How to Install PNPM on Arch Linux

PNPM is a fast and space-efficient package manager for Node.js that saves disk space by reusing cached dependencies. It’s a great alternative to npm or yarn, and installation on Arch Linux is simple and quick.

Step 1: Update System Packages

Start by updating your Arch system to make sure everything is up to date.

sudo pacman -Syu

Step 2: Install Node.js and npm

PNPM requires Node.js to work. Install it using Arch’s official repositories:

sudo pacman -S nodejs npm

Verify installation:

node -v
npm -v

If both return version numbers, Node.js and npm are ready.

Step 3: Install PNPM via Corepack (Recommended)

If you’re using Node.js v16.13+ or v18+, Corepack comes built-in.
Corepack helps you manage package managers like PNPM.

Enable it:

sudo corepack enable

Then activate PNPM:

corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate

Check if PNPM is installed:

pnpm -v

Step 4: Install PNPM via pacman (Alternative Method)

If you prefer direct installation from Arch’s repositories:

sudo pacman -S pnpm

This installs PNPM globally and adds it to your PATH automatically.

Verify:

pnpm -v

Step 5: Test PNPM

To confirm it’s working, create a sample project:

mkdir pnpm-test && cd pnpm-test
pnpm init

Then install a package, for example:

pnpm add express

List installed packages:

pnpm list

If everything runs smoothly, your PNPM setup is successful.