[Bug?]: Yarn doesn't use Node found first in PATH

[RobbieMcKinstry]

Self-service

• I'd be willing to implement a fix

Describe the bug

yarn node is using a surprising version of Node. I'm not sure where or when this version was even installed, but it certainly defies my expectations about which version is active. I also can't find a way to change the version used by Yarn, or any documentation of how the executable is selected.

$ yarn --version
3.2.2
$ yarn node --version
v16.13.0
$ node --version
v18.6.0
$ which node
/Users/robbiemckinstry/.volta/bin/node
$ /Users/robbiemckinstry/.volta/bin/node --version
v18.6.0
$ yarn config | grep 'node'
➤ YN0000: defaultLanguageName           'node'
➤ YN0000: nodeLinker                    'pnp'
➤ YN0000: pnpShebang                    '#!/usr/bin/env node'
$ /usr/bin/env node --version
v18.6.0
$ stat /private/var/folders/wl/lpr944fn02v7lhmr6gjjclx00000gn/T/xfs-2b580fed/node
stat: /private/var/folders/wl/lpr944fn02v7lhmr6gjjclx00000gn/T/xfs-e4f51516/node: stat: No such file or directory

To reproduce

# Install Node with Volta.
$ curl https://get.volta.sh | bash
$ volta install [email protected]
$ node --version
# Install Yarn 
$ corepack enable
$ corepack prepare [email protected] --activate
# Add Engine version to package.json
$ cat package.json
{
  "name": "tailwindui-saas",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "next dev",
    "build": "next build",
    "start": "next start",
    "lint": "next lint"
  },
  "browserslist": "defaults, not ie <= 11",
  "dependencies": {
    "@headlessui/react": "^1.6.5",
    "@tailwindcss/forms": "^0.5.2",
    "autoprefixer": "^10.4.7",
    "clsx": "^1.2.0",
    "focus-visible": "^5.2.0",
    "next": "12.2.0",
    "postcss": "^8.4.14",
    "postcss-focus-visible": "^6.0.4",
    "react": "18.2.0",
    "react-dom": "18.2.0",
    "tailwindcss": "^3.1.4"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "eslint": "8.19.0",
    "eslint-config-next": "12.2.0",
    "prettier": "^2.7.1",
    "prettier-plugin-tailwindcss": "^0.1.11"
  },
  "engines": {
    "node": "18.6.0",
    "yarn": "3.2.2"
  },
  "volta": {
    "node": "18.6.0"
  }
}
# Inspect Yarn Version
$ yarn node --version
v16.13.0
$ node --version
v18.6.0

Environment

System:
    OS: macOS 12.4
    CPU: (16) x64 Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-9880H CPU @ 2.30GHz
  Binaries:
    Node: 16.13.0 - /private/var/folders/wl/lpr944fn02v7lhmr6gjjclx00000gn/T/xfs-2b580fed/node
    Yarn: 3.2.2 - /private/var/folders/wl/lpr944fn02v7lhmr6gjjclx00000gn/T/xfs-2b580fed/yarn
    npm: 8.6.0 - ~/.volta/tools/image/npm/8.6.0/bin/npm

Additional context

This issue is tangentially related to #1177
I would expect yarn node to use the node version provided in the engine.node field of package.json, or to throw a warning if the version it's using does not match.

[merceyz]

I also can't find a way to change the version used by Yarn, or any documentation of how the executable is selected.

To quote the documentation for yarn node:

The Node process will use the exact same version of Node as the one used to run Yarn itself
https://yarnpkg.com/cli/node

[RobbieMcKinstry]

That seems to contradict the results I'm seeing. From my second and third commands:

$ yarn node --version
v16.13.0
$ node --version
v18.6.0

[merceyz]

You'll have to debug your system to figure out why yarn is spawned by a different version of node than the one you expect.
yarn node uses process.execPath so the version of node is out of its control.

[RobbieMcKinstry]

I'm afraid I still don't understand.
How could it be possible that process.execPath returns a different path than which node? By definition these should point to the same filesystem path -- the first instance of an executable file named node found within $PATH.

[RobbieMcKinstry]

Hello! Could we reopen this issue? I don't feel like my original question has been addressed. It seems to defy logic that the following two conditions could be simultaneous true:

1. yarn node uses process.execPath

2. I'm seeing this output on my system:

$ yarn node --version
v16.13.0
$ node --version
v18.6.0

[merceyz]

How could it be possible that process.execPath returns a different path than which node? By definition these should point to the same filesystem path -- the first instance of an executable file named node found within $PATH.

Not necessarily, have you tried running yarn node -p process.execPath to see which node binary is spawning Yarn?
My assumption is that you have some old node install / leftovers on your system that is used instead of what you're expecting.

Hello! Could we reopen this issue?

I don't see anything actionable to justify reopening, the node binary used to spawn Yarn is out of our control.

I tried the provided reproduction the last time I commented on this issue and again now, it fails on

$ corepack enable
bash: corepack: command not found

If I follow volta-cli/volta#987 (comment) it passes as expected