Unable to install dependencies - "${exampleName}" uses "${pr

Error message

Unable to install dependencies - "${exampleName}" uses "${project.packageManager}" which could not be found.

What it means

With --skip-transforms, create-turbo does not convert the example, so before installing it verifies that the example's declared package manager is among availablePackageManagers detected on the system. When it is missing, dependency installation is skipped with this warning (plus the follow-up hint) — the project files are still created, only `install()` is not run for that branch.

Source

Thrown at packages/create-turbo/src/commands/create/index.ts:215

        ` - ${picocolors.bold(title)}${description ? `: ${description}` : ""}`
      );
      lastGroup = group;
    }
  } else {
    logger.log(picocolors.cyan("apps"));
    logger.log(` - ${picocolors.bold(projectName)}`);
  }

  // run install
  logger.log();
  if (hasPackageJson && !skipInstall) {
    // in the case when the user opted out of transforms, but not install, we need to make sure the package manager is available
    // before we attempt an install
    if (
      opts.skipTransforms &&
      !availablePackageManagers[project.packageManager]
    ) {
      warn(
        `Unable to install dependencies - "${exampleName}" uses "${project.packageManager}" which could not be found.`
      );
      warn(
        `Try running without "--skip-transforms" to convert "${exampleName}" to a package manager that is available on your system.`
      );
      logger.log();
    } else if (projectPackageManager.version) {
      const loader = turboLoader("Installing dependencies...").start();
      await install({
        project,
        to: projectPackageManager,
        options: {
          interactive: false
        }
      });

      loader.stop();
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to f9245100cf)

Solutions

Install the missing package manager (e.g. `corepack enable` or `npm i -g pnpm`) and re-run
Re-run without --skip-transforms so create-turbo converts the example to an available manager
Pass --skip-install and run the install manually with whatever manager you prefer

Example fix

# before: example uses pnpm, machine has only npm
npx create-turbo@latest my-app --skip-transforms
# warn: Unable to install dependencies - "basic" uses "pnpm" which could not be found.

# after: make pnpm available
corepack enable
npx create-turbo@latest my-app --skip-transforms

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# Verify the example's package manager exists before --skip-transforms install
command -v pnpm >/dev/null 2>&1 || command -v yarn >/dev/null 2>&1 \
  || { echo 'enable corepack first'; corepack enable; }
npx create-turbo@latest my-app --skip-transforms

Prevention

Run `corepack enable` in dev containers so pnpm/yarn are always resolvable
Combine --skip-transforms with --skip-install when the example's manager is deliberately absent
Ensure managers are discoverable on PATH — npx-only environments may not expose them

When it happens

Trigger: `create-turbo --skip-transforms` without --skip-install, choosing an example whose package.json declares e.g. pnpm or yarn while the availablePackageManagers lookup (PATH-based detection) cannot find that binary.

Common situations: Machines with only npm installed (no corepack/pnpm/yarn); minimal CI images creating a pnpm- or yarn-based example; examples pinned to a different package manager than the user's default.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of vercel/turborepo@f9245100cf (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9219151a0824329a. Report an issue: GitHub.