How to npm audit global packages

# Without installing the package locally, using npx
npx npm-check-updates -g

# otherwise, install and update on occasion 
npm install -g npm-check-updates

# Then check outdated global packages:
ncu -g        

I found an answer to your question:

1. go to your global npm folder
2. npm init just keep pressing enter to the questions, or npm init -y so it is populated with default values. That'll give you a package.json that npm audit needs and automatically add what's in your node_modules to it.
3. npm i --package-lock-only will install if needed and add package-lock.json (required by npm audit).
4. run npm audit :)

To find your global npm folder just run npm it'll print it out at the end.

It's good to keep them up-to-date.

That's not really auditing, but with few as possible global packages, this should be fine enough.

there is npm-check-updates or alternatively npm-check

npm install -g npm-check-updates

check outdated global packages:

ncu -g        

OR

as recommended by @pldg via npx

npx npm-check-updates -g

OR

as recommended by @wheredidthatnamecomefrom

npx npm-global-audit

this is a script running with yarn. it does a temporary copy of your current global packages. see more on their github.