fix: keep workspace-root excluded when --recursive --filter uses only negative filters by zkochan · Pull Request #11480 · pnpm/pnpm

zkochan · 2026-05-05T23:21:05Z

Summary

Fixes #11341. When pnpm --recursive --filter '!<pkg>' run/exec/test/add was used, the workspace root started appearing in the matched projects in 10.33.0+, contradicting the documented default behavior that root is excluded for these commands unless --include-workspace-root is set.

Root cause

PR #10465 (which fixed #10462 — --filter <root> not finding the root in single-package workspaces) gated the implicit root-exclusion on filters.length === 0. That gate was too broad: any user filter — including a negative one like --filter '!a' — disabled the implicit exclusion.

Fix

Suppress the implicit root exclusion only when the user provided at least one positive (non-!) filter that could have been intended to select the root. Negative-only filter sets keep the documented default, and --include-workspace-root continues to opt the root in explicitly.

Filter	Before	After
(none)	root excluded ✓	root excluded ✓
`--filter '!a'`	root included ❌	root excluded ✓
`--filter a`	root excluded (a selected) ✓	root excluded (a selected) ✓
`--filter root-name`	root selected ✓ (#10462)	root selected ✓ (#10462)
`--include-workspace-root --filter '!a'`	root included ✓	root included ✓

The isRootOnlyPatterns guard from #10927 still ensures single-package workspaces (packages: ['.'] or empty pnpm-workspace.yaml) are unaffected.

Test plan

Added 2 regression tests in pnpm/test/recursive/filter.ts covering --filter '!a' with and without --include-workspace-root.
Existing test for --filter doesn't find root package with pnpm-workspace.yaml #10462 (--filter <root>) still passes.
Manual reproduction using the shoebox639/pnpm-recursive-filter-root-bug repo confirms the fix.
pnpm --filter pnpm run compile and lint pass.

Written by an agent (Claude Code, claude-opus-4-7).

Summary by CodeRabbit

Bug Fixes
- Fixed a regression where the workspace root was incorrectly included when using --recursive with only negative filters; the root is now excluded by default. Use --include-workspace-root to include it.
Tests
- Added regression tests to verify recursive filtering now excludes or includes the workspace root as expected.
Documentation
- Added a patch changeset documenting the regression fix and behavior.

PR #10465 stopped the implicit workspace-root exclusion for `pnpm -r run/exec/test/add` whenever any --filter was provided. That gate was too broad: with a negative-only filter set (e.g. `--filter '!a'`) the workspace root started showing up in the matched projects, contradicting the documented default behavior. Only suppress the implicit root exclusion when the user provided at least one positive (non-`!`) filter that could have been intended to select the root. Negative-only filter sets keep the documented default, and `--include-workspace-root` continues to opt the root in explicitly. Close #11341.

coderabbitai · 2026-05-05T23:21:22Z

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

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Run ID: be2146db-8819-4df8-9e90-3057aa691659

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Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between ae13f4d and be68071.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

pnpm/test/recursive/filter.ts

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This PR fixes a regression in recursive workspace filtering: when all provided filters are negative (e.g., --filter '!<pkg>'), the workspace root was wrongly included. The guard that auto-adds a root exclusion now triggers only when no positive filters exist. Tests and a changeset documenting the patch were added.

Changes

Recursive Filter Root Exclusion

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Core Logic `pnpm/src/main.ts`	Changed the guard that auto-appends a root-exclusion filter from `filters.length === 0` to `!filters.some(({ filter }) => !filter.startsWith('!'))`, so an exclusion is added when there are no positive filters (i.e., all filters are negations).
Tests `pnpm/test/recursive/filter.ts`	Added two regression tests (using `preparePackages`) that assert: (1) `--recursive --filter '!a'` excludes the workspace root; (2) `--recursive --filter '!a' --include-workspace-root` includes the workspace root.
Changelog / Release Note `.changeset/recursive-filter-root-exclusion.md`	Added a patch-level changeset entry describing the regression fix and noting that `--include-workspace-root` can be used to include the root.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~20 minutes

Possibly related issues

#11341 — Reports the regression where pnpm --recursive --filter '!a' included the workspace root; this PR addresses that exact behavior.
#10462 — Discusses --filter behavior with workspace root detection; related to workspace-root matching logic.
#10485 — Similar root-inclusion filtering bug; the core change in pnpm/src/main.ts appears to address the same class of issue.

Poem

I nibble at filters under moonlight's glow,
Negations trimmed so roots don't roam,
Tests hop in rows to make it so,
Patch written snug — the workspace home. 🐇✨

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 0.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title accurately summarizes the main fix: it addresses the specific regression where workspace root was incorrectly included when using --recursive with only negative filters.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The PR fully addresses the primary objective in `#11341` (fix regression where workspace root is included with negative-only filters) and maintains the fix from `#10462` (allowing --filter to match root when appropriate).
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes are directly scoped to fixing the workspace-root filtering regression: the conditional logic change, regression tests, and changeset entry are all necessary and related to the stated objectives.

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Create PR with unit tests
Commit unit tests in branch fix/11341

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Copilot

Pull request overview

Fixes a regression in recursive command filtering where the workspace root was incorrectly included when users supplied only negative (!) --filter arguments, restoring the documented default behavior (root excluded unless explicitly opted in).

Changes:

Adjust implicit workspace-root exclusion logic to remain active when all user-provided filters are negative.
Add regression tests for --recursive --filter '!<pkg>' with/without --include-workspace-root.
Add a changeset documenting the patch-level fix.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

File	Description
`pnpm/src/main.ts`	Refines the condition that adds the implicit `!{<root>}` filter so negative-only filter sets still exclude the root.
`pnpm/test/recursive/filter.ts`	Adds regression coverage for negative-only filter behavior and the `--include-workspace-root` override.
`.changeset/recursive-filter-root-exclusion.md`	Documents the regression and the corrected default behavior in a patch changeset.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

pnpm/src/main.ts:256

This condition has a double-negation and is hard to parse (!filters.some(...!filter.startsWith('!'))). For readability/maintainability, consider extracting a named boolean (e.g. hasPositiveFilter) or using filters.every(({filter}) => filter.startsWith('!')).

    } else if (
      !filters.some(({ filter }) => !filter.startsWith('!')) &&
      workspaceDir &&
      config.workspacePackagePatterns &&
      !isRootOnlyPatterns(config.workspacePackagePatterns) &&
      !config.includeWorkspaceRoot &&

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The --stream reporter prefixes output lines with the project's relative directory, so the workspace root appears as `. which$`, not `root which$`. The original assertion would have passed even if the regression were still present. Verified the corrected assertion fails against the buggy code and passes against the fix.

… negative filters (#11480) * fix: include workspace root only when --filter is positive PR #10465 stopped the implicit workspace-root exclusion for `pnpm -r run/exec/test/add` whenever any --filter was provided. That gate was too broad: with a negative-only filter set (e.g. `--filter '!a'`) the workspace root started showing up in the matched projects, contradicting the documented default behavior. Only suppress the implicit root exclusion when the user provided at least one positive (non-`!`) filter that could have been intended to select the root. Negative-only filter sets keep the documented default, and `--include-workspace-root` continues to opt the root in explicitly. Close #11341. * test: fix root-exclusion assertion to match --stream prefix The --stream reporter prefixes output lines with the project's relative directory, so the workspace root appears as `. which$`, not `root which$`. The original assertion would have passed even if the regression were still present. Verified the corrected assertion fails against the buggy code and passes against the fix.

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 5, 2026 23:21

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of zkochan May 5, 2026 23:22 View session

Copilot AI reviewed May 5, 2026

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Comment thread pnpm/test/recursive/filter.ts Outdated

zkochan merged commit 9018103 into main May 5, 2026
12 of 13 checks passed

zkochan deleted the fix/11341 branch May 5, 2026 23:51

coderabbitai Bot mentioned this pull request Jun 4, 2026

build: yarn to pnpm transition (DRAFT) City-of-Helsinki/events-helsinki-monorepo#1077

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fix: keep workspace-root excluded when --recursive --filter uses only negative filters#11480

fix: keep workspace-root excluded when --recursive --filter uses only negative filters#11480
zkochan merged 2 commits into
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fix/11341

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Fix

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zkochan commented May 5, 2026 •

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