How to use npm installed package in laravel application?

Stefan Bogdanescu

Founder & Senior Architect · 2026-06-29

Laravel Company
# How to Use npm Installed Packages in Your Laravel Application: The Asset Integration Guide As senior developers working within the Laravel ecosystem, we frequently encounter the need to integrate third-party tools and libraries that are managed via npm. Installing a package like `select2` using `npm install select2` places the necessary files into your `node_modules` directory. The immediate question then becomes: how do we tell our Laravel application—specifically our Blade views—where to find these JavaScript and CSS assets? This guide will walk you through the correct, modern approach to integrating npm packages into a Laravel project, moving beyond simple file system referencing to leverage Laravel’s powerful asset compilation pipeline. ## The Problem with Direct Referencing When you install a package via npm, the files reside deep within `node_modules`. Attempting to reference these paths directly in your Blade file (e.g., ` ``` ## Conclusion Integrating npm packages like `select2` into a Laravel application is fundamentally about respecting the framework's established asset pipeline rather than fighting it. By using your bundler (Mix or Vite) as the intermediary, you delegate the complex task of dependency resolution and file bundling to specialized tools. This ensures that your application remains clean, optimized, and adheres to modern development standards. Always prioritize compiling assets through Laravel’s structure; this is the most robust path forward for any project built on the foundation provided by [laravelcompany.com](https://laravelcompany.com).