Fixing npm Audit Errors When Using npmmirror Registry

Introduction

If you’re using the npmmirror.com registry (Taobao/Alibaba’s npm mirror) and encountering audit errors during package installation, you’re not alone. This is a common issue that stems from the mirror not yet implementing npm’s security audit endpoints.

In this post, I’ll explain why this happens and provide several practical solutions to resolve the issue.

The Problem

When running npm install, you might see an error like this:

HttpErrorGeneral: 404 Not Found - POST https://registry.npmmirror.com/-/npm/v1/security/audits/quick
[NOT_IMPLEMENTED] /-/npm/v1/security/* not implemented yet

This happens because npm automatically runs a security audit after installing packages, but the npmmirror registry hasn’t implemented the /npm/v1/security/* endpoints that npm uses to check for known vulnerabilities.

Why This Happens

The npmmirror registry is a mirror of the official npm registry designed to provide faster package downloads for users in China and other regions. While it mirrors package data excellently, it doesn’t yet support all of npm’s API endpoints, including the security audit functionality.

When npm tries to POST audit data to the mirror’s non-existent audit endpoint, it receives a 404 error, causing the installation process to fail or show errors.

Solutions

Quick Fix: Disable Audit

The fastest solution is to disable npm’s automatic audit feature:

npm set audit false

This tells npm to skip the security audit step entirely. Your packages will install without errors, but you’ll lose automatic vulnerability checking.

Pros:

• Immediate fix with one command
• No more 404 errors during installation
• Installation completes faster

Cons:

• You won’t be notified of security vulnerabilities in your dependencies
• Requires manual security checks

Better Fix: Switch to Official Registry for Audits

You can keep using the mirror for downloads while falling back to the official registry for audits:

# Set the main registry back to npm's official registry
npm config set registry https://registry.npmjs.org/

# If you still want faster downloads, use a proxy or VPN

Alternatively, configure npm to use the mirror only for specific scopes:

# Use official registry by default
npm config set registry https://registry.npmjs.org/

# Use mirror for specific scopes (if needed)
npm config set @company:registry https://registry.npmmirror.com/

Compromise: Disable Auto-Audit, Run Manually

Disable automatic audits but run them manually when needed:

# Disable automatic audit
npm set audit false

# When you want to check for vulnerabilities, run:
npm audit --registry https://registry.npmjs.org/

This approach gives you control over when audits run and ensures they use the official registry’s audit endpoint.

Checking Your Current Configuration

To see which registry you’re using:

npm config get registry

To see all npm configuration:

npm config list

Re-enabling Audit Later

If you’ve disabled audit and want to re-enable it:

npm set audit true

Or simply remove the configuration:

npm config delete audit

The Bottom Line

While disabling audit (npm set audit false) is the quickest fix, it’s worth considering whether you need the security checking that npm audit provides. For production applications, running periodic manual audits or switching back to the official registry might be the safer long-term approach.

If you’re using npmmirror primarily for speed, consider whether the performance benefit outweighs the inconvenience of missing audit functionality, or explore alternative solutions like caching proxies that maintain full npm API compatibility.

Conclusion

In this post, I’ve explained the npm audit error that occurs when using the npmmirror registry and provided multiple solutions ranging from quick fixes to more secure approaches. Choose the solution that best fits your needs and security requirements.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading!