pnpm-export

Export one package from a pnpm workspace into a self-contained directory that installs with plain npm. Local workspace: dependencies come along, all specifiers are rewritten to npm-compatible ones, and package-lock.json is built from pnpm-lock.yaml.

npx pnpm-export --cwd packages/api --output /tmp/api
cd /tmp/api
npm install

vs pnpm pack / pnpm deploy

• pnpm pack tarballs a single package and drops its workspace dependencies.
• pnpm deploy ships a tree but keeps pnpm-specific behavior.
• pnpm-export rewrites workspace: deps to file: links and resolves catalog: references, so the output runs on plain npm.

Use cases

• Deploy a single service from a pnpm monorepo to AWS Lambda, Google App Engine, Cloud Run, Cloudflare Workers, Azure Functions, Heroku, Vercel, Netlify, Render, Fly.io, or Railway — anywhere the build step runs npm install and chokes on workspace:* or catalog: specifiers.
• Slim Docker images — copy one self-contained directory into the container instead of the whole monorepo, with no pnpm needed at build or runtime.
• CI artifact handoff — produce the export in one job, then install it in another job, machine, or downstream pipeline that doesn't have pnpm.
• Vendor or publish a package without exposing pnpm-only specifiers — workspace: deps become real file: links, catalog: refs resolve to concrete versions, and package-lock.json is generated from pnpm-lock.yaml for reproducible installs.
• Air-gapped or offline builds — the output is one self-contained directory plus a lockfile, easy to review, ship, or mirror.

Flags

Usage: pnpm-export [options]

Export one package from a pnpm workspace for npm install.

Options:
  -v, --version                output the version number
  -C, --cwd <dir>              source package directory
  -o, --output <dir>           output directory
  -D, --dev-dependencies       Follow "workspace:" devDependencies (default:
                               true)
  --no-dev-dependencies        Skip "workspace:" devDependencies
  -P, --peer-dependencies      Follow "workspace:" peerDependencies (default:
                               true)
  --no-peer-dependencies       Skip "workspace:" peerDependencies
  -O, --optional-dependencies  Follow "workspace:" optionalDependencies
                               (default: true)
  --no-optional-dependencies   Skip "workspace:" optionalDependencies
  --patch-dependencies <mode>  patch dependency handling: ignore | warning |
                               try-replace (default: "try-replace")
  --clean                      wipe output directory contents before writing
                               (default: false)
  --lockfile                   emit package-lock.json (experimental) (default:
                               false)
  --dry-run                    print planned actions without writing (default:
                               false)
  --silent                     suppress non-error output (default: false)
  -h, --help                   display help for command

Programmatic API

import { App, Config, makeDependencies, pnpmExport } from 'pnpm-export';

const config = new Config({
  options: {
    cwd: 'packages/api',
    output: '/tmp/api',
    clean: true,
  },
});
const deps = makeDependencies({ config });
const app = new App({ deps });

await pnpmExport(app);

License

Licensed under MIT.