# Agent Guide to pnpm Repository

This document provides context and instructions for AI agents working on the pnpm codebase.

The repository contains two stacks:

- The **TypeScript pnpm CLI** — everything outside `pacquet/`.
- The **Rust pacquet port** — `pacquet/`. See [`pacquet/AGENTS.md`](./pacquet/AGENTS.md) for pacquet-specific rules; it adds to (and never contradicts) the conventions below.

Sections below marked "(TypeScript only)" do not apply to pacquet. Everything else applies to both stacks.

## Keep pnpm and pacquet in sync

The two stacks are parallel implementations of the same CLI — pacquet is a Rust port of pnpm whose behavior, flags, defaults, error codes, file formats, and lockfile shape are meant to match pnpm exactly. **Any user-visible change has to land in both.**

When you change one side, do the equivalent change on the other in the same PR if you can. If you can't (different expertise, scope too large, or pacquet hasn't ported the surrounding feature yet), open the PR with just your side — call out in the description what still needs porting, and someone else will push the matching commits to the same PR before it lands.

"User-visible" means anything that affects the CLI surface or the on-disk contract: command-line flags and defaults, environment-variable handling, lockfile/manifest/state-file format, error codes and messages, log emissions parsed by `@pnpm/cli.default-reporter`, store layout, hook semantics. Pure internal refactors, perf wins, and TS-only test cleanups don't need mirroring.

**Scope caveat:** pacquet's current surface area is the dependency-management commands — `install`, `add`, `update`, and `remove`. Every other command (`publish`, `exec`, `run`, `dlx`, `audit`, etc.) lives only in the TypeScript code, so changes there don't need a pacquet-side port yet. The parity rule will widen as pacquet ports more commands; check what pacquet exposes before deciding whether your change is in scope.

The pacquet-side obligation — pnpm is the source of truth, pacquet ports from it, never the other way around — is spelled out at [`pacquet/AGENTS.md`](./pacquet/AGENTS.md#the-cardinal-rule).

## Repository Structure

The pnpm codebase is a monorepo managed by pnpm itself. The root contains functional directories organized by domain:

### Core Directories

-   `pnpm/`: The CLI entry point and main package.
-   `pkg-manager/`: Core package management logic (installation, linking, etc.).
-   `resolving/`: Dependency resolution logic (resolvers for npm, tarballs, git, etc.).
-   `fetching/`: Package fetching logic.
-   `store/`: Store management logic (content-addressable storage).
-   `lockfile/`: Lockfile handling, parsing, and utilities.

### CLI & Configuration

-   `cli/`: CLI command implementations and infrastructure.
-   `config/`: Configuration management and parsing.
-   `hooks/`: pnpm hooks (readPackage, etc.).
-   `completion/`: Shell completion support.

### Other Functional Directories

-   `network/`: Network-related utilities (proxy, fetch, auth).
-   `workspace/`: Workspace-related utilities.
-   `exec/`: Execution-related commands (run, exec, dlx).
-   `env/`: Node.js environment management.
-   `cache/`: Cache-related commands and utilities.
-   `patching/`: Package patching functionality.
-   `reviewing/`: License and dependency review tools.
-   `releasing/`: Release and publishing utilities.

### Shared Utilities

-   `packages/`: Shared utility packages (constants, error handling, logger, types, etc.).
-   `fs/`: Filesystem utilities.
-   `crypto/`: Cryptographic utilities.
-   `text/`: Text processing utilities.

### Rust Port

-   `pacquet/`: The pnpm CLI ported to Rust. Self-contained sub-project with its own crates, tests, and tooling — see [`pacquet/AGENTS.md`](./pacquet/AGENTS.md).

## Setup & Build (TypeScript only)

To set up the environment and build the project:

```bash
pnpm install
pnpm run compile
```

To compile a specific package:

```bash
pnpm --filter <package_name> run compile
```

**Important:** The pnpm CLI e2e tests (in `pnpm/test/`) use the **bundled** `pnpm/dist/pnpm.mjs`, not the individual package `lib/` outputs. After changing any package, you must rebuild the bundle before running e2e tests:

```bash
pnpm --filter pnpm run compile
```

This runs `tsgo --build`, linting, and `pnpm run bundle` (which bundles all packages into `pnpm/dist/pnpm.mjs`). Without this step, e2e tests will use a stale bundle and your changes won't be tested.

## Testing (TypeScript only)

Never run all tests in the repository as it takes a lot of time.

Run tests for a specific project instead:

```bash
# From the project directory
pnpm test

# From the root, filtering by package name
pnpm --filter <package_name> test
```

Or better yet, run tests for a specific file:

```bash
pnpm --filter <package_name> test <file_path>
```

Or a specific test case in a specific file:

```bash
pnpm --filter <package_name> test <file_path> -t <test_name_pattern>
```

## Linting (TypeScript only)

To run all linting checks:

```bash
pnpm run lint
```

## Never ignore test failures

Do not dismiss a failing test as a "pre-existing" failure that is unrelated to your changes. Every test failure must be investigated and fixed. If a test was already broken before your changes, fix it as part of your work — do not silently skip it or treat it as acceptable.

## Code Reuse and Avoiding Duplication

**Before writing new code, always analyze the existing codebase for similar functionality.** This is a large monorepo with many shared utilities — duplication is a real risk.

-   **Search before you write.** Before implementing any non-trivial logic, search the codebase for existing functions, utilities, or patterns that do the same or similar thing. Check `packages/`, `fs/`, `crypto/`, `text/`, and other shared directories first.
-   **Extract shared code.** If you find that the logic you need already exists in another package but is not exported or reusable, refactor it into a shared package rather than duplicating it. If you are adding new code that is similar to code that already exists elsewhere in the repo, move the common parts into a shared package that both locations can use.
-   **Prefer open source packages over custom implementations.** Do not reimplement functionality that is already available as a well-maintained open source package. Use established libraries for common tasks (e.g., path manipulation, string utilities, data structures, schema validation). Only write custom code when no suitable package exists or when the existing packages are too heavy or unmaintained.
-   **Keep the dependency on the right level.** When adding a new open source dependency, add it to the most specific package that needs it, not to the root or to a shared package unless multiple packages depend on it.

## Commit Messages

Follow the [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/) specification.

-   `feat`: a new feature
-   `fix`: a bug fix
-   `docs`: documentation only changes
-   `style`: formatting, missing semi-colons, etc.
-   `refactor`: code change that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature
-   `perf`: a code change that improves performance
-   `test`: adding missing tests
-   `chore`: changes to build process or auxiliary tools

## Changesets (TypeScript only)

If your changes affect published packages, you MUST create a changeset file in the `.changeset` directory. The changeset file should describe the change and specify the packages that are affected with the pending version bump types: patch, minor, or major.

**IMPORTANT: Always explicitly include `"pnpm"` in the changeset** with the appropriate version bump (patch, minor, or major). The pnpm CLI will only receive automatic patch bumps from its dependencies, so if your change warrants a minor or major version bump for the CLI, you must specify it explicitly. The changeset description will appear on the release notes page.

Example:

```
---
"@pnpm/installing.deps-installer": minor
"pnpm": minor
---

Added a new setting `blockExoticSubdeps` that prevents the resolution of exotic protocols in transitive dependencies [#10352](https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/issues/10352).
```

**Versioning Guidelines for pnpm CLI:**
- **patch**: Bug fixes, internal refactors, and changes that don't require documentation updates
- **minor**: New features, settings, or commands that should be documented (anything users should know about)
- **major**: Breaking changes

## Code Style (TypeScript only)

This repository uses [Standard Style](https://github.com/standard/standard) with a few modifications:
-   **Trailing commas** are used.
-   **Functions are preferred** over classes.
-   **Functions are declared after they are used** (hoisting is relied upon).
-   **Functions should have no more than two or three arguments.** If a function needs more parameters, use a single options object instead.
-   **Import Order**:
    1.  Standard libraries (e.g., `fs`, `path`).
    2.  External dependencies (sorted alphabetically).
    3.  Relative imports.

To ensure your code adheres to the style guide, run:

```bash
pnpm run lint
```

### Comments

Write code that explains itself. A reader should understand what a function does from its name, parameters, and types — not from prose above the call site.

Defaults:

-   **Do not write a comment** that restates what the code already says. If renaming a variable, splitting a helper, or moving a check to a more obvious place would carry the information, do that instead.
-   **Do not repeat documentation** at call sites that already lives on the callee. If the function has a JSDoc, the call site shouldn't re-explain what calling it does. Update the JSDoc once; let every call site benefit.
-   **JSDoc is for the function's contract** — preconditions, postconditions, edge cases, why the function exists. Not for re-narrating the body.
-   **Do not record past implementation shape, refactor history, or "the previous code did X" framing.** That's what `git log` and `git blame` are for. Describe the current contract — what the code is and what it guarantees — not what it replaced. Phrasings like "used to", "previously", "the original X", or a parenthetical naming a removed type belong in the commit message, not in the source.

Write a comment only when:

-   The reason for the code is non-obvious from reading it (a hidden invariant, a workaround for a known bug, a deliberate exception to the surrounding pattern).
-   The right name doesn't fit — e.g., a temporary technical constraint that's worth flagging but doesn't justify a new symbol.

Before adding a comment, ask: "Could I rename, restructure, or extract instead?" If yes, do that. The bar for prose-in-code is high; the bar for prose-that-restates-code is "don't."

## Common Gotchas

### Error Type Checking in Jest (TypeScript only)

When checking if a caught error is an `Error` object, **do not use `instanceof Error`**. Jest runs tests in a VM context where `instanceof` checks can fail across realms.

Instead, use `util.types.isNativeError()`:

```typescript
import util from 'util'

try {
  // ... some operation
} catch (err: unknown) {
  // ❌ Wrong - may fail in Jest
  if (err instanceof Error && 'code' in err && err.code === 'ENOENT') {
    return null
  }
  
  // ✅ Correct - works across realms
  if (util.types.isNativeError(err) && 'code' in err && err.code === 'ENOENT') {
    return null
  }
  throw err
}
```

## Working with GitHub PRs, Issues, and Comments

-   **Keep PR titles and descriptions current.** When pushing new changes to a PR, review the title and description and update them if they no longer accurately reflect what the PR does.
-   **Reply to and resolve review conversations.** Once a review comment has been addressed, reply to the thread with a description of the resolution including the commit hash that fixed it, then mark the conversation as resolved.
-   **Sign all agent-authored content.** When posting a comment, creating an issue, or opening a PR, append a footer to the message indicating that it was written by an agent. The footer must include the name of the agent and the name of the model used. Example:

    ```markdown
    ---
    Written by an agent (Claude Code, claude-opus-4-7).
    ```

## Resolving Conflicts in GitHub PRs

Use `shell/resolve-pr-conflicts.sh` to resolve PR conflicts:

```bash
./shell/resolve-pr-conflicts.sh <PR_NUMBER>
```

The script force-fetches the base branch (avoiding stale refs), rebases, auto-resolves `pnpm-lock.yaml` conflicts via `pnpm install`, force-pushes, and verifies GitHub sees the PR as mergeable. For non-lockfile conflicts it will pause and list the files that need manual resolution.

## Key Configuration Files

-   `pnpm-workspace.yaml`: Defines the workspace structure.
-   `package.json` (root): Root scripts and devDependencies.
-   `CONTRIBUTING.md`: Detailed contribution guidelines.
