependencies. One of clonefile, hardlink,{" "} symlink, or copyfile

--linker string

Linker strategy (one of isolated or hoisted)

--dry-run boolean

With bun link <package>, resolve but don't install packages, update package.json, or save a lockfile. Has no effect on bare bun link, which still registers the current package

--ignore-scripts boolean

Skip lifecycle scripts for all packages, including the project's package.json and trusted dependencies

Network & Registry

--ca string

Provide a Certificate Authority signing certificate

--cafile string

Same as --ca, but as a file path to the certificate

--registry string

Use a specific registry by default, overriding .npmrc, bunfig.toml, and environment variables

--network-concurrency number default: 48

Maximum number of concurrent network requests

Performance & Resource

--concurrent-scripts number

Maximum number of concurrent jobs for lifecycle scripts (default: 2x CPU cores)

Caching

--cache-dir string

Store & load cached data from a specific directory path

--no-cache boolean

Ignore manifest cache entirely

Output & Logging

--silent boolean

Don't log anything

--quiet boolean

Disable the progress bar

--verbose boolean

Excessively verbose logging

--no-progress boolean

Disable the progress bar

--no-summary boolean

Don't print a summary

Platform Targeting

--cpu string

Override CPU architecture for optional dependencies (e.g., x64, arm64, * for all)

--os string

Override operating system for optional dependencies (e.g., linux, darwin, * for all)

Global Configuration & Context

--config string

Specify path to config file (bunfig.toml). Alias: -c

--cwd string

Set a specific current working directory

Help

--help boolean

Print this help menu. Alias: -h