NPM installing to ~/.npm directory

I have to run npm install --prefix ./ --save bootstrap jquery for it to save in the node_modules. I expect from what I've read in tutorials and such this is not the expected behavior. When I just run npm install --save bootstrap it puts the files into /home/philip/.npm directory as /home/philip/.npm/bootstrap.

npm root gives the correct [project]/node_modules directory.

NPM Version: 3.10.10

Node Version: 6.10.3

OS: Ubuntu 17.04

Edit: Forgot to ask the question, how do I ensure npm install defaults to the project's node_modules directory?

via Philip Rollins