[BUG] `npm ci` lists `npm install` flags that don't work for `npm ci`

[richardebeling]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

This issue exists in the latest npm version

• I am using the latest npm

Current Behavior

$ npm ci --global
npm ERR! code ECIGLOBAL
npm ERR! `npm ci` does not work for global packages

Expected Behavior

The documentation says that the global flag is allowed:

Operates in "global" mode, so that packages are installed into the prefix folder instead of the current working directory. See folders for more on the differences in behavior.

• packages are installed into the {prefix}/lib/node_modules folder, instead of the current working directory.
• bin files are linked to {prefix}/bin
• man pages are linked to {prefix}/share/man

Steps To Reproduce

1. execute npm ci -g.

Environment

The code raising the error is here:

cli/lib/commands/ci.js

Lines 18 to 22 in 1c3612c

	if (this.npm.global) {
	throw Object.assign(new Error('`npm ci` does not work for global packages'), {
	code: 'ECIGLOBAL',
	})
	}

and there are tests for this:

cli/test/lib/commands/ci.js

Lines 184 to 189 in 1c3612c

	t.test('should throw ECIGLOBAL', async t => {
	const { npm } = await loadMockNpm(t, {
	config: { global: true },
	})
	await t.rejects(npm.exec('ci', []), { code: 'ECIGLOBAL' })
	})

so I guess my environment doesn't matter here.

[ljharb]

npm ci only makes sense with a lockfile, and there isn't a global lockfile, so it shouldn't work.

[richardebeling]

From the documentation, I would have expected it to use the lockfile in the current working directory.

[ljharb]

That would be npm ci, then, since -g explicitly means "global, not the current working directory".