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pnpm dlx: Run Packages Temporarily

pnpm dlx runs a package without installing it into your project.

dlx is ideal for generators and one-shot tools; pin versions so CI stays reproducible.

Common usage

pnpm dlx <pkg> [args]
pin: pnpm dlx <pkg>@<version>
--package to disambiguate the bin

Example in CI

Run a one-off codemod.

shell

pnpm dlx jscodeshift@0.15 -t transform.js src

In CI

Unpinned dlx resolves to latest at runtime. Pin or add as a devDependency for repeatable builds.

Key takeaways

pnpm dlx is pnpm’s npx.
Pin versions in CI.
Frequent tools belong in devDependencies.

Related guides

pnpm exec and pnpm dlxpnpm exec runs a binary from node_modules; pnpm dlx fetches and runs one temporarily. Learn safe CI usage. yarn dlx: Run a Package Onceyarn dlx is Yarn Berry’s npx equivalent: download and run a package in a temporary environment.

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