pnpm/pnpm · error · UpdateError::LatestWithSpec

ERR_PNPM_LATEST_WITH_SPEC

ERR_PNPM_LATEST_WITH_SPEC

Error message

Specs are not allowed to be used with --latest ({_0})

What it means

`pnpm update --latest` re-resolves each named dependency to the newest version the registry offers, so a selector that already carries a version spec (`foo@2`) contradicts the flag. Update parses CLI selectors into name pattern plus optional version part and rejects `name@range` combined with --latest with ERR_PNPM_LATEST_WITH_SPEC, rather than guessing which instruction wins.

Source

Thrown at pnpm/crates/package-manager/src/update.rs:158

    /// materializing `node_modules`. Forwarded to the install.
    pub lockfile_only: bool,
    /// Sink notified for each resolved tarball package, and the source of
    /// the optional resolver-time [`PackageVersionGuard`]. `None` for a
    /// plain `pacquet update`; `pacquet audit --fix update` installs one
    /// whose guard rejects vulnerable versions so the resolver falls back
    /// to a safe one.
    ///
    /// [`PackageVersionGuard`]: pnpm_resolving_resolver_base::PackageVersionGuard
    pub resolution_observer: Option<Arc<dyn crate::ResolutionObserver>>,
}

/// Error type of [`Update`].
#[derive(Debug, Display, Error, Diagnostic)]
pub enum UpdateError {
    /// `--latest` was combined with a versioned selector (`foo@2`).
    #[display("Specs are not allowed to be used with --latest ({_0})")]
    #[diagnostic(code(ERR_PNPM_LATEST_WITH_SPEC))]
    LatestWithSpec(#[error(not(source))] String),

    /// Package selectors were given with `--depth 0` but none matched a
    /// direct dependency.
    #[display("None of the specified packages were found in the dependencies.")]
    #[diagnostic(code(ERR_PNPM_NO_PACKAGE_IN_DEPENDENCIES))]
    NoPackageInDependencies,

    /// A `--workspace` selector named a dependency that no workspace
    /// project publishes.
    #[display(r#""{_0}" not found in the workspace"#)]
    #[diagnostic(code(ERR_PNPM_WORKSPACE_PACKAGE_NOT_FOUND))]
    WorkspacePackageNotFound(#[error(not(source))] String),

    /// A resolver failed while computing the specifier `--latest` should
    /// write for a direct dependency.
    #[display("Failed to resolve the latest version of {name}: {error}")]
    #[diagnostic(code(ERR_PNPM_PACKAGE_MANAGER_UPDATE_RESOLVE_LATEST))]
    ResolveLatest {

View on GitHub (pinned to 6261b7f388)

Solutions

1. Drop the version part: `pnpm update --latest lodash`.
2. Keep the spec and drop --latest to update within the declared range: `pnpm update lodash@4`.

Example fix

# before
pnpm update --latest lodash@4
# after
pnpm update --latest lodash

function assertBareSelectors(selectors, latest) {
  if (!latest) return;
  for (const sel of selectors) {
    const at = sel.lastIndexOf('@');
    if (at > 0) throw new Error('--latest cannot take a version spec: ' + sel);
  }
}

function isBareSelector(selector) {
  // leading @scope is allowed; a trailing @version is not
  return selector.lastIndexOf('@') <= 0;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Run `pnpm update --latest lodash@4`, `pnpm update --latest foo@^2 -D`, or any update invocation where a selector contains an `@` plus a version/range while --latest is set.

Common situations: Copy-pasting the `pnpm add pkg@version` habit into update --latest; upgrade scripts that interpolate pinned versions into the update command; mixing 'upgrade one package to latest' with stale pinned arguments.

Understand the failure class

Background: "Unknown argument", "Invalid value", and "must be one of": invalid CLI argument errors explained — this error's family across 35 libraries.

Related errors

• MISSING_PACKAGE_NAME
• TOO_MANY_PARAMS
• REDUNDANT_PARAMETERS
• CONFIG_NO_PARAMS
• LATEST_WITH_SPEC

AI-assisted analysis of pnpm/pnpm@6261b7f388 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8509ac248007dced. Report an issue: GitHub.