Unable to npm install in existing project

[nirmaljpatel]

I am trying to retrofit an existing Appcelerator project to use Grunt based build.

Since this project has an existing tiapp.xml, I am unable to install locally.

$ sudo npm install tiapp.xml --save-dev
Password:
npm ERR! not a package /Users/npatel/work/FSM/tiapp.xml
npm ERR! addLocal Could not install /Users/npatel/work/FSM/tiapp.xml
npm ERR! Darwin 15.6.0
npm ERR! argv "node" "/usr/local/bin/npm" "install" "tiapp.xml" "--save-dev"
npm ERR! node v0.12.7
npm ERR! npm  v3.10.6
npm ERR! path /tmp/npm-13780-d060fdbb/unpack-40c8f045/package.json
npm ERR! code ENOENT
npm ERR! errno -2

npm ERR! enoent ENOENT, open '/tmp/npm-13780-d060fdbb/unpack-40c8f045/package.json'
npm ERR! enoent ENOENT, open '/tmp/npm-13780-d060fdbb/unpack-40c8f045/package.json'
npm ERR! enoent This is most likely not a problem with npm itself
npm ERR! enoent and is related to npm not being able to find a file.
npm ERR! enoent 

npm ERR! Please include the following file with any support request:
npm ERR!     /Users/npatel/work/FSM/npm-debug.log

npm-debug.log
npmError.docx

[nuno]

Try global.

$ sudo npm install tiapp.xml -g

and not -> --save-dev

[nirmaljpatel]

npm install will not work (either local or global) as long as I am in the project folder which contains a tiapp.xml file.

I can go out of the project folder and globally install the module.
But with this approach I cannot add tiapp.xml module under devDependencies for my project.