nodejs / nodejs/corepack

`cache clear` does not remove `lastKnownGood.json` from cache

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Dominant language
TypeScript
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Current behavior

corepack cache clear does not fully clear the Corepack cache. It leaves behind lastKnownGood.json, removing only the install folder v1 from the Corepack cache.

Expected behavior

The README document says;

corepack cache clean

Clears the local COREPACK_HOME cache directory.

COREPACK_HOME can be set in order to define where Corepack should install the package managers. By default it is set to %LOCALAPPDATA%\node\corepack on Windows, and to $HOME/.cache/node/corepack everywhere else.

so the expectation is that after executing corepack cache clear on Linux, there will be no files left in the $HOME/.cache/node/corepack directory.

Alternatively, if it is intentional to not delete the lastKnownGood.json file from the Corepack cache, then the documentation should be changed.

Steps to reproduce

Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, Node.js 22.14.0 LTS, Corepack 0.32.0

rm -rf ~/.cache/node/corepack
npm install corepack@latest -g
corepack install -g yarn@latest
corepack cache clear
find ~/.cache/node/corepack

Logs

Installing yarn@4.7.0...
/home/mike/.cache/node/corepack
/home/mike/.cache/node/corepack/lastKnownGood.json

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the corepack cache clear implementation and the cache behavior described in the README, then reproduce the issue using the listed Ubuntu commands. Done means the command either leaves no files under $HOME/.cache/node/corepack or the README accurately documents the intended exception, with the behavior covered by an appropriate test.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
node.js, typescript
Domain
cli, tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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