Share dependency versions across a pnpm monorepo with catalogs and the catalog: protocol
domain: pnpm.io · 6 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Documented steps
Define a default catalog in pnpm-workspace.yaml under the singular catalog key: catalog: { react: ^18.2.0, react-dom: ^18.2.0 } (YAML mapping form).
Optionally define named catalogs under the plural catalogs key, e.g. catalogs: react17: { react: ^17.0.2 } and react18: { react: ^18.2.0 } — both forms can coexist.
Reference catalog entries from any workspace package.json with the catalog: protocol: "react": "catalog:" (default catalog) or "react": "catalog:react18" (named). Works in dependencies, devDependencies, peerDependencies, optionalDependencies, and in overrides in pnpm-workspace.yaml.
Upgrade a dependency everywhere by editing one line in pnpm-workspace.yaml instead of every package.json — fewer merge conflicts, one version per dependency.
On pnpm publish/pack the catalog: protocol is replaced with the actual version range (like workspace:), so published packages are consumable normally.
Docs: https://pnpm.io/catalogs
Known gotchas
catalogMode (default: manual) controls enforcement: strict errors on any non-catalog version of a cataloged dependency, prefer uses the catalog when compatible, manual does nothing automatically.
Unused catalog entries linger unless cleanupUnusedCatalogs: true is set (default false).
The catalog: protocol also works in pnx/dlx invocations (e.g. pnx create-vue@catalog:) to pin ad-hoc tool versions to workspace-defined ones.
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