yarn set version stable: change the Yarn version used by a project

yarn set version stable pins the current project to the latest stable Yarn release; yarn set version 4.5.3 pins an exact version and yarn set version classic goes back to Yarn 1. Yarn records the version in the packageManager field of package.json and, when Corepack is not enabled, also downloads the release into .yarn/releases/ and points yarnPath in .yarnrc.yml at it, so the global yarn command forwards to that file inside the project.

Pin a version

echo '{ "name": "app", "version": "1.0.0", "private": true }' > package.json
npx --yes @yarnpkg/cli-dist@4 set version 4.5.3 2>&1 | grep -E "Corepack|Saving"
npm pkg get packageManager
cat .yarnrc.yml
node .yarn/releases/yarn-4.5.3.cjs --version

➤ YN0000: You don't seem to have Corepack enabled; we'll have to rely on yarnPath instead
➤ YN0000: Saving the new release in .yarn/releases/yarn-4.5.3.cjs
"yarn@4.5.3"
yarnPath: .yarn/releases/yarn-4.5.3.cjs
4.5.3

Corepack is not enabled in this environment, so Yarn fell back to yarnPath: it saved the release as .yarn/releases/yarn-4.5.3.cjs and wrote yarnPath to .yarnrc.yml. The packageManager field is written either way. The example starts Yarn through npx @yarnpkg/cli-dist@4; with Yarn installed the command is yarn set version 4.5.3.

Version specifiers

Yarn and Corepack

Corepack ships with Node.js up to version 24; Node.js 25 and later no longer bundle it, and it is installed separately with npm install -g corepack. After corepack enable, the yarn command reads packageManager from package.json and downloads and runs exactly that version, so no .yarn/releases file is needed. With Corepack, corepack use yarn@4.5.3 is the equivalent command: it updates packageManager (with a hash) and runs an install.

Pitfalls

• Global Yarn 1 still installed. The global yarn 1.22 binary respects yarnPath, which is why the per-project release works without Corepack. Much older Yarn 1 versions do not; update the global one to 1.22.
• Mismatch errors. When Corepack is enabled and packageManager names a different tool or version than the one you run, Corepack refuses and says the project is configured to use another package manager. Run the command through the right tool, or change the field with corepack use.
• New lockfile format. Moving from Yarn 1 to Yarn 2+ rewrites yarn.lock on the next yarn install; commit it in the same change.
• yarn: command not found means no Yarn is on PATH at all; see yarn: command not found for the Corepack and npm ways to get one.

How to confirm it worked

Run yarn --version inside the project: it prints the pinned version, while the same command outside the project prints the global one. npm pkg get packageManager shows what is recorded for everybody else.

FAQ