pnpm/action-setup: Install pnpm in CI

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

action-setup installs pnpm so your workflow can use it for installs and scripts.

Install pnpm first, then run setup-node with cache: pnpm to cache the store. Or set run_install to install dependencies directly from this action.

Key inputs (with:)

• version: pnpm version to install (or read packageManager).
• run_install: run pnpm install as part of the step.
• dest: where to install the pnpm binary.
• standalone: install a standalone pnpm.

Example workflow

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: pnpm/action-setup@v4
        with:
          version: 9
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20
          cache: pnpm
      - run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
      - run: pnpm test

On any runner

pnpm setup runs on any runner. Latchkey managed runners run it unchanged.

Pinning and supply-chain hygiene

A third-party action runs arbitrary code with access to your workflow token. Version tags are mutable, so @v4 can change under you without any commit in your repository.

# mutable: the tag can be repointed at any time
- uses: some/action@v4

# immutable: pin to the commit SHA, with the version in a comment
- uses: some/action@e2b3f4a5c6d7e8f9a0b1c2d3e4f5a6b7c8d9e0f1  # v4.1.2

Key takeaways

• Install pnpm before calling setup-node with cache: pnpm.
• Order matters: setup-node needs pnpm on PATH to cache it.
• Use --frozen-lockfile in CI for deterministic installs.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• Node.js documentation
• npm CLI documentation
• GitHub Actions documentation