This will lock in the exact development version that you have specified. In this case it is very important that you manually edit your package.json and remove the ~ (tilde) from the version number. This is very bad, as new, possibly incompatible, patch releases of the specified development version may be installed by npm, breaking your build. Note that regardless of the version you specify, a tilde version range will be specified in package.json. Like installing a specific version of grunt, run npm install -save-dev where VERSION is the version you need, and npm will install that version of Grunt in your project folder, adding it to your package.json devDependencies. These builds will never be installable without explicitly specifying a version number, and will typically have a build number or alpha/beta/release candidate designation. Periodically, as new functionality is being developed, Grunt builds may be published to npm. Installing a published development version This is typically good, as new patch releases of the specified version will automatically be upgraded as development continues, per semver. Note that a tilde version range will be used in your package.json when you add the -save-dev flag to npm install. This will install the specified version, adding it to your package.json devDependencies. If you need a specific version of Grunt or a Grunt plugin, run npm install -save-dev where VERSION is the version you need.

The current stable and development versions of Grunt are always listed on the wiki's home page. This will allow you to install all of your project's dependencies with a single command: npm install. Grunt and Grunt plugins should be defined as devDependencies in your project's package.json. If you haven't read the Getting Started guide, you should check that out first. This document explains how to install specific versions of Grunt and Grunt plugins.

Npm install specific version