(@aws-cdk/aws-lambda-nodejs): ERR_PNPM_RECURSIVE_EXEC_FIRST_FAIL Cannot read properties of undefined

[Dzhuneyt]

Describe the bug

Can not use new NodejsFunction() with esbuild in a PNPM monorepo setup.

Expected Behavior

Commands like cdk synth succeed.

Current Behavior

Commands like cdk synth fail.

Reproduction Steps

1. git clone [email protected]:awesome-cdk/aws-cdk-nodejsfunction-issue.git
2. cd aws-cdk-nodejsfunction-issue
3. pnpm install
4. cd packages/cdk
5. pnpm exec cdk synth

More detailed description of the issue:

1. Create a monorepo setup, orchestrated by PNPM as a package and dependency manager. E.g. have packages/frontend for your frontend and packages/cdk for your IaC and backend.
2. Use the new NodejsFunction() construct anywhere in the CDK app
3. Decide to use esbuild for local bundling, instead of Docker, because it's faster and more efficient
4. Install dependencies at monorepo root using pnpm install
5. Try to synthesize the CDK app: cdk synth

Also see the recent GitHub Actions failure in the minimum reproducable repo for a simple example that fails.

Possible Solution

When trying to use esbuild to compile the Lambda TS into JS, it seems that the construct executes a command like this bash -c pnpm exec -- esbuild --bundle ... at the monorepo root. Instead, the command should be executed from the context of the CDK package root (in this case, ./packages/cdk).

I have verified this by running these very trivial commands:
At the monorepo root - doesn't work:
pnpm exec esbuild --help
At packages/cdk - works:
pnpm exec esbuild --help

Additional Information/Context

No response

CDK CLI Version

2.85.0 (build 4e0d726)

Framework Version

No response

Node.js Version

18.16.0

OS

MacOS

Language

Typescript

Language Version

No response

Other information

No response

[peterwoodworth]

Might be related to #24021