# npx does not perform a permanent installation, but does perform a temporary download (actual installation) for execution.

I was aware that npx can be executed without installing any packages, so

Need to install the following packages:
  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ok to proceed? (y) y

When I saw the phrase, I was wondering what it meant, so I decided to look into what it meant.

Strictly speaking, it is temporarily installed (downloaded).

Can be run without installing packages

This is a common explanation for npx, so I took it literally, but apparently the context was a little different from what I expected.

Not permanently added to node_modules directory

It seems that it is not added as a dependency to package.json like normal npm i, nor is it registered in the system as a globally available command.

Automatically cleaned up or cached after execution

Packages downloaded by npx are typically automatically deleted after the command completes execution, or cached for faster execution next time, without continuing to take up disk space or requiring manual uninstallation.

In other words, npx does not perform a permanent installation, but does perform a temporary download (actual installation) for execution.