diff --git a/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Project/ProjectResources.cs b/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Project/ProjectResources.cs
index 3f90b1c98..25cbc92d8 100644
--- a/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Project/ProjectResources.cs
+++ b/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Project/ProjectResources.cs
@@ -163,6 +163,7 @@ internal class SR : CommonSR {
         internal const string PropertiesClassLocalSubPackage = "PropertiesClassLocalSubPackage";
         internal const string PropertiesClassNpm = "PropertiesClassNpm";
         internal const string ReplInitializationMessage = "ReplInitializationMessage";
+        internal const string ReplWindowNpmInitNoYesFlagWarning = "ReplWindowNpmInitNoYesFlagWarning";
         internal const string RequestedVersionRangeNone = "RequestedVersionRangeNone";
         internal const string ScriptArgumentsToolTip = "ScriptArgumentsToolTip";
         internal const string ScriptFileToolTip = "ScriptFileTooltip";
diff --git a/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Repl/NpmReplCommand.cs b/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Repl/NpmReplCommand.cs
index 7fb7c2b2d..6cc8e3fa1 100644
--- a/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Repl/NpmReplCommand.cs
+++ b/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Repl/NpmReplCommand.cs
@@ -58,8 +58,15 @@ public async Task<ExecutionResult> Execute(IReplWindow window, string arguments)
             // at beginning and end of string (e.g. '--global')
             npmArguments = string.Format(" {0} ", npmArguments);
 
+            // Prevent running `npm init` without the `-y` flag since it will freeze the repl window,
+            // waiting for user input that will never come.
+            if (npmArguments.Contains(" init ") && !(npmArguments.Contains(" -y ") || npmArguments.Contains(" --yes "))) {
+                window.WriteError(SR.GetString(SR.ReplWindowNpmInitNoYesFlagWarning));
+                return ExecutionResult.Failure;
+            }
+
             var solution = Package.GetGlobalService(typeof(SVsSolution)) as IVsSolution;
-            IEnumerable<IVsProject> loadedProjects = solution.EnumerateLoadedProjects(onlyNodeProjects: true);
+            IEnumerable<IVsProject> loadedProjects = solution.EnumerateLoadedProjects(onlyNodeProjects: false);
 
             var projectNameToDirectoryDictionary = new Dictionary<string, Tuple<string, IVsHierarchy>>(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
             foreach (IVsProject project in loadedProjects) {
@@ -76,19 +83,33 @@ public async Task<ExecutionResult> Execute(IReplWindow window, string arguments)
                     continue;
                 }
 
-                EnvDTE.Properties properties = dteProject.Properties;
-                if (dteProject.Properties == null) {
+                string projectName = dteProject.Name;
+                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(projectName)) {
                     continue;
                 }
 
-                string projectName = dteProject.Name;
-                EnvDTE.Property projectHome = properties.Item("ProjectHome");
-                if (projectHome == null || projectName == null) {
-                    continue;
+                // Try checking the `ProjectHome` property first
+                EnvDTE.Properties properties = dteProject.Properties;
+                if (dteProject.Properties != null) {
+                    EnvDTE.Property projectHome = null;
+                    try {
+                        projectHome = properties.Item("ProjectHome");
+                    } catch (ArgumentException) {
+                        // noop
+                    }
+
+                    if (projectHome != null) {
+                        var projectHomeDirectory = projectHome.Value as string;
+                        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(projectHomeDirectory)) {
+                            projectNameToDirectoryDictionary.Add(projectName, Tuple.Create(projectHomeDirectory, hierarchy));
+                            continue;
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
 
-                var projectDirectory = projectHome.Value as string;
-                if (projectDirectory != null) {
+                // Otherwise, fall back to using fullname
+                string projectDirectory = Path.GetDirectoryName(dteProject.FullName);
+                if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(projectDirectory)) {
                     projectNameToDirectoryDictionary.Add(projectName, Tuple.Create(projectDirectory, hierarchy));
                 }
             }
@@ -118,7 +139,7 @@ public async Task<ExecutionResult> Execute(IReplWindow window, string arguments)
             // In case someone copies filename
             string projectDirectoryPath = File.Exists(projectPath) ? Path.GetDirectoryName(projectPath) : projectPath;
             
-            if (!isGlobalCommand && !(Directory.Exists(projectDirectoryPath) && File.Exists(Path.Combine(projectDirectoryPath, "package.json")))) {
+            if (!isGlobalCommand && !Directory.Exists(projectDirectoryPath)) {
                 window.WriteError("Please specify a valid Node.js project or project directory. If your solution contains multiple projects, specify a target project using .npm [ProjectName or ProjectDir] <npm arguments> For example: .npm [MyApp] list");
                 return ExecutionResult.Failure;
             }
@@ -137,7 +158,6 @@ public async Task<ExecutionResult> Execute(IReplWindow window, string arguments)
             }
 
             var npmReplRedirector = new NpmReplRedirector(window);
-               
             await ExecuteNpmCommandAsync(
                 npmReplRedirector,
                 npmPath,
diff --git a/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Resources.resx b/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Resources.resx
index 7fdf07e1f..c9daeaf7a 100644
--- a/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Resources.resx
+++ b/Nodejs/Product/Nodejs/Resources.resx
@@ -473,6 +473,9 @@ NAME2=value2
   <data name="ReplInitializationMessage" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>Node.js interactive window. Type .help for a list of commands.</value>
   </data>
+  <data name="ReplWindowNpmInitNoYesFlagWarning" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Please run '.npm init -y' to create a new package.json file.</value>
+  </data>
   <data name="NodeExePathDescription" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>Specifies the path to the node.exe executable.</value>
   </data>