pnpm-version-util

A simple CLI utility to read package version from package.json - a pnpm-friendly alternative to npm version.

🎯 Problem

Running pnpm version doesn't work because pnpm doesn't have a native version command. When it falls back to npm, it often fails due to package manager constraints or workspace configurations.

✨ Solution

This package provides a simple CLI that reads the version from package.json in the current directory. No configuration needed, just works!

📦 Installation

Global Installation (Recommended)

npm install -g pnpm-version-util
# or
pnpm add -g pnpm-version-util

Local Installation (For Monorepos)

pnpm add -D pnpm-version-util

🚀 Usage

Method 1: Direct Command

After global installation:

pnpm-version
# Output: 1.0.0

Method 2: Using pnpm exec (Local installation)

pnpm exec pnpm-version
# Output: 1.0.0

Method 3: Add to package.json scripts

{
  "scripts": {
    "version": "pnpm-version"
  }
}

Then run:

pnpm run version
# Output: 1.0.0

Optional: Create an alias

For even shorter commands, add to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

alias pv='pnpm-version'

Then simply run:

pv
# Output: 1.0.0

📖 Output

Always outputs just the version number with no extra noise:

1.0.0

Clean output makes it perfect for:

• Quick version checks during development
• Scripting and automation
• CI/CD pipelines
• Git tags and release workflows

Example: Use in scripts

# Create git tag from package version
git tag "v$(pnpm-version)"

# Use in release script
VERSION=$(pnpm-version)
echo "Releasing version $VERSION"

🔌 Programmatic API

You can also use this package programmatically in your Node.js code:

import { getVersion } from 'pnpm-version-util';

// Get version from current directory
const version = getVersion();
console.log(version); // "1.0.0"

// Get version from specific directory
const version = getVersion({ cwd: '/path/to/package' });
console.log(version); // "2.3.4"

API Types

interface GetVersionOptions {
  /** Path to the directory containing package.json. Defaults to current working directory. */
  cwd?: string;
}

function getVersion(options?: GetVersionOptions): string

💡 Use Cases

• Monorepo Management: Quickly check versions of different packages
• Release Automation: Get version for tagging and changelog generation
• CI/CD Pipelines: Integrate into build and deployment scripts
• Development: Quick version checks without opening files

✅ Benefits

✅ Zero Configuration - Works out of the box
✅ Clean Output - Just the version number, nothing else
✅ Fast - Synchronous file read, instant results
✅ Reliable - Comprehensive test coverage
✅ Flexible - CLI + programmatic API
✅ TypeScript - Full type definitions included

🛠️ Requirements

• Node.js >= 18
• pnpm (optional, works with npm/yarn too)

🧪 Development

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Run tests
pnpm test

# Build
pnpm run build

# Run locally
./build/cli.js

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

MIT © Amitai Salmon

🐛 Issues

Found a bug or have a suggestion? Please open an issue.

⭐ Show your support

Give a ⭐️ if this project helped you!