Replace .npmignore with explicit `files: [ 'lib/' ]` in package.json?

[dominykas]

Call this OCD, but having one less file in the root folder makes me happier, and this feels a little more explicit?

[devinivy]

While I don't think that one approach is definitely better than the other, I do prefer the .npmignore file because it works well, I would rather not update all the repositories, and it is in parity with .eslintignore and .gitignore ignoring mechanisms. I also have seen issues when folks are too explicit in files and end-up not publishing some files that they actually intended to—I would rather publish some project files that I did not intend to (e.g. tests/docs) than have a broken version out there. That said, I do think it's primarily a matter of opinion/style, and I will be happy to go with the flow if others prefer it.

[Marsup]

I've been looking at the differences, and there seems to be none. That's basically merging those files with no obvious win. I never minded the extra file and I fail to see how this is more explicit, except for the fact that a blacklist (that we're using as a whitelist) would become a "true" whitelist.

PS: The documentation of that feature is not that good on npmjs.com, https://github.com/npm/npm/wiki/Files-and-Ignores is better in regards to usable patterns.

[hueniverse]

I like less files. If this option was available when we added all those ugly ignore files, I would have voted for this new option. That said, I think this is one thing we can allow maintainers to decide on their own.