Pnpm: macOS install error EACCES

[quinton-ashley]

$ pnpm install -g pnpm
 ERROR  EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/usr/local/pnpm-global'

[zkochan]

related #928 (similar issue on Windows)

[quinton-ashley]

Why does it need access to this directory? Can this be fixed without editing permissions?

[zkochan]

yes, I think pnpm should write to a folder where it has access already. There should not be any additional steps from users.

[quinton-ashley]

I agree

[zkochan]

@quinton-ashley I need your help because I don't have a macOS

what does this print? npm root -g and this npm prefix -g?

also, check the content of the npmrc file installed in the root of the globally installed npm. It should contain prefix=<some path>

[fineline]

Hi @zkochan I have come across this issue too so here are my answers to your question from 25 June, hopefully this can help you progress a fix to this issue.

npm root -g prints:
/usr/local/lib/node_modules

npm prefix -g prints:
/usr/local
And that is the same value in the npmrc file too.

[fineline]

I started getting the following message whenever running pnpm for installs:

   ╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
   │                                                                  │
   │                Update available! 2.12.2 → 2.13.1                 │
   │   Changelog: https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm/releases/tag/v2.13.1   │
   │                  Run pnpm i -g pnpm to update!                   │
   │                                                                  │
   │      Follow @pnpmjs for updates: https://twitter.com/pnpmjs      │
   │                                                                  │
   ╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

However, trying the recommended command resulted in the error in this issue:

$ pnpm i -g pnpm
 ERROR  EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/usr/local/pnpm-global'

So I have worked around this by manually creating the folder and taking ownership of it:

sudo mkdir '/usr/local/pnpm-global'
sudo chown <myusername> pnpm-global

So it's working for now. Suggest that this may be a confusing user experience for those following the notification though.

[aleclarson]

I also ran into this.

$ node --version
v11.1.0

$ npm --version
6.4.1

$ nvm --version
0.33.11

$ pnpm --version
2.17.8

$ npm prefix -g
/usr/local

Doing npm config set prefix $HOME helps, but it also makes NVM stop working.

See here for the related NVM issue.

[zkochan]

if NVM creates some env variable that contains the global prefix, we can read that variable and install pnpm to that location

[aleclarson]

As a workaround, I can do pnpm install -g foo --prefix $HOME so that NVM keeps working.

I think NVM is the problem here, at least in my case. I should be able to set prefix to whatever I wish, and NVM should not complain.

[zkochan]

You can also set the pnpm-prefix config to change the location of global pnpm
pnpm install -g foo --pnpm-prefix $HOME

[aleclarson]

@zkochan Is that another workaround, or is there some nuance I'm missing?

edit: Looks like I get an error when trying it:

$ pnpm i -g lerna --pnpm-prefix $HOME
The "path" argument must be of type string. Received type boolean

[aleclarson]

I ended up patching NVM myself as a workaround (see here).

edit: Here was my real problem: link

[zkochan]

Does installing via curl -L https://unpkg.com/@pnpm/self-installer | node work correctly?

[czerwonkabartosz]

I had a similar problem.

Error: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/Users/xxx/.pnpm-store/2/registry.npmjs.org/@types/node/10.12.6/_tmp_96278_4fbf8e00003a2ca4d082c374b8c81a20'

But I've found a solution for this sudo rm -rf /Users/xxx/.pnpm-store 😂 and after this everything works perfectly.

[sbussard]

I'm having the same problem:.pnpm-store is owned by the root user.
I think the problem is that npm requires sudo to install the pnpm cli, so the permissions may be an artifact of that situation

[ikhsanalatsary]

I used this solution and trust me it works

[rodrigobdz]

I tried re-installing pnpm and then again updating it but the error persists:

$ npm install -g pnpm
$ pnpm install -g pnpm
 ERROR  EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/usr/local/pnpm-global'

[Flo3719]

For me the following solved the problem:
npm config set unsafe-perm true
and then run npm install -g pnpm again.

[emirom]

@Flo3719 worked for me too, is it necessary to do npm config set unsafe-perm false after all?

[Sujeetkr11]

@Flo3719 - Thanks! finally this worked for me too
npm config set unsafe-perm true

[elliottmangham]

Any solution to this? Making it unusable for me as I cannot install it without sudo.

[zkochan]

This should work in the latest pnpm.

Try to install v5.2.9 and then update it to the latest through pnpm add -g pnpm

[danysz]

I have version 5.5.1 and the problem is still here

[zkochan]

what error do you get? no additional info?

[danysz]

what error do you get? no additional info?

 ERROR  EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/usr/local/pnpm-global'

[danysz]

what error do you get? no additional info?

 ERROR  EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/usr/local/pnpm-global'

please let me know which info you would like to get to help you to solve the issue