# Cannot Exclude parent node\_modules directory

**URL:** <https://forum.serverless.com/t/cannot-exclude-parent-node-modules-directory/20844>\
**Category:** Serverless Framework\
**Created:** [December 10, 2024, 8:04am UTC](https://forum.serverless.com/t/cannot-exclude-parent-node-modules-directory/20844 "2024-12-10T08:04:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![hun-meta](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/forum.serverless.com/hun-meta/32/8198_2.png) [@hun-meta](https://forum.serverless.com/u/hun-meta)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 8:04am UTC](https://forum.serverless.com/t/cannot-exclude-parent-node-modules-directory/20844/1 "2024-12-10T08:04:21Z")

</div>

I’m using the Serverless Framework to deploy an API Gateway and AWS Lambda functions together.

Yesterday, I successfully deployed 6 Lambda functions using a single `serverless.yaml` file located in the parent directory of the individual Lambda npm projects. Each function’s package size was between 500 KB and 5 MB, depending on the function.

However, when I tried deploying the same setup today, I noticed that all the functions now include the `node_modules` directory from the parent directory, even though the functions don’t use it. This has significantly increased the package size for each Lambda function.

The directories and the `serverless.yaml` file haven’t changed since yesterday, so I’m unsure why this is happening. How can I exclude the `node_modules` directory from the parent directory during deployment?

Here’s the `serverless.yaml` file I’m using (located at `project-lambdas/serverless.yaml`).

```auto
service: projects

frameworkVersion: '4'

provider:
  name: aws
  runtime: nodejs20.x
  region: ap-northeast-2 # seoul
  role: ${self:custom.ENV.ARN.lambdaRole}
  stage: ${opt:stage, 'dev'}
  vpc:
    securityGroupIds: ${self:custom.ENV.VPC.securityGroupIds}
    subnetIds: ${self:custom.ENV.VPC.subnetIds}

package:
  individually: true
  excludeDevDependencies: true

functions:
  user-auth:
    handler: api-user-auth-ts/src/lambda.handler
    memorySize: 512
    timeout: 15
    package:
      include:
        - api-user-auth-ts/**
      exclude:
        - ../node_modules/**
    events:
      - http:
          path: /
          method: get
      - http:
          path: api/user-auth
          method: get
      - http:
          path: api/user-auth/{proxy+}
          method: any

  community:
    handler: api-community-ts/src/lambda.handler
    memorySize: 512
    timeout: 15
    package:
      include:
        - api-community-ts/**
      exclude:
        - ../node_modules/**
    events:
      - http:
          path: api/community
          method: get
      - http:
          path: api/community/{proxy+}
          method: any

  id-generator:
    handler: lambdas/id-generator/src/lambda.handler
    memorySize: 256
    package:
      include:
        - lambdas/id-generator/**
      exclude:
        - ../node_modules/**

  ncp-mailer:
    handler: lambdas/ncp-mailer/src/lambda.handler
    memorySize: 256
    package:
      include:
        - lambdas/ncp-mailer/**
      exclude:
        - ../node_modules/**

  s3-manager:
    role: ${self:custom.ENV_LAMBDAS.ARN.lambdaRoleS3}
    handler: lambdas/s3-manager/src/lambda.handler
    memorySize: 256
    package:
      include:
        - lambdas/s3-manager/**
      exclude:
        - ../node_modules/**
  token-manager:
    handler: lambdas/token-manager/src/lambda.handler
    memorySize: 256
    package:
      include:
        - lambdas/token-manager/**
      exclude:
        - ../node_modules/**

build:
  esbuild:
    bundle: true
    minify: true
    exclude:
      - 'projects-lambdas/node_modules/**'

# Custom Variables
custom:
  stages:
    - dev
    - qa
    - release
  ENV: ${file(./env.${self:provider.stage}.js):ENV_CONFIG}
  ENV_AUTH: ${file(./api-user-auth-ts/env.${self:provider.stage}.js):ENV_CONFIG}
  ENV_COMMUNITY: ${file(./api-community-ts/env.${self:provider.stage}.js):ENV_CONFIG}
  ENV_LAMBDAS: ${file(./lambdas/env.${self:provider.stage}.js):ENV_CONFIG}

```

To explain directories  
project-lambdas/(npm project to use AWS-SDK when load env.js file)  
└ serverless.yaml  
└ node\_modules/ ← which is include all other function package  
└ api-user-auth-ts/(npm project)  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;└ node\_modules/  
└ api-community-ts/(npm project)  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;└ node\_modules/  
└ lambdas  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;└ id-generator/(npm project)  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;└ node\_modules/  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;└ ncp-mailer/(npm project)  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;└ node\_modules/  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;└ s3-manager/(npm project)  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;└ node\_modules/  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;└ token-manager/(npm project)  
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;└ node\_modules/

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![hun-meta](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/forum.serverless.com/hun-meta/32/8198_2.png) [@hun-meta](https://forum.serverless.com/u/hun-meta)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 8:41am UTC](https://forum.serverless.com/t/cannot-exclude-parent-node-modules-directory/20844/2 "2024-12-10T08:41:06Z")

</div>

the only one way to avoid is “exclude everything in the parent/node\_modules” at the moment…

```auto
build:
  esbuild:
    bundle: true
    minify: true
    exclude:
      - 'aws-sdk'
      - '@aws-crypto'
      - 'balanced-match'
      - 'degenerator'
      - 'for-each'
      - 'immediate'
      - 'jszip'
      - 'pako'
      - 'shebang-command'
      - 'universalify'
      - '@aws-sdk'
      - 'base64-js'
      - 'delayed-stream'
      - 'foreground-child'
      - 'inherits'
      - 'lie'
      - 'param-case'
      - 'shebang-regex'
      - 'update-browserslist-db'
      - '@esbuild'
      - 'basic-ftp'
      - 'desm'
      - 'form-data'
      - 'ip-address'
      - 'loader-runner'
      - 'parse5'
      - 'signal-exit'
      - 'uri-js'
      - '@hapi'
      - 'bowser'
      - 'dot-case'
      - 'formdata-polyfill'
      - 'is-arguments'
      - 'long-timeout'
      - 'pascal-case'
      - 'smart-buffer'
      - 'url'
      - '@isaacs'
      - 'boxen'
      - 'eastasianwidth'
      - 'fs-extra'
      - 'is-callable'
      - 'lower-case'
      - 'path-key'
      - 'socks'
      - 'util'
      - '@jridgewell'
      - 'brace-expansion'
      - 'electron-to-chromium'
      - 'fsevents'
      - 'is-docker'
      - 'lru-cache'
      - 'path-scurry'
      - 'socks-proxy-agent'
      - 'util-deprecate'
      - '@jsep-plugin'
      - 'browserslist'
      - 'emoji-regex'
      - 'function-bind'
      - 'is-fullwidth-code-point'
      - 'luxon'
      - 'picocolors'
      - 'sorted-array-functions'
      - 'uuid'
      - '@pkgjs'
      - 'buffer'
      - 'enhanced-resolve'
      - 'get-intrinsic'
      - 'is-generator-function'
      - 'merge-stream'
      - 'possible-typed-array-names'
      - 'source-map'
      - 'velocityjs'
      - '@smithy'
      - 'buffer-from'
      - 'entities'
      - 'get-stream'
      - 'is-inside-container'
      - 'mime-db'
      - 'process-nextick-args'
      - 'source-map-support'
      - 'watchpack'
      - '@tootallnate'
      - 'call-bind'
      - 'es-define-property'
      - 'get-tsconfig'
      - 'is-stream'
      - 'mime-types'
      - 'proxy-agent'
      - 'sprintf-js'
      - 'web-streams-polyfill'
      - '@types'
      - 'camel-case'
      - 'es-errors'
      - 'get-uri'
      - 'is-typed-array'
      - 'mimic-fn'
      - 'proxy-from-env'
      - 'string-width'
      - 'webpack'
      - '@webassemblyjs'
      - 'camelcase'
      - 'es-module-lexer'
      - 'glob'
      - 'is-wsl'
      - 'minimatch'
      - 'punycode'
      - 'string-width-cjs'
      - 'webpack-sources'
      - '@xtuc'
      - 'caniuse-lite'
      - 'esbuild'
      - 'glob-to-regexp'
      - 'isarray'
      - 'minipass'
      - 'querystring'
      - 'string_decoder'
      - 'which'
      - 'acorn'
      - 'chalk'
      - 'escalade'
      - 'gopd'
      - 'isexe'
      - 'ms'
      - 'randombytes'
      - 'strip-ansi'
      - 'which-typed-array'
      - 'agent-base'
      - 'chrome-trace-event'
      - 'escodegen'
      - 'graceful-fs'
      - 'jackspeak'
      - 'neo-async'
      - 'readable-stream'
      - 'strip-ansi-cjs'
      - 'widest-line'
      - 'ajv'
      - 'clean-css'
      - 'eslint-scope'
      - 'has-flag'
      - 'java-invoke-local'
      - 'netmask'
      - 'relateurl'
      - 'strip-final-newline'
      - 'wrap-ansi'
      - 'ajv-keywords'
      - 'cli-boxes'
      - 'esprima'
      - 'has-property-descriptors'
      - 'jest-worker'
      - 'no-case'
      - 'resolve-pkg-maps'
      - 'strnum'
      - 'wrap-ansi-cjs'
      - 'ansi-align'
      - 'color-convert'
      - 'esrecurse'
      - 'has-proto'
      - 'jmespath'
      - 'node-domexception'
      - 'rimraf'
      - 'supports-color'
      - 'ws'
      - 'ansi-regex'
      - 'color-name'
      - 'estraverse'
      - 'has-symbols'
      - 'jose'
      - 'node-fetch'
      - 'safe-buffer'
      - 'tapable'
      - 'xml2js'
      - 'ansi-styles'
      - 'combined-stream'
      - 'esutils'
      - 'has-tostringtag'
      - 'js-string-escape'
      - 'node-releases'
      - 'sax'
      - 'terser'
      - 'xmlbuilder'
      - 'array-unflat-js'
      - 'commander'
      - 'events'
      - 'hasown'
      - 'jsbn'
      - 'node-schedule'
      - 'schema-utils'
      - 'terser-webpack-plugin'
      - 'ast-types'
      - 'core-util-is'
      - 'execa'
      - 'html-loader'
      - 'jsep'
      - 'npm-run-path'
      - 'serialize-javascript'
      - 'tree-kill'
      - 'asynckit'
      - 'cron-parser'
      - 'fast-deep-equal'
      - 'html-minifier-terser'
      - 'json-parse-even-better-errors'
      - 'onetime'
      - 'serverless'
      - 'tslib'
      - 'available-typed-arrays'
      - 'cross-spawn'
      - 'fast-json-stable-stringify'
      - 'http-proxy-agent'
      - 'json-schema-traverse'
      - 'p-memoize'
      - 'serverless-domain-manager'
      - 'tsx'
      - 'aws-sdk'
      - 'data-uri-to-buffer'
      - 'fast-xml-parser'
      - 'https-proxy-agent'
      - 'jsonfile'
      - 'pac-proxy-agent'
      - 'serverless-offline'
      - 'tunnel'
      - 'axios'
      - 'debug'
      - 'fetch-blob'
      - 'human-signals'
      - 'jsonpath-plus'
      - 'pac-resolver'
      - 'set-function-length'
      - 'type-fest'
      - 'axios-proxy-builder'
      - 'define-data-property'
      - 'follow-redirects'
      - 'ieee754'
      - 'jsonschema'
      - 'package-json-from-dist'
      - 'setimmediate'
      - 'undici-types'

```

this one not works…

```auto
build:
  esbuild:
    bundle: true
    minify: true
    exclude:
      - node_modules/**
      - 'node_modules/**'

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![beenmeckel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8dc957/32.png) [@beenmeckel](https://forum.serverless.com/u/beenmeckel)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2025, 2:01pm UTC](https://forum.serverless.com/t/cannot-exclude-parent-node-modules-directory/20844/3 "2025-01-10T14:01:21Z")

</div>

Every project has its own node\_modules folder and package.json file. Node\_modules contains all the external code your code depends on (dependencies). Package.json contains all the info about which code (dependencies) needs to be downloaded into node\_modules.  
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