Yarn: Root package.json is not used

[SiggyF]

Do you want to request a feature or report a bug?
Report a bug.

What is the current behavior?
I try to install a package from a subdirectory. Yarn creates a new package.json in that subdirectory instead of in the package root.

If the current behavior is a bug, please provide the steps to reproduce.

mkdir parent
cd parent
yarn init
yarn add request
mkdir child
cd child
yarn add --dev lodash
cd ..
rm -r node_modules/ child/node_modules/
find .

This results in 2 package.json files, on in parent and one in child, together with 2 yarn.lock files.

.
./child
./child/package.json
./child/yarn.lock
./package.json
./yarn.lock

What is the expected behavior?
Based on the documentation ("...within the root directory of your package...") I would expect yarn to find my package.json in the top directory and install the package there.

Please mention your node.js, yarn and operating system version.
nodejs: 4.4.3
yarn: 0.19.1
OS: OSX 10.11.6

[hpurmann]

Unfortunately, most of the commands don't work if executed in sub-directories. I don't know the desired behaviour here.

[eigood]

npm install, npm run, both find the correct root. yarn variants don't. It's enough to make me not use yarn.

[silverwind]

The desired behaviour should be to search for package.json in parent directories up to the filesystem root and then install into its parent directory.

I run into this issue almost daily when I forget to cd to the project root before yarn add.

[BYK]

This is fixed by #4246 but it will not work for yarn init after #4441 is closed.