Can't PNPM Install using pnpm version 10 < x < 10.5.0

[alfonsusac]

Link to the code that reproduces this issue

https://codesandbox.io/p/sandbox/github/vercel/next.js/tree/canary/examples/reproduction-template

To Reproduce

1. Install pnpm version 10.4.1 using pnpm self-update 10.4
2. Create project pnpm create next-app@latest .
3. Try to install manually pnpm i

Current vs. Expected behavior

Expected: pnpm i works nicely
Current: pnpm i produces this error:

 ERROR  packages field missing or empty

Provide environment information

This project is configured to use pnpm because /Users/alfonsusac/package.json has a "packageManager" field
This project is configured to use pnpm because /Users/alfonsusac/package.json has a "packageManager" field

Operating System:
  Platform: darwin
  Arch: arm64
  Version: Darwin Kernel Version 24.6.0: Mon Jul 14 11:30:55 PDT 2025; root:xnu-11417.140.69~1/RELEASE_ARM64_T6031
  Available memory (MB): 36864
  Available CPU cores: 14
Binaries:
  Node: 20.19.5
  npm: 10.8.2
  Yarn: N/A
  pnpm: 10.33.0
Relevant Packages:
  next: 16.2.1 // Latest available version is detected (16.2.1).
  eslint-config-next: N/A
  react: 19.2.4
  react-dom: 19.2.4
  typescript: 5.9.3
Next.js Config:
  output: N/A

Which area(s) are affected? (Select all that apply)

create-next-app

Which stage(s) are affected? (Select all that apply)

next dev (local)

Additional context

I expected the packages prop in pnpm-workspace.yaml to be omitted only when pnpm version is after 10.4.1 but after checking source code, it is being ommiteed for all version after 10.

Relevant Part of code

• next.js/packages/create-next-app/templates/index.ts

  Line 331 in 1693574

  if (pnpmMajorVersion === null || pnpmMajorVersion >= 10) {

Relevant issue/pr

• [cna] Ensure created app is not considered the workspace root in pnpm #88647 (from git blame of that line)

[eps1lon]

Is anything preventing you from upgrading pnpm?

[alfonsusac]

Not in my case, but there wasnt any hint to push me to updating pnpm either.

[vincejtoman]

I’m seeing this too with a fresh app created with pnpm (Edit: version error pnpm v <10, this fix works great; v >10 works fine for fresh install, see comments below).

pnpm create next-app@latest my-app --use-pnpm

The generated pnpm-workspace.yaml contains only:

ignoredBuiltDependencies:
  - sharp
  - unrs-resolver

After that, running pnpm scripts fails with:

ERROR packages field missing or empty

Adding an explicit packages entry fixes it:

packages:
  - "."

ignoredBuiltDependencies:
  - sharp
  - unrs-resolver

[alfonsusac]

I couldn't reproduce your issue. Im on v10.33.2 and I can init the next.js project just fine.

Make sure your project does not have parent package.json somewhere in upper file tree from root. (It happened to me once)

[vincejtoman]

I tested in multiple directories and it was the same error, so it wasn't a parent package.json... but then while double-checking your reproduction process, I realized I was swapping environments (created the app in terminal, then opened and ran in VSCode) and found the issue!

My VSCode zsh was pointing to a 9.9.0 installation of pnpm, so it did end up being a version error (which has been documented already online and where I got the original fix from, which works for those with pnpm versions <10).

Thanks for the help!