diff --git a/packages/pnpm/package.json b/packages/pnpm/package.json
index d2f0f3793c..89b08f526c 100644
--- a/packages/pnpm/package.json
+++ b/packages/pnpm/package.json
@@ -84,7 +84,8 @@
     "text-table": "0.2.0",
     "tree-kill": "1.2.1",
     "update-notifier": "2.5.0",
-    "version-selector-type": "2.0.1"
+    "version-selector-type": "2.0.1",
+    "write-json-file": "3.2.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@pnpm/assert-project": "link:../../privatePackages/assert-project",
@@ -127,7 +128,6 @@
     "ts-node": "8.1.0",
     "tslint": "5.16.0",
     "typescript": "3.4.5",
-    "write-json-file": "3.2.0",
     "write-pkg": "4.0.0",
     "write-yaml-file": "2.0.0"
   },
diff --git a/packages/pnpm/src/bin/pnpm.ts b/packages/pnpm/src/bin/pnpm.ts
index 7117938f20..02b0811516 100755
--- a/packages/pnpm/src/bin/pnpm.ts
+++ b/packages/pnpm/src/bin/pnpm.ts
@@ -37,11 +37,9 @@ if (argv.includes('--help') || argv.includes('-h') || argv.includes('--h')) {
     case 'login':
     case 'logout':
     case 'owner':
-    case 'pack':
     case 'ping':
     case 'prefix':
     case 'profile':
-    case 'publish':
     case 'repo':
     case 's':
     case 'se':
@@ -78,5 +76,6 @@ async function runPnpm () {
 
 async function passThruToNpm () {
   const runNpm = (await import('../cmd/runNpm')).default
-  runNpm(argv)
+  const { status } = runNpm(argv)
+  process.exit(status)
 }
diff --git a/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/help.ts b/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/help.ts
index 37d0a447da..b2a2559b5b 100644
--- a/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/help.ts
+++ b/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/help.ts
@@ -215,6 +215,20 @@ function getHelpText (command: string) {
         Removes extraneous packages
       `
 
+    case 'pack':
+      return stripIndent`
+        pnpm pack
+
+        Creates a compressed gzip archive of package dependencies.
+      `
+
+    case 'publish':
+      return stripIndent`
+        pnpm publish [<tarball>|<folder>] [--tag <tag>] [--access <public|restricted>]
+
+        Publishes a package to the npm registry.
+      `
+
     case 'install-test':
       return stripIndent`
         pnpm install-test
@@ -473,7 +487,9 @@ function getHelpText (command: string) {
           - link
           - list
           - outdated
+          - pack
           - prune
+          - publish
           - rebuild
           - restart
           - root
diff --git a/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/index.ts b/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/index.ts
index dca31e5742..f815cd2430 100644
--- a/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/index.ts
+++ b/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/index.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import link from './link'
 import list from './list'
 import outdated from './outdated'
 import prune from './prune'
+import publish, { pack } from './publish'
 import rebuild from './rebuild'
 import recursive from './recursive'
 import root from './root'
@@ -24,7 +25,9 @@ export default {
   link,
   list,
   outdated,
+  pack,
   prune,
+  publish,
   rebuild,
   recursive,
   restart,
diff --git a/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/publish.ts b/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/publish.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2918729a75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/publish.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+import readImporterManifest from '@pnpm/read-importer-manifest'
+import path = require('path')
+import rimraf = require('rimraf-then')
+import writeJsonFile = require('write-json-file')
+import { PnpmOptions } from '../types'
+import runNpm from './runNpm'
+
+export default async function (
+  args: string[],
+  opts: PnpmOptions,
+  command: string,
+) {
+  if (args.length && args[0].endsWith('.tgz')) {
+    await runNpm(['publish', ...args])
+    return
+  }
+  const prefix = args.length && args[0] || process.cwd()
+
+  let _status!: number
+  await fakeRegularManifest(prefix, async () => {
+    const { status } = await runNpm(['publish', ...opts.argv.original.slice(1)])
+    _status = status
+  })
+  if (_status !== 0) {
+    process.exit(_status)
+  }
+}
+
+export async function pack (
+  args: string[],
+  opts: PnpmOptions,
+  command: string,
+) {
+  let _status!: number
+  await fakeRegularManifest(opts.prefix, async () => {
+    const { status } = await runNpm(['pack', ...opts.argv.original.slice(1)])
+    _status = status
+  })
+  if (_status !== 0) {
+    process.exit(_status)
+  }
+}
+
+async function fakeRegularManifest (prefix: string, fn: () => Promise<void>) {
+  const { fileName, manifest, writeImporterManifest } = await readImporterManifest(prefix)
+  const exoticManifestFormat = fileName !== 'package.json'
+  if (exoticManifestFormat) {
+    await rimraf(path.join(prefix, fileName))
+    await writeJsonFile(path.join(prefix, 'package.json'), manifest)
+  }
+  await fn()
+  if (exoticManifestFormat) {
+    await rimraf(path.join(prefix, 'package.json'))
+    await writeImporterManifest(manifest, true)
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/runNpm.ts b/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/runNpm.ts
index fa17b607ea..45ecd73187 100644
--- a/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/runNpm.ts
+++ b/packages/pnpm/src/cmd/runNpm.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 import { sync as runScriptSync } from '../runScript'
 
 export default function runNpm (args: string[]) {
-  const result = runScriptSync('npm', args, {
+  return runScriptSync('npm', args, {
     cwd: process.cwd(),
     stdio: 'inherit',
     userAgent: undefined,
   })
-  process.exit(result.status)
 }
diff --git a/packages/pnpm/src/main.ts b/packages/pnpm/src/main.ts
index 095e0cddaf..a82a91e9c8 100644
--- a/packages/pnpm/src/main.ts
+++ b/packages/pnpm/src/main.ts
@@ -37,7 +37,9 @@ type CANONICAL_COMMAND_NAMES = 'help'
   | 'link'
   | 'list'
   | 'outdated'
+  | 'pack'
   | 'prune'
+  | 'publish'
   | 'rebuild'
   | 'recursive'
   | 'restart'
@@ -59,7 +61,9 @@ const supportedCmds = new Set<CANONICAL_COMMAND_NAMES>([
   'uninstall',
   'update',
   'link',
+  'pack',
   'prune',
+  'publish',
   'install-test',
   'restart',
   'server',
diff --git a/packages/pnpm/src/readImporterManifest.ts b/packages/pnpm/src/readImporterManifest.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 8bf9545658..0000000000
--- a/packages/pnpm/src/readImporterManifest.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-import { ImporterManifest } from '@pnpm/types'
-import loadJsonFile = require('load-json-file')
-import path = require('path')
-
-export async function readImporterManifest (filename: string) {
-  return loadJsonFile<ImporterManifest>(filename)
-}
-
-export async function readImporterManifestFromDir (dir: string) {
-  return readImporterManifest(path.join(dir, 'package.json'))
-}
-
-export async function safeReadImporterManifest (filename: string): Promise<ImporterManifest | null> {
-  try {
-    return await readImporterManifest(filename)
-  } catch (err) {
-    if (err['code'] !== 'ENOENT') throw err
-    return null
-  }
-}
-
-export function safeReadImporterManifestFromDir (dir: string) {
-  return safeReadImporterManifest(path.join(dir, 'package.json'))
-}
diff --git a/packages/pnpm/test/index.ts b/packages/pnpm/test/index.ts
index 828ec2bad4..69d834dcdd 100644
--- a/packages/pnpm/test/index.ts
+++ b/packages/pnpm/test/index.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ import './link'
 import './list'
 import './monorepo'
 import './outdated'
+import './pack'
 import './prune'
+import './publish'
 import './rebuild'
 import './recursive'
 import './root'
diff --git a/packages/pnpm/test/pack.ts b/packages/pnpm/test/pack.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b34841989a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/pnpm/test/pack.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+import prepare, {
+  prepareWithYamlManifest,
+  prepareWithJson5Manifest,
+} from '@pnpm/prepare'
+import exists = require('path-exists')
+import tape = require('tape')
+import promisifyTape from 'tape-promise'
+import { execPnpm } from './utils'
+
+const test = promisifyTape(tape)
+const testOnly = promisifyTape(tape.only)
+
+test('pack: package with package.json', async (t: tape.Test) => {
+  prepare(t, {
+    name: 'test-publish-package.json',
+    version: '0.0.0',
+  })
+
+  await execPnpm('pack')
+
+  t.ok(await exists('test-publish-package.json-0.0.0.tgz'))
+  t.ok(await exists('package.json'))
+})
+
+test('pack: package with package.yaml', async (t: tape.Test) => {
+  prepareWithYamlManifest(t, {
+    name: 'test-publish-package.yaml',
+    version: '0.0.0',
+  })
+
+  await execPnpm('pack')
+
+  t.ok(await exists('test-publish-package.yaml-0.0.0.tgz'))
+  t.ok(await exists('package.yaml'))
+  t.notOk(await exists('package.json'))
+})
+
+test('pack: package with package.json5', async (t: tape.Test) => {
+  prepareWithJson5Manifest(t, {
+    name: 'test-publish-package.json5',
+    version: '0.0.0',
+  })
+
+  await execPnpm('pack')
+
+  t.ok(await exists('test-publish-package.json5-0.0.0.tgz'))
+  t.ok(await exists('package.json5'))
+  t.notOk(await exists('package.json'))
+})
diff --git a/packages/pnpm/test/publish.ts b/packages/pnpm/test/publish.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..779f50bb92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/pnpm/test/publish.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+import prepare, {
+  prepareWithYamlManifest,
+  prepareWithJson5Manifest,
+} from '@pnpm/prepare'
+import exists = require('path-exists')
+import tape = require('tape')
+import promisifyTape from 'tape-promise'
+import { execPnpm } from './utils'
+
+const test = promisifyTape(tape)
+const testOnly = promisifyTape(tape.only)
+
+const CREDENTIALS = [
+  '--//localhost:4873/:username=username',
+  `--//localhost:4873/:_password=${Buffer.from('password').toString('base64')}`,
+  '--//localhost:4873/:email=foo@bar.net',
+]
+
+test('publish: package with package.json', async (t: tape.Test) => {
+  prepare(t, {
+    name: 'test-publish-package.json',
+    version: '0.0.0',
+  })
+
+  await execPnpm('publish', ...CREDENTIALS)
+})
+
+test('publish: package with package.yaml', async (t: tape.Test) => {
+  prepareWithYamlManifest(t, {
+    name: 'test-publish-package.yaml',
+    version: '0.0.0',
+  })
+
+  await execPnpm('publish', ...CREDENTIALS)
+
+  t.ok(await exists('package.yaml'))
+  t.notOk(await exists('package.json'))
+})
+
+test('publish: package with package.json5', async (t: tape.Test) => {
+  prepareWithJson5Manifest(t, {
+    name: 'test-publish-package.json5',
+    version: '0.0.0',
+  })
+
+  await execPnpm('publish', ...CREDENTIALS)
+
+  t.ok(await exists('package.json5'))
+  t.notOk(await exists('package.json'))
+})
+
+test('publish: package with package.json5 running publish from different folder', async (t: tape.Test) => {
+  prepareWithJson5Manifest(t, {
+    name: 'test-publish-package.json5',
+    version: '0.0.1',
+  })
+
+  process.chdir('..')
+
+  await execPnpm('publish', 'project', ...CREDENTIALS)
+
+  t.ok(await exists('project/package.json5'))
+  t.notOk(await exists('project/package.json'))
+})
diff --git a/packages/read-importer-manifest/src/index.ts b/packages/read-importer-manifest/src/index.ts
index bd03637e0b..9ddd80bb34 100644
--- a/packages/read-importer-manifest/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/read-importer-manifest/src/index.ts
@@ -14,15 +14,19 @@ import {
 
 const stat = promisify(fs.stat)
 
+type WriteImporterManifest = (manifest: ImporterManifest, force?: boolean) => Promise<void>
+
 export default async function readImporterManifest (importerDir: string): Promise<{
+  fileName: string,
   manifest: ImporterManifest
-  writeImporterManifest: (manifest: ImporterManifest) => Promise<void>
+  writeImporterManifest: WriteImporterManifest
 }> {
   const result = await tryReadImporterManifest(importerDir)
   if (result.manifest !== null) {
     return result as {
+      fileName: string,
       manifest: ImporterManifest
-      writeImporterManifest: (manifest: ImporterManifest) => Promise<void>
+      writeImporterManifest: WriteImporterManifest
     }
   }
   const err = new Error(`No package.json (or package.yaml, or package.json5) was found in "${importerDir}".`)
@@ -36,14 +40,16 @@ export async function readImporterManifestOnly (importerDir: string): Promise<Im
 }
 
 export async function tryReadImporterManifest (importerDir: string): Promise<{
+  fileName: string,
   manifest: ImporterManifest | null
-  writeImporterManifest: (manifest: ImporterManifest) => Promise<void>
+  writeImporterManifest: WriteImporterManifest
 }> {
   try {
     const manifestPath = path.join(importerDir, 'package.json')
     const { data, text } = await readJsonFile(manifestPath)
     const { indent } = detectIndent(text)
     return {
+      fileName: 'package.json',
       manifest: data,
       writeImporterManifest: createManifestWriter({
         indent,
@@ -59,6 +65,7 @@ export async function tryReadImporterManifest (importerDir: string): Promise<{
     const { data, text } = await readJson5File(manifestPath)
     const { indent } = detectIndent(text)
     return {
+      fileName: 'package.json5',
       manifest: data,
       writeImporterManifest: createManifestWriter({
         indent,
@@ -73,6 +80,7 @@ export async function tryReadImporterManifest (importerDir: string): Promise<{
     const manifestPath = path.join(importerDir, 'package.yaml')
     const manifest = await readPackageYaml(manifestPath)
     return {
+      fileName: 'package.yaml',
       manifest,
       writeImporterManifest: createManifestWriter({ initialManifest: manifest, manifestPath }),
     }
@@ -95,6 +103,7 @@ export async function tryReadImporterManifest (importerDir: string): Promise<{
   }
   const filePath = path.join(importerDir, 'package.json')
   return {
+    fileName: 'package.json',
     manifest: null,
     writeImporterManifest: writeImporterManifest.bind(null, filePath),
   }
@@ -148,10 +157,10 @@ function createManifestWriter (
     indent?: string | number | null | undefined,
     manifestPath: string,
   },
-): ((manifest: ImporterManifest) => Promise<void>) {
+): (WriteImporterManifest) {
   const stringifiedInitialManifest = JSON.stringify(opts.initialManifest)
-  return async (updatedManifest: ImporterManifest) => {
-    if (stringifiedInitialManifest !== JSON.stringify(updatedManifest)) {
+  return async (updatedManifest: ImporterManifest, force?: boolean) => {
+    if (force === true || stringifiedInitialManifest !== JSON.stringify(updatedManifest)) {
       return writeImporterManifest(opts.manifestPath, updatedManifest, { indent: opts.indent })
     }
   }
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index 630aa9d63d..12602d9ecd 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -1448,6 +1448,7 @@ importers:
       tree-kill: 1.2.1
       update-notifier: 2.5.0
       version-selector-type: 2.0.1
+      write-json-file: 3.2.0
     devDependencies:
       '@pnpm/assert-project': 'link:../../privatePackages/assert-project'
       '@pnpm/lockfile-types': 'link:../lockfile-types'
@@ -1489,7 +1490,6 @@ importers:
       ts-node: 8.1.0_typescript@3.4.5
       tslint: 5.16.0_typescript@3.4.5
       typescript: 3.4.5
-      write-json-file: 3.2.0
       write-pkg: 4.0.0
       write-yaml-file: 2.0.0
     specifiers: