diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 88470e9a..0c18ea91 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -36,3 +36,5 @@ tests/go.*
 # ReactJS
 client/node_modules/
 node_modules
+
+package-lock.json
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 6869cee2..0f319498 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ api-init:
 	# create python virtual environments for dev as well
 	# as for the Lambda layer.
 	# ---------------------------------------------------------
+	npm install && \
 	python3.11 -m venv venv && \
 	source venv/bin/activate && \
 	pip install --upgrade pip && \