# the-internet: about two thousand npm dependencies, and a README that warns you

> A JavaScript package whose entire content is its dependency list, pulling in around two thousand of the most requested modules on npm, installable only from a git URL because it cannot live on the registry, with a usage section that says there is none and a test script that exits non-zero on purpose.

**tholman/the-internet** — Basically the internet (or most important parts) in a module.

- Repository: https://github.com/tholman/the-internet
- Stars: 51 · Forks: 0
- Language: JavaScript
- License: not declared
- Published: 2026-08-17 · Updated: 2026-08-18 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/tholman-the-internet

## The opening line is a warning, not a pitch

The README begins: more or less, the internet. Then the disclaimer arrives immediately, in the author's own voice, that he probably would not try to install this if he were you, and that if you were leaving the internet, or society behind it, it would not hurt, but that this is an edge case. The repository description says the same thing more plainly, that it is basically the internet, or the most important parts, in a module. So the framing is set before any technical detail appears: this is a joke project whose joke is its dependency list, and the documentation is careful to tell you that before you read anything else.

## Installation is a git URL, because it cannot live on the registry

There is one documented install command:

```bash
npm install git://github.com/tholman/the-internet.git
```

The reason it is not a normal package name is given immediately after, with a shrug: sadly, this can't exist on the npm registry, because, well. That is the whole of the installation section, and it has a practical consequence for anyone testing it. Installing from a git URL resolves the manifest at install time rather than from a published lockfile, so the set of packages you actually get depends on when you run the command rather than on what the author saw.

## The usage section says there is none, and then adds a warning

Usage is documented in two sentences: none really, but after installing, you'll have a literal ton of packages to deal with. That is more informative than it sounds. The module has no documented entry point beyond what package.json declares, and the honest cost of installing it is the dependency tree rather than an API. The main field points at src/index.js and the tree holds a src directory, so there is a file to look at, but the documentation does not describe what calling it does, and the author is candid that there is no usage to describe.

## The manifest is the project, and it runs to around two thousand entries

The FAQ answers the obvious question directly: the-internet depends upon around 2000 of the most required npm packages, and the author adds that it seemed fitting. The visible portion of package.json matches the tone, listing lodash, async, underscore, request, commander, express, debug, chalk, q, colors, mkdirp, coffee-script, bluebird, through2, moment, yeoman-generator, optimist, glob, gulp-util, minimist, cheerio, node-uuid, jade, redis, fs-extra, socket.io, body-parser, winston, uglify-js, jquery, handlebars, through, rimraf, yosay, semver and mime, among the rest. It is the dependency list of a decade of Node development collected into one manifest, which is exactly what the joke is.

## Every version is the word latest, so nothing is pinned

One detail in that manifest matters more than any other for anyone who runs it. Every dependency visible in the file is specified as latest rather than as a version or a range, and there is no lockfile in the tree, which holds only a README, package.json and src. So the manifest does not record what the author installed in 2015, and your install will pull whatever each project considers current. That is the practical version of the README's own warning about a literal ton of packages, and it is also why the joke ages unevenly: the count of dependencies stays fixed while the packages behind it drift.

## The FAQ is three questions and three short answers

The rest of the documentation is a question and answer section that does not pretend otherwise. What is all this about? It depends upon around 2000 of the most required npm packages, and it seemed fitting. Why would I do this? It seemed like a good idea at the time. And the one everybody actually asks, after trying to install it: why would you do this to me? The answer is two words, I am sorry. There is no configuration section, no API reference and no troubleshooting notes anywhere in the document, and for a project of this kind that absence is the design rather than an oversight.

## The one engineering detail is a test script that fails on purpose

The package metadata is otherwise conventional: name the-internet, version 1.0.0, MIT licensed, authored by Tim Holman, with keywords that read the internet, internet, everything and god mode, and a homepage pointing at the repository itself. The single script is the test one, and it is worth reading because it is the only piece of engineering in the file. It echoes that no test is specified and then exits 1, so running the test suite on this package fails by design rather than silently passing as an empty stub would. Repository state: the default branch is master, there are no GitHub releases, and the last commit is dated November 23, 2017.

## Conclusion

Install this if you want to see what a two-thousand-package dependency graph looks like on your machine, or if you are writing a talk about npm and need a concrete artefact. It is not a utility: the README states there is no usage, the author says he would not install it himself, and nothing in the manifest records a working version of anything. Before you try it in a shared environment, read the version specifiers, because every dependency is written as latest, and note the last commit is dated November 23, 2017, so resolution today is not what it was then.

## FAQ

### how to install the internet in this repository?

With `npm install git://github.com/tholman/the-internet.git`. The README notes it cannot exist on the npm registry, which is why a git URL is used, and it warns that after installing you will have a literal ton of packages to deal with.

### What does the-internet actually do?

Nothing practical. The usage section says none really, and the FAQ explains the module exists because it depends upon around 2000 of the most required npm packages, which the author says seemed fitting.

### Why is the-internet not published on npm?

The README says sadly this can't exist on the npm registry, because, well. There is no further explanation, and the project carries no registry page to inspect.

### How many dependencies does the-internet declare?

Around 2000, according to the FAQ. Every dependency visible in package.json is written with the version latest, and the repository has no lockfile, so the manifest does not record a specific set of versions.

## Sources

- [Official README](https://github.com/tholman/the-internet#readme)
- [Project repository](https://github.com/tholman/the-internet)
- [README](https://github.com/tholman/the-internet/blob/master/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/tholman/the-internet/releases)

---

Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/tholman-the-internet