Allow script-shell config in package.json

accepted/0000-package-json-script-shell-config.md

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# Allow [`script-shell`] config in `package.json`
+
+## Summary
+
+Add the ability to configure [`script-shell`] directly in `package.json`.
+
+## Motivation
+
+It would be useful to be able to specify the [`script-shell`] config option somewhere in `package.json`, without having to have a separate one-line `.npmrc` just for this.
+
+## Detailed Explanation
+
+Following on from https://github.com/npm/npm/issues/20336, and as mentioned in https://github.com/npm/npm/pull/16687#issuecomment-315263454, this is a simple proposal to allow [`script-shell`] to be configured directly in `package.json`. Currently this option can be set in `.npmrc`, but this forces an extra file which otherwise might not be necessary.
+
+~~~ ini
+# .npmrc
+script-shell = /bin/bash
+~~~
+
+## Rationale and Alternatives
+
+The ability to configure the [`script-shell`] option in `package.json` would alleviate the need to have a separate one-line `.npmrc` just for this. Additionally, being able to configure a different [`script-shell`] based on the platform, perhaps mirroring the [`os` key], would also be useful.
+
+## Implementation
+
+Something like:
+~~~ js
+// package.json
+"script-shell": "/bin/bash",
+// or
+"script-shell": {
+  "!win32": "/bin/bash",
+  "win32": "c:\Program Files\git\bin\bash.exe"
+},
+~~~
+
+## Unresolved Questions and Bikeshedding
+
+The config option could alternatively be defined under the [`scripts`] object:
+~~~ js
+// package.json
+"scripts": {
+  "shell": "/bin/bash",
+  // or
+  "shell": {
+    "!win32": "/bin/bash",
+    "win32": "c:\Program Files\git\bin\bash.exe"
+  }
+},
+~~~
+
+[`os` key]:       https://docs.npmjs.com/files/package.json#os
+[`script-shell`]: https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/run-script#description
+[`scripts`]:      https://docs.npmjs.com/files/package.json#scripts