pnpm 12.16.0 on Node.js NPM

This release adds a global --env-file flag, updates to a symlinked pnpm-lock.yaml, and pnpm setup --no-modify-path. It also fixes two security issues, in zstd decompression and in signing.

Minor Changes

Added a repeatable global --env-file <path> flag to load environment variables from dotenv-style files before running a command. Later files override earlier files, variables already in the environment are preserved, and loaded variables are visible to user-level .npmrc interpolation and lifecycle scripts #7111.
pnpm can now update a pnpm-lock.yaml that is a symlink. List the directories the lockfile may link into in the symlinkedLockfileTargetDirs setting, in the global config or with PNPM_CONFIG_SYMLINKED_LOCKFILE_TARGET_DIRS. pnpm writes the update to the file the symlink points to if that file is inside one of these directories. The symlink stays in place. pnpm ignores this setting in pnpm-workspace.yaml #17222.
Added a --no-modify-path option to pnpm setup. It installs pnpm without adding it to PATH, leaving the shell config file, the Windows registry, and the GitHub Actions environment files unchanged. pnpm setup then prints the lines to add yourself get.pnpm.io#37.

Patch Changes

Security

Fixed memory exposure and allocation handling vulnerabilities when processing zstd-compressed data #17388.
Signing in pnpm and pnpr no longer uses arithmetic that may leak the private key through timing. This covers shared artifacts, OCI registry tokens, and OIDC login state advisory.

Installing packages

A dependency symlink that pnpm cannot point at the wanted target now fails the install with an error that names the link. This happens when the filesystem still serves the old link after pnpm removed it, as a node_modules served by a virtual filesystem does. pnpm used to remove the link again without end and crashed with a segmentation fault once the thread ran out of stack.
Concurrent workspace installs no longer lose store-index rows when initializing the shared SQLite index #17388.
Agent skill links now keep the same target across installs when a package version is installed with several sets of peer dependencies. An install no longer fails with ERR_PNPM_AGENT_SKILL_PATH_OCCUPIED on a skill link that pnpm created for another of those copies #17319.
pnpm now fails at once, without retrying, when a downloaded package archive contains a rejected entry path #17205.
pnpm now builds a git-hosted dependency in every new location it links the dependency into, such as a new global virtual store slot or a fresh node_modules. When the side-effects cache holds the build output, pnpm restores it from there. Before, only the install that fetched the dependency built it. This also fixes dependencies that are already in the store #17224.
Changes a preResolution hook makes to the lockfiles now take effect. The hook now also runs when pnpm installs from an up-to-date lockfile. An error thrown by the hook now fails the install.
A custom fetcher in the pnpmfile can now call fetchers.directory to fetch a package from a local directory. The call rejects with ERR_PNPM_TARBALL_INTEGRITY if the lockfile pins an archive integrity for the package. Previously, calling fetchers.directory failed with a TypeError.
packageImportMethod: copy now also applies to packages that have lifecycle scripts or patches. On a filesystem that supports block cloning, such as ReFS or a Dev Drive on Windows, these packages were cloned #17195.
With nodeLinker: hoisted and autoInstallPeers: false, a package that workspace projects use with different peer versions is now installed once per peer variant, so each project's copy resolves that project's peer #17395.
Under nodeLinker: hoisted, pnpm install now leaves a patched package that is already in place alone. The same holds for a package whose peers include a patched package, such as every package peering on a patched react-native #17188.
With nodeLinker: hoisted, an install that stops partway no longer leaves the next install trusting the packages it was replacing. Before, reverting the change that started the stopped install, such as a patch edit, kept the half-replaced package in node_modules.

Repeat installs and changed settings

A repeat pnpm install now acts on a change to these settings. Before, it reported "Already up to date".
- storeDir or virtualStoreDir: it recreates node_modules.
- globalVirtualStoreDir: it links the packages from the new directory.
- virtualStoreDirMaxLength: it renames the virtual store directories.
- dangerouslyAllowAllBuilds turned on: it runs the builds it skipped.
- trustLockfile turned off: it verifies the lockfile.
pnpm add, pnpm remove, and pnpm update now fail if node_modules does not match the current settings. Run pnpm install to recreate it. Previously, these commands removed and reinstalled node_modules without asking. They report:
- ERR_PNPM_UNEXPECTED_STORE if node_modules was linked from a different store.
- ERR_PNPM_UNEXPECTED_VIRTUAL_STORE if it was linked from a different virtual store directory.
- ERR_PNPM_MODULES_BREAKING_CHANGE if it was installed by an incompatible pnpm version, or if node_modules/.modules.yaml cannot be read.
- ERR_PNPM_NODE_LINKER_DIFF if it was installed with a different nodeLinker.
pnpm update now also fails with ERR_PNPM_HOIST_PATTERN_DIFF and the other errors pnpm add reports for a changed hoist pattern or virtualStoreDirMaxLength.
An install filtered to some workspace projects now fails if node_modules was installed with a different nodeLinker, hoistPattern, publicHoistPattern, store, or virtual store. Before, it recreated node_modules and left the projects it skipped without their dependencies. A pnpm install of the whole workspace still recreates node_modules pnpm/tasks#217.
pnpm install and the verifyDepsBeforeRun check now notice an edited patch file when sharedWorkspaceLockfile is false.
pnpm install now takes its fast path in a workspace with patchedDependencies when the previous install ran with another major version of pnpm.
pnpm install now relinks the bins of a workspace package when its bin field changes, including with --frozen-lockfile and an unchanged lockfile. A filtered install relinks them in the selected projects, and the next install that covers the remaining projects relinks them there #17324.
pnpm install now removes command shims from node_modules/.bin when a workspace dependency renames or removes an entry from its bin field pnpm/tasks#211.

Resolving dependencies and the lockfile

A package that a plain range and a <prefix>: specifier both resolve from one registry is now recorded once in pnpm-lock.yaml and installed once. The lockfile key names the registry a package resolved from. When that registry declares a prefix, through prefix in registries or through namedRegistries, the package is keyed <name>@<prefix>:<version> however its dependency was written: with the prefix, as a plain range its scope routes to that registry, or through the default registry. Before, the plain range was keyed <name>@<version>, so one tarball was installed twice and instanceof checks and module singletons broke between the two copies. The same name and version served by two registries still get separate entries. When several prefixes declare one registry, its packages are keyed by the lexicographically smallest prefix.
If a scope you route reaches a registry that also declares a prefix, your next pnpm install re-keys those entries, which shows up as a lockfile diff. Commit it. pnpm install --frozen-lockfile installs the lockfile as recorded.
pnpm install now resolves a scope's packages again when the scope is routed to another registry in registries. Before, the lockfile kept the versions and integrity resolved from the old registry, so the install failed when the new registry did not serve a locked version or served different content. pnpm records in the workspace state which registry each scope routed to, so a fresh clone without that record installs the lockfile as recorded. Changing the default registry resolves nothing again, and pnpm install --frozen-lockfile is unchanged.
When autoDedupe is off, a workspace project's dependencies now resolve from its own ranges, like they do with sharedWorkspaceLockfile: false. Previously, another project's narrower range could hold them back. For example, ajv: "*" now resolves to the latest Ajv even if another project depends on ajv@^6. Packages that a project lists in peerDependencies still follow the versions other projects use. pnpm dedupe and installs with autoDedupe: true still pick one version that satisfies every range. Set autoDedupe: true if CI runs pnpm dedupe --check #17235.
An optional dependency written with a named-registry prefix, such as work:^1.0.0, now fails the install when it cannot be resolved but the lockfile already has a matching entry from that registry. Such a dependency was skipped, which removed its entries from the lockfile.
With injectWorkspacePackages: true, a workspace: dependency written as a relative path, such as workspace:../lib-a, in a workspace package now resolves from that package's directory #17284.
Fixed pnpm install failing with ERR_PNPM_UNSUPPORTED_PROTOCOL when a workspace package injected through a relative path, such as workspace:../lib, has catalog: dependencies. Their catalog entries now resolve the way they do for a package injected by name #17280.
pnpm dedupe now refreshes cached registry metadata while re-resolving locked versions #17208.
pnpm dedupe --check no longer fails when the only difference is a deprecated notice that the registry added or removed after the lockfile was written #17198.
Installs delegated to a pnpr server now resolve every prefix declared for a registry URL. A dependency or lockfile entry that used the second of two prefixes for the same registry, such as zeta: next to work: in namedRegistries, failed on the server pnpm/tasks#204.
Registry revisions are now addressed at <registry>/<name>@<version>+r<revision> pnpm/tasks#208.

Adding packages and global packages

pnpm add <pkg>@<tag> and pnpm add <pkg>@<range> now install the version the tag or range resolves to, even when the saved range allows a newer one #17234.
pnpm add <pkg> without a version now installs the version under the dist-tag set by the tag setting. An npm: alias or a jsr: dependency without a version resolves that tag too. The setting is read from pnpm-workspace.yaml, the global config, PNPM_CONFIG_TAG, and --config.tag, and defaults to latest.
pnpm add now accepts the lowercase short options -p, -d, -o, and -e as aliases of --save-prod, --save-dev, --save-optional, and --save-exact.
pnpm -D install <pkg> now saves the package to devDependencies. An add option such as -D or -E written before install <pkg> was rejected as an unexpected argument.
pnpm add -T now reports that the short option is ambiguous and points to --save-types and --tilde.
Global packages installed with pnpm add -g are now linked from the global virtual store, so global packages that share dependencies share one copy. Set virtualStoreType: project to give each global install its own virtual store.
pnpm add -g and the other --global commands now fail with ERR_PNPM_CONFIG_CONFLICT_VIRTUAL_STORE_DIR_WITH_GLOBAL when --virtual-store-dir is passed. A custom --hoist-pattern fails with ERR_PNPM_CONFIG_CONFLICT_HOIST_PATTERN_WITH_GLOBAL. Passing --link-workspace-packages, --shared-workspace-lockfile, or --config.lockfile-dir with --global also fails, with the matching ERR_PNPM_CONFIG_CONFLICT_*_WITH_GLOBAL code.

Registries, proxies, and login

pnpm now reads the strictSsl and localAddress settings from pnpm-workspace.yaml, the global config.yaml, PNPM_CONFIG_* environment variables, and --config.* options. This includes pnpm self-update and the download of the pnpm version pinned in packageManager. Before, pnpm read them only from .npmrc as strict-ssl and local-address and ignored the other sources pnpm/tasks#201.
When Corepack runs pnpm and the native binary has to be downloaded, the download now uses the proxy from pnpm's config. That proxy comes from PNPM_CONFIG_HTTPS_PROXY and the matching variables, the global config.yaml, and the user .npmrc. Previously, the download read the proxy only from HTTPS_PROXY, HTTP_PROXY, and NO_PROXY pnpm/tasks#215.
When the pnpm package downloads its native binary on first run, as it does under Corepack, it now trusts the CA certificates from the ca, ca[], and cafile settings of .npmrc, including the ones scoped to the registry. A registry behind a private CA failed with fetch failed before, unless NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS named the CA. A project .npmrc is used only while the download is checked against npm's signature. Node.js versions that cannot add CA certificates after startup still need NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS.
pnpm login saves the token in <pnpm config>/auth.ini again. Since v12.1.0, an unscoped login had made its registry the default for every project that did not name a registry. A login now also removes the token an earlier login saved for that registry or scope under _auth in the global config.yaml. pnpm login --scope still routes the scope through the global registries setting.
pnpm no longer warns that a registries entry routed through the @ scope matches no configured registry. pnpm applied such an entry and its options such as serverType while reporting it as ignored pnpm/tasks#184.

Running scripts and other commands

pnpm ci --lockfile and pnpm ci --config.lockfile=true no longer delete pnpm-lock.yaml. pnpm ci now always keeps the lockfile and runs a frozen install from it.
pnpm deploy --legacy now checks the workspace lockfile against minimumReleaseAge and the other resolution policies, as pnpm install does, and fails with ERR_PNPM_MINIMUM_RELEASE_AGE_VIOLATION when a locked version is too new. It used to deploy an older version that is not in the lockfile without a warning #17209.
pnpm deploy now keeps a deployed symlink to a directory inside the project even if the directory is not among the deployed files, such as a link into node_modules #17288.
pnpm pack and pnpm publish now keep pnpm.config in the published package.json. They also always include the file pnpm.config points to in the tarball #17210.
pnpm -r publish --batch now sends PUT /-/pnpr/v0/publish, the batch publish endpoint that pnpr serves.
pnpm audit --ignore and pnpm audit --ignore-unfixable now exit with a non-zero code when vulnerabilities at or above the audit level remain after ignoring. Before, these commands always exited with code 0.
pnpm audit --fix and pnpm audit --interactive now fail with ERR_PNPM_AUDIT_FIX_WITH_IGNORE when combined with --ignore or --ignore-unfixable. Before, the fix ran and the ignore flags had no effect.
pnpm -r run <script> now honors the requiredScripts setting from pnpm-workspace.yaml. If the script is listed there and a selected project does not define it, the run fails with ERR_PNPM_RECURSIVE_RUN_NO_SCRIPT and names the projects that lack it.
pnpm run and pnpm exec no longer report the dependencies as out of date after a lockfile change when dedupePeers is true #17322.
On macOS, killing pnpm while it runs scripts in several projects at once now ends every one of those scripts. Before, a script could keep running after pnpm died.
pnpm run, pnpm exec, and pnpm dlx no longer dump a core file for pnpm itself when a command they started dies from a signal #17204.
The runtime setting is now read. Setting runtime: false in pnpm-workspace.yaml, pnpm_config_runtime=false, or --config.runtime=false stops pnpm install, pnpm add, pnpm dedupe, and the other installing commands from installing the runtimes in devEngines.runtime and engines.runtime. pnpm dedupe now also accepts --no-runtime.
Directory selectors with legacyDirFiltering: true now include the project in the named directory along with its descendants. Excluding a directory also excludes that project pnpm/tasks#196.
pnpm help --all and pnpm help -a now print the full list of commands. They used to fail with an "unrecognized subcommand" error.
Reading the file-creation mask on Linux no longer sets it. pnpm had to replace the mask to learn what it was, and a file another thread created in the window between the two calls was created unmasked.
pnpm now passes an interrupt on to the handler it replaced, with the arguments that handler expects. A handler that asked for the signal's details was called without them. Only a program that embeds pnpm and installs its own SIGINT, SIGTERM or SIGHUP handler was affected.

Store

pnpm store prune now keeps the packages that a project still uses when pnpm copied or cloned them into node_modules. These include patched packages, built packages, and every package installed with packageImportMethod: copy. Before, the prune removed them, and the next install downloaded them again #7192.
pnpm store prune now keeps the packages of a project when the store path reaches its directory through a symlink. Previously, prune dropped such a project from its list and removed the packages only that project used from the global virtual store.
pnpm store prune now removes the package metadata cache, the metadata* directories in the cache directory. This clears the outdated integrity checksums that cause ERR_PNPM_TARBALL_INTEGRITY when a registry republishes a version.

Speed

pnpm install resolves dependencies faster in large workspaces on Linux, macOS, and Windows on x64 and arm64.
Sped up cold installs and pnpm fetch on macOS. pnpm now links downloaded packages into the virtual store on a separate thread, so a slow link pass no longer pauses the downloads that are still in flight #17271.
Sped up installs that add new projects to a workspace with a peer-heavy lockfile. pnpm now reads the lockfile's locked peer versions once for all new projects #17311.
Warm installs no longer read the package.json of every git-hosted dependency. pnpm now stores the manifest of a git-hosted package in the store index when it fetches the package.
pnpm update --depth <n> with a large n, such as the --depth=9999 that update-browserslist-db runs, now finishes as fast as --depth Infinity. It used memory and stack in proportion to n on lockfiles with dependency cycles, and could run out of memory or crash #17329.

Output and warnings

Output that fills the terminal, such as pnpm run --stream script output, is now written once. Before, every new line also rewrote all the lines already on screen #17387.
pnpm now warns when a pnpmfile defines the importPackage hook. pnpm does not run this hook. Use the packageImportMethod setting to choose how packages are written to node_modules.
pnpm now warns when a project's pnpm-workspace.yaml sets ci, globalShims, or tools, and names where to set them instead. These settings were already ignored there without a warning. pnpm config set also refuses to write them to a project's pnpm-workspace.yaml.
pnpm no longer documents the scriptsPrependNodePath setting, which has no effect. A pnpm-workspace.yaml that sets it still loads.