`lerna create` <loc> misrecords subpackage location

Given:

{
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "npmClient": "npm",
  "packages": [
    "apps/*",
    "libs/*"
  ]
}

When I run lerna create pkg libs/pkg, it creates the package at apps/pkg, but still points to an erroneous location. This caused https://github.com/folke/vscode-monorepo-workspace/issues/34.

I later realized I could achieve the desired effect with lerna create pkg libs, though this prevents you from easily creating a package whose name and directory are different.

Additionally, I didn’t receive an error saying the location was invalid, nor a warning indicating the package was put in the default location.

Expected Behavior

I would prefer if I run lerna create @ns/long-pack-name libs/short for the package to be placed at libs/short with name @ns/long-pack-name. And if libs/short didn’t match any package globs, I would prefer an error message.

If this doesn’t work for you, I would at least prefer an error to creating the package in a location I didn’t select.

Current Behavior

Currently, no errors are issued, the package is created in the wrong location, and the package isn’t correctly recorded, wherever that data is stored.

Context

This lerna.json is simplified from my setup—a multi-app deployment. I’m subdividing a rather big project into multiple subdirectories to streamline an infra-as-code ci/cd pipeline. I have discovered work arounds for what I need to do (lots of lerna bootstrap), but I really just want a quick way to initialize new packages.

Your Environment

Executable	Version
lerna --version	3.20.2
npm --version	6.14.3
yarn --version	no
node --version	13.10.1

OS	Version
NAME	VERSION
macOS Sierra	10.15.3

[richardantao]

It looks like the output folder will simply be the first blob in the packages array in your lerna.json.

At first, my lerna.json was simply:

{
  "packages": [
    "packages/*"
  ],
  "version": "0.0.0"
}

And packages would only get placed directly under the packages folder, regardless of what path I passed to in [loc] lerna create <name> [loc].

Then, when my lerna.json was:

{
  "packages": [
    "packages/apps/*",
    "packages/libs/*"
  ],
  "version": "0.0.0"
}

Packages would only be placed in the packages/apps folder, even when I tried to create with lerna create <package-name> ./packages/libs/<package-name>.

[JamesHenry]

Thanks for reporting this folks! We will gladly review PRs to improve this behaviour, I agree it seems to currently be unintuitive or broken in certain cases.

Additionally, I have opened an issue to track improvements to customizing lerna create more broadly here: #3444