pnpm/docs/recipes/shared-store.md

Shared store

A shared storage saves tons of space! However, a shared store is used by default only on Node.js >= v6.3.0. The reason for that is because it uses the --preserve-symlinks option (read more about it: nodejs/node#3402).

For pre 6.3.0 pnpm creates a separate store for every package in it's node_modules folder. However, it is possible to change the value of the store-path config key and force pnpm to use a shared storage.

The easiest way to do it is via the command line:

pnpm config set store-path ~/.store

Disclaimer! Packages like babel that heavily rely on peer dependencies won't work with a shared storage without the --preserve-symlinks flag.