Pnpm v12 cannot switch to v10 on "linux-x64-musl" hosts #16467

Verify latest release

• I verified that the issue exists in the latest pnpm release

pnpm version

No response

Which area(s) of pnpm are affected? (leave empty if unsure)

CLI

Link to the code that reproduces this issue or a replay of the bug

https://github.com/bartlangelaan/pnpm-linux-x64-musl-binaries-demo

Reproduction steps

1. Use a "linux-x64-musl" host
2. Install pnpm 12.8.1 globally
3. Run pnpm install on a project that uses "packageManager": "pnpm@10.34.4

Describe the Bug

Error: ERR_PNPM_PNPM_ENGINE_NO_NATIVE_BINARY

  × verify the package manager identity
  ╰─▶ Cannot run @pnpm/exe@10.34.4 on this host: it ships no native binary for
      linux-x64-musl.
  help: Set `pmOnFail` to `ignore` to skip the version switch.

Delegation exit code: 1

Expected Behavior

I expected it to work. It works if you install pnpm v10 or v11 globally.

Which Node.js version are you using?

22.23.3

Which operating systems have you used?

• macOS
• Windows
• Linux

If your OS is a Linux based, which one it is? (Include the version if relevant)

Alpine

Contributing a fix

• I am working on a fix