Well I think it was introduced in npm 6, either way you slice it, 6 major versions is way to late for this basic functionality. Yes but that is the issue with

Well I think it was introduced in npm 6, either way you slice it, 6 major versions is way to late for this basic functionality. Yes but that is the issue with yarn: it has its separate lock file, which is why when I (used to) devops node apps, I required the devs all agree on either npm or yarn but not a mix.