pnpm Store
pnpm keeps a content-addressable package store on disk so downloaded package tarballs and unpacked package files can be reused across projects instead of being fetched again for every install. That store accumulates package archives, extracted package contents, integrity metadata, and legacy cache data in older pnpm-cache and pnpm-store locations, which can grow large or become inconsistent after interrupted installs, registry changes, or manual file moves. Kudu removes the reusable pnpm store data from current and legacy locations while leaving your project source files, lockfiles, accounts, and npm registry credentials untouched.
Why clean pnpm Store?
- A partially downloaded or corrupted package in the content-addressable store can trigger repeated integrity check failures, with pnpm reporting ERR_PNPM_TARBALL_INTEGRITY or refusing to finish install
- Stale package metadata after switching registries or mirrors can make pnpm keep reusing the wrong cached artifact, showing unexpected old dependency contents even after you rerun install
- Interrupted installs can leave orphaned package files and temporary store entries behind, which users notice as the pnpm store consuming gigabytes of disk space long after projects were deleted
- Legacy pnpm-cache and pnpm-store folders on Windows can continue taking space after upgrades, leading to duplicate cached package data across old and current locations
- Store contents copied between machines or drives without preserving links and metadata can cause broken hardlink reuse, showing slower installs and repeated package re-extraction instead of fast linking
- Filesystem errors or manual edits inside the store can leave pnpm unable to link dependencies into node_modules, with symptoms such as missing modules, install retries, or unexplained ENOENT errors
Cache paths Kudu targets
Windows
%LocalAppData%/pnpm/store |
%LocalAppData%/pnpm-cache |
%LocalAppData%/pnpm-store |
~/.pnpm-store |
macOS
~/Library/pnpm/store |
Linux
~/.local/share/pnpm/store |
Common questions about pnpm Store
Download Kudu and reclaim your disk space.
Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. No account required, no feature gates, no telemetry without consent. All cleaning targets are open source and community-auditable.