Use pnpm as our frontend dependency manager

Context and Problem Statement

In our frontend projects, we need a reliable, efficient, and developer-friendly package manager for JavaScript/TypeScript dependencies.

Key concerns include:

• Speed and disk usage efficiency.
• Deterministic and reproducible installs.
• Compatibility with existing tools and workflows.
• Minimizing node_modules bloat and install conflicts.

Considered Options

• npm
• yarn (classic or berry)
• pnpm

Options not considered: package managers used by runtimes other than NodeJS, such as Deno or Bun.

Decision Outcome

• pnpm was selected as our default package manager due to its performance benefits, disk space efficiency, and strict dependency resolution.
• Compared to npm and yarn, pnpm uses a content-addressable storage system and hard links to avoid duplication.
• It also enforces more consistent dependency resolution, helping to catch errors early in development.

Consequences

• ✅ Fast install speeds, especially in CI environments.
• ✅ Reduced disk usage thanks to shared dependency storage.
• ✅ More deterministic builds with stricter dependency isolation.
• ❌ Less familiar for some contributors compared to npm/yarn.
• ❌ Occasional compatibility issues with legacy packages expecting a flat node_modules.