pnpm/pnpm · error · PnpmError

VERSIONING_UNKNOWN_PACKAGE

VERSIONING_UNKNOWN_PACKAGE

Error message

Change intent file ${intent.filePath} names ${ref}, which is not a package in this workspace

What it means

Change intent files (.changeset/*.md) drive pnpm's native versioning; their YAML frontmatter maps package references (package name or ./directory) to bump types. During plan assembly resolveIntents resolves every reference through the project ref index and throws VERSIONING_UNKNOWN_PACKAGE when a reference matches zero workspace projects — a release plan cannot be built from a name the engine cannot attribute.

Source

Thrown at pnpm11/releasing/versioning/src/assembleReleasePlan.ts:639

/**
 * Resolves every intent's package references to participant directories,
 * validating along the way: unknown references and names matching several
 * projects are hard errors, and a release can only be demanded from a
 * participant — otherwise the intent could never be consumed and the file
 * would linger forever. A `none` decline is fine for any workspace package.
 */
function resolveIntents (
  intents: ChangeIntent[],
  refs: ProjectRefIndex,
  participants: Map<string, Participant>
): Map<string, Map<string, IntentBumpType>> {
  const intentBumps = new Map<string, Map<string, IntentBumpType>>()
  for (const intent of intents) {
    const byDir = new Map<string, IntentBumpType>()
    for (const [ref, bumpType] of Object.entries(intent.releases)) {
      const dirs = refs.refToDirs(ref)
      if (dirs.length === 0) {
        throw new PnpmError('VERSIONING_UNKNOWN_PACKAGE', `Change intent file ${intent.filePath} names ${ref}, which is not a package in this workspace`)
      }
      if (dirs.length > 1) {
        throw new PnpmError(
          'VERSIONING_AMBIGUOUS_PACKAGE',
          `Change intent file ${intent.filePath} names ${ref}, which matches multiple workspace projects: ${dirs.map((dir) => `./${dir}`).join(', ')}. ` +
          'Reference the project by directory instead, e.g. "./' + dirs[0] + '": ' + bumpType
        )
      }
      const dir = dirs[0]
      if (bumpType !== 'none' && !participants.has(dir)) {
        throw new PnpmError(
          'VERSIONING_UNRELEASABLE_PACKAGE',
          `Change intent file ${intent.filePath} requests a ${bumpType} release of ${ref}, which cannot release ` +
          '(it is listed in versioning.ignore, has no version field, or has a non-semver version). ' +
          'Remove the entry or change it to "none".'
        )
      }
      const existing = byDir.get(dir)

View on GitHub (pinned to 6261b7f388)

Solutions

1. Fix the reference: use the exact name from the package's package.json, or the ./workspace-relative directory form
2. If the package no longer exists, delete or edit the stale .changeset/*.md file named in the message
3. Regenerate the intent with `pnpm change`, which only offers real workspace packages

Example fix

# .changeset/loud-moose.md — before
---
"@scope/widgts": patch
---
Fix rendering glitch

# after
---
"@scope/widgets": patch
---
Fix rendering glitch

import glob from 'fast-glob'
import { readFile } from 'node:fs/promises'

// Validate intent files against real workspace packages before committing them.
export async function assertIntentsNameRealPackages (workspaceDir: string, names: Set<string>, dirs: Set<string>): Promise<void> {
  const files = await glob(['*.md'], { cwd: `${workspaceDir}/.changeset`, ignore: ['readme.md'] })
  for (const file of files) {
    const content = await readFile(`${workspaceDir}/.changeset/${file}`, 'utf8')
    const m = content.match(/^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---/)
    if (m == null) continue
    for (const line of m[1].split('\n')) {
      const ref = JSON.parse(`"${line.slice(0, line.indexOf(':')).trim()}"`)
      const ok = ref.startsWith('./') ? dirs.has(ref.slice(2)) : names.has(ref)
      if (!ok) throw new Error(`${file} references unknown package ${ref}`)
    }
  }
}

try {
  await assembleReleasePlan(opts)
} catch (err) {
  if (err instanceof PnpmError && err.code === 'VERSIONING_UNKNOWN_PACKAGE') {
    // The message names the intent file and the bad reference; fix or delete the file
    throw new Error(`Bad change intent: ${err.message}`)
  }
  throw err
}

When it happens

Trigger: An intent file whose frontmatter contains a key that is neither a workspace package's name nor a ./directory of a workspace project: a typo ('@scope/errr'), a package that was removed or renamed after the intent was written, or a directory outside the workspace globs.

Common situations: Hand-written intent files with misspelled package names; intents left in .changeset/ after a package was deleted or renamed; referencing a package that exists only in a different workspace/branch.

Related errors

• VERSIONING_NO_PACKAGES
• VERSIONING_UNRELEASABLE_PACKAGE
• INVALID_CHANGE_INTENT
• NOT_LOGGED_IN
• CATALOG_VERSION_MISMATCH

AI-assisted analysis of pnpm/pnpm@6261b7f388 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/842c28cb1d31e465. Report an issue: GitHub.