Display pending versions of NPM packages

[aaronadamsCA]

How are you running Renovate?

Mend Renovate hosted app on github.com

Was this something which used to work for you, and then stopped?

I am trying to get this working for the first time

Describe the problem

Renovate PRs don't show pending versions for NPM packages.

Actual behaviour

For NPM packages, Renovate does not indicate a pending version.

$ npm view pnpm time | tail
  '8.7.4': '2023-09-05T22:28:47.366Z',
  '8.7.5': '2023-09-11T12:34:29.332Z',
  '8.7.6': '2023-09-17T19:32:49.200Z',
  '8.8.0': '2023-09-26T12:58:11.728Z',
  '8.9.0-0': '2023-10-08T20:06:40.299Z',
  '8.9.0-1': '2023-10-09T10:13:19.595Z',
  '8.9.0': '2023-10-09T11:53:00.511Z',
  '8.9.1': '2023-10-15T15:10:11.800Z',
  '8.9.2': '2023-10-15T23:19:49.323Z' <----------

Expected behaviour

Here's a Node.js update PR. Renovate has updated it to display the pending version.

Using this information, as well as the changelog in the PR, I can properly decide whether to merge this already-outdated version, or wait for the next one.

I've looked through old Renovate PRs; surprisingly I don't think this ever worked with NPM packages.

I've thoroughly searched issues and discussions, and quickly searched the code for pendingVersions, but I don't see any indication that this is a known issue (or working as intended).

I don't know how to create a minimal reproduction for this, given the nature of pending versions, but if there is a way, please let me know.

Relevant debug logs

Sorry, I don't have a log yet due to self-hosted logs clearing so quickly. I need to wait for the issue to recur, at which point I can grab one.

Edit: I've added log excerpts focusing on NPM dependency @fontsource/raleway.

Logs

DEBUG: packageFiles with updates
{
  "baseBranch": "main"
  "config": {
    "npm": [
      {
        "deps": [
          {
            "depType": "dependencies",
            "depName": "@fontsource/raleway",
            "currentValue": "5.0.13",
            "datasource": "npm",
            "prettyDepType": "dependency",
            "lockedVersion": "5.0.13",
            "updates": [
              {
                "bucket": "non-major",
                "newVersion": "5.0.14",
                "newValue": "5.0.14",
                "releaseTimestamp": "2023-10-19T18:32:04.293Z",
                "newMajor": 5,
                "newMinor": 0,
                "updateType": "patch",
                "pendingVersions": [
                  "5.0.15"
                ],
                "branchName": "renovate/fontsource-monorepo"
              }
            ],
            "packageName": "@fontsource/raleway",
            "versioning": "npm",
            "warnings": [],
            "sourceUrl": "https://github.com/fontsource/font-files",
            "registryUrl": "https://registry.npmjs.org",
            "sourceDirectory": "fonts/google/raleway",
            "homepage": "https://fontsource.org/fonts/raleway",
            "currentVersion": "5.0.13",
            "isSingleVersion": true,
            "fixedVersion": "5.0.13"
          }
        ],
        "extractedConstraints": {},
        "managerData": {
          "packageJsonName": "@internal/app",
          "hasPackageManager": false,
          "pnpmShrinkwrap": "pnpm-lock.yaml",
          "yarnZeroInstall": false
        },
        "skipInstalls": true,
        "packageFile": "apps/app/package.json",
        "lockFiles": [
          "pnpm-lock.yaml"
        ]
      },
      {
        "deps": [
          {
            "depType": "devDependencies",
            "depName": "@fontsource/raleway",
            "currentValue": "5.0.13",
            "datasource": "npm",
            "prettyDepType": "devDependency",
            "lockedVersion": "5.0.13",
            "updates": [
              {
                "bucket": "non-major",
                "newVersion": "5.0.14",
                "newValue": "5.0.14",
                "releaseTimestamp": "2023-10-19T18:32:04.293Z",
                "newMajor": 5,
                "newMinor": 0,
                "updateType": "patch",
                "pendingVersions": [
                  "5.0.15"
                ],
                "branchName": "renovate/fontsource-monorepo"
              }
            ],
            "packageName": "@fontsource/raleway",
            "versioning": "npm",
            "warnings": [],
            "sourceUrl": "https://github.com/fontsource/font-files",
            "registryUrl": "https://registry.npmjs.org",
            "sourceDirectory": "fonts/google/raleway",
            "homepage": "https://fontsource.org/fonts/raleway",
            "currentVersion": "5.0.13",
            "isSingleVersion": true,
            "fixedVersion": "5.0.13"
          }
        ],
        "extractedConstraints": {},
        "managerData": {
          "packageJsonName": "@internal/ui",
          "hasPackageManager": false,
          "pnpmShrinkwrap": "pnpm-lock.yaml",
          "yarnZeroInstall": false
        },
        "skipInstalls": true,
        "packageFile": "packages/ui/package.json",
        "lockFiles": [
          "pnpm-lock.yaml"
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

DEBUG: branches info extended
{
  "branchesInformation": [
    {
      "branchName": "renovate/fontsource-monorepo",
      "prNo": null,
      "prTitle": "Update fontsource monorepo",
      "result": "branch-limit-reached",
      "upgrades": [
        {
          "datasource": "npm",
          "depName": "@fontsource-variable/archivo",
          "displayPending": "`5.0.16`",
          "fixedVersion": "5.0.14",
          "currentVersion": "5.0.14",
          "currentValue": "5.0.14",
          "newValue": "5.0.15",
          "newVersion": "5.0.15",
          "packageFile": "packages/ui/package.json",
          "updateType": "patch",
          "packageName": "@fontsource-variable/archivo"
        },
        {
          "datasource": "npm",
          "depName": "@fontsource-variable/archivo",
          "displayPending": "`5.0.16`",
          "fixedVersion": "5.0.14",
          "currentVersion": "5.0.14",
          "currentValue": "5.0.14",
          "newValue": "5.0.15",
          "newVersion": "5.0.15",
          "packageFile": "apps/app/package.json",
          "updateType": "patch",
          "packageName": "@fontsource-variable/archivo"
        },
        {
          "datasource": "npm",
          "depName": "@fontsource/raleway",
          "displayPending": "`5.0.15`",
          "fixedVersion": "5.0.13",
          "currentVersion": "5.0.13",
          "currentValue": "5.0.13",
          "newValue": "5.0.14",
          "newVersion": "5.0.14",
          "packageFile": "packages/ui/package.json",
          "updateType": "patch",
          "packageName": "@fontsource/raleway"
        },
        {
          "datasource": "npm",
          "depName": "@fontsource/raleway",
          "displayPending": "`5.0.15`",
          "fixedVersion": "5.0.13",
          "currentVersion": "5.0.13",
          "currentValue": "5.0.13",
          "newValue": "5.0.14",
          "newVersion": "5.0.14",
          "packageFile": "apps/app/package.json",
          "updateType": "patch",
          "packageName": "@fontsource/raleway"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

The pending version was not included in the pull request:

[github-actions[bot]]

Hi there,

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[rarkins]

Please look for the packageFiles with updates log message for that package/update

[aaronadamsCA]

Thank you!

I was now able to update the original post with a fresh log. packageFiles with updates shows a pendingVersions property with an apparently correct value. branches info extended also shows a displayPending property with an apparently correct value.

I've paired this with a screenshot showing the pending version was not displayed in the pull request.

[rarkins]

You have reported a "problem", and stated your expectations, but why do you expect that? e.g. is there any documentation which promises it? Or you think it's a good idea to do and decided to report it as a problem instead of a feature request? I know we considered this at one point, but I'm not sure it was ever added as default behavior.

Also, this could be a easily reproduced - just take a dependency which updates frequently and then set a high minimumReleaseAge and you're guaranteed of always having pending releases

[aaronadamsCA]

You have reported a "problem", and stated your expectations, but why do you expect that? e.g. is there any documentation which promises it? Or you think it's a good idea to do and decided to report it as a problem instead of a feature request?

I saw that pending versions were appearing for some dependencies, but not others. I searched the documentation and GitHub to try to find some indication that this was intended, but I couldn't find anything to indicate this, so I reported a problem.

I know we considered this at one point, but I'm not sure it was ever added as default behavior.

The default value for prBodyColumns does include the pending column, but I can now also see that mergeConfidence:all-badges is enabled by default in the hosted app, and it overrides the value of prBodyColumns for a subset of data sources, including NPM. This explains the behaviour I am observing.

As such, now that I've found corresponding documentation, I can recategorize this as a question and post the answer, to help anyone else who might be confused by the behaviour.

Also, this could be a easily reproduced - just take a dependency which updates frequently and then set a high minimumReleaseAge and you're guaranteed of always having pending releases

Thank you, this is why I asked how I might create a reproduction. I'll keep this method in mind for the next time I have a similar problem.

[HonkingGoose]

See PR:

• docs(minimal reproductions): forcing pending updates #25406

[aaronadamsCA]

The default value of prBodyColumns is ["Package", "Type", "Update", "Change", "Pending"].

The hosted app automatically enables the mergeConfidence:all-badges preset, which for NPM dependencies changes the value of prBodyColumns to ["Package", "Change", "Age", "Adoption", "Passing", "Confidence"].

This is why pending versions are visible for other types of dependencies, but not for NPM dependencies.

The merge confidence documentation explains how you can disable this preset. You can additionally define your own "prBodyColumns" value to combine pending versions with merge confidence badges for the best of both worlds:

{
  "ignorePresets": ["mergeConfidence:all-badges"],
  "packageRules": [
    {
      "matchDatasources": ["npm"],
      "matchUpdateTypes": ["patch", "minor", "major"],
      "prBodyColumns": [
        "Package",
        "Update",
        "Change",
        "Age",
        "Confidence",
        "Pending"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

[rarkins]

Thanks!