`npm:` fits the form of a URL/URI in the most basic syntax sense (`protocol:resourceviathatprotocol`, just as `http:` indicates a protocol). `npm` is not curren

`npm:` fits the form of a URL/URI in the most basic syntax sense (`protocol:resourceviathatprotocol`, just as `http:` indicates a protocol). `npm` is not currently an IANA registered protocol [1], but it easily could be. There's nothing it would currently conflict with. Also, URLs with unregistered protocols are relatively common on the web today as URLs anyway. A lot of applications use unregistered protocols like `twitter:` or other `myappname:` for deep linking into mobile apps and PWAs. In most cases the user's operating system's registry of protocols wins over IANA's more generalized registry of protocols. [1] https://www.iana.org/protocols#index_N https://www.iana.org/protocols#index_N