Node Package Manager (NPM) is the go-to tool for managing packages and modules in Node.js. But did you know that there's a whole trove of lesser-known NPM commands that can make your life as a developer much easier?

In this article, we'll take a look at 20 of the most useful, yet often overlooked NPM commands. These hidden gems are sure to save you time and make your development process smoother.

• npm link Creates a global symbolic link, allowing you to use a package you're developing locally as if it was globally installed.

• npm prune Removes extraneous packages that are no longer listed as dependencies in your package.json file.

• npm dedupe Searches your project's dependencies for duplicates and eliminates them, reducing the size of your node_modules directory.

• npm ls Shows a tree view of your installed packages and their dependencies.

• npm prefix Displays the path to the global installation directory for NPM packages.

• npm config edit Opens the NPM configuration file in your default text editor, allowing you to make changes to your NPM settings.

• npm bin Shows the path to the bin directory where your globally installed packages are stored.

• npm root Displays the path to the root of your current project's dependencies.

• npm shrinkwrap Locks down the versions of your project's dependencies, ensuring that your project can be recreated in an identical state at a later time.

• npm help [command] Shows information and usage instructions for a specific NPM command.

• npm docs [package-name] Opens the documentation for a specific package in your default browser.

• npm repo [package-name] Opens the GitHub repository for a specific package in your default browser.

• npm whoami Shows the username you're currently logged in with on the NPM registry.

• npm fund Shows information about the funding and financial status of a specific package.

• npm explore [package-name] Opens the directory for a specific package in your default file explorer.

• npm issue [package-name] Opens the issues page for a specific package in your default browser.

• npm bugs [package-name] Alias for npm issue [package-name].

• npm test [package-name] Runs the tests for a specific package.

• npm run-script [script-name] Alias for npm run [script-name].

• npm config delete [key] Deletes a specific configuration option for NPM.

And there you have it! With these 20 lesser-known NPM commands, you're now equipped to take your Node.js development to the next level. Happy Coding!