[DOCS] npm ls --depth default is 0 not 1

[MikeMcC399]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

This is a CLI Docs Problem, not another kind of Docs Problem.

• This is a CLI Docs Problem.

Description of Problem

When using npm ls, with no depth option specified, the output is the same as when npm ls --depth=0 is specified. The documentation npm ls --depth however states that the default depth is 1, not 0:

depth

• Default: Infinity if --all is set, otherwise 1
• Type: null or Number

The depth to go when recursing packages for npm ls.

If not set, npm ls will show only the immediate dependencies of the root project. If --all is set, then npm will show all dependencies by default.

Steps to reproduce

Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS, Node.js v22.12.0 LTS
npm v10.9.2

git clone https://github.com/npm/cli
cd cli
git checkout v10.9.2
npm ci
npm install npm@latest -g
npm -v
npm ls | wc -l
npm ls --depth=0 | wc -l
npm ls --depth=1 | wc -l
npm ls --depth=2 | wc -l

Results

Line count resulting from running npm ls --depth=n against https://github.com/npm/cli tag v10.9.2

npm ls --depth=n	Line count
unspecified	276
0	276
1	592
2	1086

Potential Solution

Change the documented default depth for npm ls --depth from 1 to 0

Affected URL

https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v10/commands/npm-ls#depth

[MikeMcC399]

Confirmed that this issue also applies to npm@11.0.0

Documentation link https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v11/commands/npm-ls#depth

Results of running npm ls --depth=n using npm@latest (11.0.0) are the same.