pnpm run installs and writes pnpm-lock.yaml in a standalone project with no dependencies #16313

Last pnpm version that worked

12.5.1 (and 11.27.0)

pnpm version

12.7.0 (and 11.28.0)

Code to reproduce the issue

mkdir repro && cd repro
echo '{"name":"root","private":true}' > package.json
printf "packages:\n - 'pkgs/*'\n" > pnpm-workspace.yaml
mkdir -p pkgs/a scripts
echo '{"name":"a","version":"1.0.0"}' > pkgs/a/package.json
echo '{"scripts":{"hi":"echo hi"}}' > scripts/package.json
pnpm install
cd scripts && pnpm hi && ls

Expected behavior

pnpm run in a project with no dependencies runs the script and writes nothing, as in 12.5.1. pnpm's install already treats such a project as up to date (pnpm/pnpm#15884).

Actual behavior

it installs first and leaves node_modules and pnpm-lock.yaml behind. Paste the lockfile block and the version results list.

Additional information

the paragraphs about pnpm/pnpm#15125 and pnpm/pnpm#16275, the line about which cases pnpm/pnpm#15125's tests cover, and the discovery.rs link.

Node.js version

24.21.0

Operating System

Linux

Contributing a fix

• I am working on a fix