fix: global bin shim invokes pnpm instead of Node when installed via @pnpm/exe (#11335)

* fix(installation): skip pnpm exe when no Node.js is on PATH

When pnpm is installed as @pnpm/exe (a Single Executable Application
that bundles Node.js into the pnpm binary) and the user has no separate
Node.js on PATH, `which('node')` fails and `getNodeExecPath` used to
fall back to `process.execPath` - which in @pnpm/exe is the pnpm binary
itself, not a Node binary. That path got baked into generated global
bin shims via nodeExecPath, so running any globally-installed CLI
invoked pnpm with the target script as its first positional arg,
producing `ERR_PNPM_NO_IMPORTER_MANIFEST_FOUND` from the current
working directory.

Detect the @pnpm/exe case via `detectIfCurrentPkgIsExecutable` and
return undefined from the fallback so the shim emits a plain
`exec node <target>` instead.

Closes #11291
Refs #4645

* Update pkg-manager/plugin-commands-installation/src/nodeExecPath.ts

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

.changeset/fix-global-shim-pnpm-exe.md

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+"@pnpm/plugin-commands-installation": patch
+"pnpm": patch
+---
+
+Globally-installed bins no longer fail with `ERR_PNPM_NO_IMPORTER_MANIFEST_FOUND` when pnpm was installed via the standalone `@pnpm/exe` binary (e.g. `curl -fsSL https://get.pnpm.io/install.sh | sh -`) on a system without a separate Node.js installation. Previously, when `which('node')` failed during `pnpm add --global`, pnpm fell back to `process.execPath`, which in `@pnpm/exe` is the pnpm binary itself — and that path was baked into the generated bin shim, causing the shim to invoke pnpm instead of Node [#11291](https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/issues/11291), [#4645](https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/issues/4645).

pkg-manager/plugin-commands-installation/package.json

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@pnpm/catalogs.types": "workspace:*",
+    "@pnpm/cli-meta": "workspace:*",
     "@pnpm/cli-utils": "workspace:*",
     "@pnpm/colorize-semver-diff": "catalog:",
     "@pnpm/command": "workspace:*",

pkg-manager/plugin-commands-installation/src/installDeps.ts

@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ when running add/update with the --workspace option')
   }
   if (opts.global && opts.pnpmHomeDir != null) {
     const nodeExecPath = await getNodeExecPath()
-    if (isSubdir(opts.pnpmHomeDir, nodeExecPath)) {
+    if (nodeExecPath != null && isSubdir(opts.pnpmHomeDir, nodeExecPath)) {
       installOpts['nodeExecPath'] = nodeExecPath
     }
   }

pkg-manager/plugin-commands-installation/src/nodeExecPath.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import { promises as fs } from 'fs'
+import { detectIfCurrentPkgIsExecutable } from '@pnpm/cli-meta'
 import which from 'which'
 
-export async function getNodeExecPath (): Promise<string> {
+export async function getNodeExecPath (): Promise<string | undefined> {
   try {
     // The system default Node.js executable is preferred
     // not the one used to run the pnpm CLI.
@@ -9,6 +10,12 @@ export async function getNodeExecPath (): Promise<string> {
     return fs.realpath(nodeExecPath)
   } catch (err: any) { // eslint-disable-line
     if (err['code'] !== 'ENOENT') throw err
+    // When pnpm runs as @pnpm/exe (a packaged executable that bundles
+    // Node.js into the pnpm binary), process.execPath points at the pnpm
+    // binary itself rather than a standalone Node binary. Using it as the
+    // nodeExecPath of a bin shim makes the shim invoke pnpm instead of
+    // Node, which breaks globally-installed CLIs. See #11291 and #4645.
+    if (detectIfCurrentPkgIsExecutable()) return undefined
     return process.env.NODE ?? process.execPath
   }
 }

pkg-manager/plugin-commands-installation/test/global.ts

@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ const DEFAULT_OPTIONS = {
 
 test('globally installed package is linked with active version of Node.js', async () => {
   const nodeExecPath = await getNodeExecPath()
+  if (nodeExecPath == null) throw new Error('Node.js executable was not found')
   prepare()
   await add.handler({
     ...DEFAULT_OPTIONS,

pkg-manager/plugin-commands-installation/test/nodeExecPath.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+import { detectIfCurrentPkgIsExecutable } from '@pnpm/cli-meta'
+import which from 'which'
+import { getNodeExecPath } from '../lib/nodeExecPath.js'
+
+jest.mock('which', () => jest.fn())
+jest.mock('@pnpm/cli-meta', () => ({
+  detectIfCurrentPkgIsExecutable: jest.fn(),
+}))
+
+const whichMock = jest.mocked(which)
+const detectMock = jest.mocked(detectIfCurrentPkgIsExecutable)
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  whichMock.mockReset()
+  detectMock.mockReset()
+})
+
+test('returns undefined when node is not on PATH and pnpm is running as @pnpm/exe', async () => {
+  const enoent: NodeJS.ErrnoException = Object.assign(new Error('not found: node'), { code: 'ENOENT' })
+  whichMock.mockRejectedValue(enoent)
+  detectMock.mockReturnValue(true)
+
+  await expect(getNodeExecPath()).resolves.toBeUndefined()
+})
+
+test('falls back to process.execPath when node is not on PATH and pnpm is running under a real Node.js', async () => {
+  const enoent: NodeJS.ErrnoException = Object.assign(new Error('not found: node'), { code: 'ENOENT' })
+  whichMock.mockRejectedValue(enoent)
+  detectMock.mockReturnValue(false)
+  const savedNode = process.env.NODE
+  delete process.env.NODE
+  try {
+    await expect(getNodeExecPath()).resolves.toBe(process.execPath)
+  } finally {
+    if (savedNode != null) process.env.NODE = savedNode
+  }
+})

pkg-manager/plugin-commands-installation/tsconfig.json

@@ -24,6 +24,9 @@
     {
       "path": "../../catalogs/types"
     },
+    {
+      "path": "../../cli/cli-meta"
+    },
     {
       "path": "../../cli/cli-utils"
     },

pnpm-lock.yaml

@@ -5754,6 +5754,9 @@ importers:
       '@pnpm/catalogs.types':
         specifier: workspace:*
         version: link:../../catalogs/types
+      '@pnpm/cli-meta':
+        specifier: workspace:*
+        version: link:../../cli/cli-meta
       '@pnpm/cli-utils':
         specifier: workspace:*
         version: link:../../cli/cli-utils