pnpm / pnpm/setup

Bug: Different devEngines.packageManager.version in repo root vs working-directory breaks setup

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Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
140
Forks
19
Avg merge
13h 19m
Merged PRs (30d)
3

Description

Minimal bug reproduction: https://github.com/alecglassford/bug-reproduction-pnpm-setup-multiple-package-json-pnpm-versions

If you set the working-directory input, the action downloads a version of pnpm according to the devEngines.packageManager.version ("inner version") from the package.json in the working-directory. However, if there is a separate package.json with a different devEngines.packageManager.version ("outer version") at the repo root[^1], the post-download version check fails.

[^1]: Or more specifically, I think, at GITHUB_WORKSPACE — which is usually also the repo root

This occurs because, even though the pnpm executable used for the check is the inner version, pnpm --version always returns the version of the pnpm configured for the current working directory, which is the outer version.

This can lead to error like the following in logs:

  Downloading pnpm 12.0.0 from the npm registry
  ==> Downloading pnpm 12.0.0
  Error: The installed pnpm reports version 12.1.0, expected 12.0.0

(In this case the "inner version" is 12.0.0 and the "outer version" is 12.1.0.)

Suggested fix

When the action runs pnpm --version, set the cwd to the working-directory input, rather than running from the default GITHUB_WORKSPACE. I.e.

https://github.com/pnpm/setup/blob/703c52620218391530e48b9e8870d5c0082e1b9b/src/install-pnpm/run.ts#L117

-->

const cp = spawn(pnpmBin, ['--version'], { cwd: workingDirectory, stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'inherit'] })

Workaround

For my use case, it is sufficient to run rm package.json in a step before setup/node. This might also work for other users.

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

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 in src/install-pnpm/run.ts, especially the post-download version check around lines 30-35 and the pnpm --version invocation around line 117. Reproduce the mismatch with the linked repository, then verify the check uses the working-directory package configuration and no longer reports the outer version as installed; run the repository's relevant tests if available.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
github-actions, typescript
Domain
ci-cd, devops
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
86/100

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