Version number matching in npm is powerful and flexible. The same sort of version specifiers used in package.json dependencies can also be used with the npm install command:

$ npm install package-name@tag
$ npm install package-name@version
$ npm install package-name@version-range

The last two are what they sound like. You can specify express@4.16.2 to target a precise version, or express@">4.1.0 < 5.0" to  target a range of Express V4 versions.

The version match specifiers include these choices:

• Exact version match: 1.2.3
• At least version N: >1.2.3
• Up to version N: <1.2.3
• Between two releases: >=1.2.3 <1.3.0

The @tag attribute is a symbolic name such as @latest, @stable, or @canary. The package owner assigns these symbolic names to specific version numbers, and can reassign them as desired. The exception is @latest, which is updated whenever a new release of the package is published.

For more documentation, run these commands: npm help json and npm help npm-dist-tag.