Setup pnpm with runtime

Install pnpm and a JavaScript runtime (Node.js, Bun, or Deno) in a single GitHub Actions step.

The action installs pnpm from the standalone @pnpm/exe package (no system Node.js required) and then uses pnpm runtime set to install the requested runtime. The runtime binary is placed on PATH for subsequent steps, replacing the need for actions/setup-node, oven-sh/setup-bun, or denoland/setup-deno. pnpm install runs automatically when a package.json is present.

If your package.json declares devEngines.runtime, the action picks up the runtime and version from there automatically — no inputs required.

Inputs

Name	Description
version	Version of pnpm to install. Optional when packageManager is set in package.json.
dest	Where to store pnpm files. Defaults to ~/setup-pnpm.
runtime	Runtime spec, in <name> or <name>@<version> form (e.g. node@22, node@lts, bun@latest, deno@2). Supported names: node, bun, deno. When the version is omitted, falls back to devEngines.runtime in package.json, then to lts (for node) / latest. If the input itself is omitted, the action reads devEngines.runtime from package.json.
cache	Cache the pnpm store directory. Default: false.
cache-dependency-path	Path(s) to the pnpm lockfile, used to compute the cache key. Default: pnpm-lock.yaml.
package-json-file	Path to package.json (relative to GITHUB_WORKSPACE). Default: package.json.
install	Run pnpm install after setup. Default: true. Set to false for jobs that only need pnpm itself (e.g. pnpm audit, lockfile-only regeneration).

Outputs

Name	Description
dest	Expanded path of dest.
bin-dest	Directory containing the pnpm / pnpx binaries.
runtime-name	Name of the installed runtime, or empty string if none was installed.
runtime-version	Resolved version of the installed runtime, or empty string if none was installed.

Usage

Install pnpm + Node.js via devEngines.runtime

// package.json
{
  "packageManager": "pnpm@11.0.4",
  "devEngines": {
    "runtime": { "name": "node", "version": "^22.0.0", "onFail": "download" }
  }
}

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
      - uses: pnpm/setup@v0
      - run: node --version
      - run: pnpm test

pnpm install runs automatically because the workspace has a package.json.

Matrix: test on multiple Node versions

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        node: [20, 22, 24]
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
      - uses: pnpm/setup@v0
        with:
          runtime: node@${{ matrix.node }}
      - run: pnpm test

Install Bun or Deno

- uses: pnpm/setup@v0
  with:
    runtime: bun@latest

- uses: pnpm/setup@v0
  with:
    runtime: deno@2

Cache the pnpm store

- uses: pnpm/setup@v0
  with:
    cache: true

Skip pnpm install

For jobs that only need pnpm itself — e.g. pnpm audit, lockfile-only regeneration — set install: false:

- uses: pnpm/setup@v0
  with:
    install: false
- run: pnpm audit

How it works

1. The action installs @pnpm/exe (a Node.js-bundled standalone build of pnpm) into dest, then self-updates to the requested pnpm version.
2. PNPM_HOME is exported and $PNPM_HOME/bin is added to PATH.
3. The action runs pnpm runtime set <name> <version> -g, which downloads the requested runtime into $PNPM_HOME/bin — making node, bun, or deno available to later workflow steps.
4. If a package.json exists in the workspace, the action runs pnpm install (unless install: false is set). When the runtime input is set, --no-runtime is appended so the just-installed runtime isn't shadowed by a different version declared in devEngines.runtime. This flag requires pnpm ≥ 11.1.0.

License

MIT