pnpm/pnpm · error · PnpmError

LOCKFILE_NOT_FOUND

LOCKFILE_NOT_FOUND

Error message

No lockfile found

What it means

`pnpm import` converts an existing foreign lockfile (yarn.lock v1 or 2+, or package-lock.json / npm-shrinkwrap.json) into pnpm-lock.yaml, deleting any existing wanted lockfile first. If none of those files exists in the target directory, there is nothing to import and the handler throws LOCKFILE_NOT_FOUND.

Source

Thrown at pnpm11/installing/commands/src/import/index.ts:139

  // it should not influence the new one
  await rimraf(path.join(opts.dir, WANTED_LOCKFILE))
  const versionsByPackageNames = {}
  let preferredVersions = {}
  if (fs.existsSync(path.join(opts.dir, 'yarn.lock'))) {
    const yarnPackageLockFile = await readYarnLockFile(opts.dir)
    getAllVersionsFromYarnLockFile(yarnPackageLockFile, versionsByPackageNames)
  } else if (
    fs.existsSync(path.join(opts.dir, 'package-lock.json')) ||
    fs.existsSync(path.join(opts.dir, 'npm-shrinkwrap.json'))
  ) {
    const npmPackageLock = await readNpmLockfile(opts.dir)
    if (npmPackageLock.lockfileVersion < 3) {
      getAllVersionsByPackageNamesPreV3(npmPackageLock, versionsByPackageNames)
    } else {
      getAllVersionsByPackageNames(npmPackageLock, versionsByPackageNames)
    }
  } else {
    throw new PnpmError('LOCKFILE_NOT_FOUND', 'No lockfile found')
  }
  preferredVersions = getPreferredVersions(versionsByPackageNames)

  // For a workspace with shared lockfile
  if (opts.workspaceDir) {
    const allProjects = opts.allProjects ?? await findWorkspaceProjects(opts.workspaceDir, {
      ...opts,
      patterns: opts.workspacePackagePatterns,
    })
    const selectedProjectsGraph = opts.selectedProjectsGraph ?? selectProjectByDir(allProjects, opts.dir)
    if (selectedProjectsGraph != null) {
      const sequencedGraph = sequenceGraph(selectedProjectsGraph)
      // Check and warn if there are cyclic dependencies
      if (!opts.ignoreWorkspaceCycles && !sequencedGraph.safe) {
        const cyclicDependenciesInfo = sequencedGraph.cycles.length > 0
          ? `: ${sequencedGraph.cycles.map(deps => deps.join(', ')).join('; ')}`
          : ''

View on GitHub (pinned to 5b11d3a15b)

Solutions

1. Run `pnpm import` from the directory that contains yarn.lock or package-lock.json, usually the repo root
2. Generate the foreign lockfile first if missing: `npm install --package-lock-only` or `yarn install`
3. Bun and pnpm lockfiles are not importable; migrate with the tool that owns them

Example fix

# before (cwd packages/web, lockfile at repo root)
pnpm import

# after
cd /repo/root && pnpm import

const fs = require('fs')
const foreign = ['yarn.lock', 'package-lock.json', 'npm-shrinkwrap.json']
  .find(f => fs.existsSync(f))
if (!foreign) {
  console.error('nothing to import; run from a directory with a yarn/npm lockfile')
  process.exit(1)
}

When it happens

Trigger: Running `pnpm import` in a directory holding no yarn.lock, package-lock.json, or npm-shrinkwrap.json, including when the lockfile sits in a parent directory (monorepo root) while cwd is a subproject, or the lockfile comes from an unsupported tool (bun.lockb).

Common situations: Migrating a repo whose lockfile lives at the root while import ran in a package dir; an already-migrated repo; a lockfile renamed or generated by another tool.

Related errors

• YARN_LOCKFILE_PARSE_FAILED
• YARN_LOCKFILE_NOT_FOUND
• MISSING_HOISTED_LOCATIONS
• PATCH_FILE_PATH_MISSING
• CONFIG_CONFLICT_SHARED_WORKSPACE_LOCKFILE_WITH_GLOBAL

AI-assisted analysis of pnpm/pnpm@5b11d3a15b (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/696171616945387b. Report an issue: GitHub.