diff --git a/packages/e2e/setup/constants.ts b/packages/e2e/setup/constants.ts
index 00f6a9278fb..287b958694a 100644
--- a/packages/e2e/setup/constants.ts
+++ b/packages/e2e/setup/constants.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ export const CLI_TIMEOUT = {
   short: 1 * 60_000,
   /** 3 min — standard commands (deploy, build, config link) */
   medium: 3 * 60_000,
-  /** 5 min — slow commands (create app, scaffold + npm install) */
+  /** 5 min — slow commands (create app, scaffold) */
   long: 5 * 60_000,
 } as const
 
diff --git a/packages/e2e/tests/app-deploy.spec.ts b/packages/e2e/tests/app-deploy.spec.ts
index 343d16403c1..7fe3421121f 100644
--- a/packages/e2e/tests/app-deploy.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/e2e/tests/app-deploy.spec.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ test.describe('App deploy', () => {
         parentDir,
         name: appName,
         template: 'none',
-        packageManager: 'npm',
+        packageManager: 'pnpm',
         orgId: env.orgId,
       })
       expect(initResult.exitCode, `createApp failed:\nstdout: ${initResult.stdout}\nstderr: ${initResult.stderr}`).toBe(
diff --git a/packages/e2e/tests/app-dev-server.spec.ts b/packages/e2e/tests/app-dev-server.spec.ts
index 354a1f9e847..d8ff65499fd 100644
--- a/packages/e2e/tests/app-dev-server.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/e2e/tests/app-dev-server.spec.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ test.describe('App dev server', () => {
         parentDir,
         name: appName,
         template: 'none',
-        packageManager: 'npm',
+        packageManager: 'pnpm',
         orgId: env.orgId,
       })
       expect(initResult.exitCode).toBe(0)
diff --git a/packages/e2e/tests/app-scaffold.spec.ts b/packages/e2e/tests/app-scaffold.spec.ts
index ace72ad692b..d906e98b777 100644
--- a/packages/e2e/tests/app-scaffold.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/e2e/tests/app-scaffold.spec.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ test.describe('App scaffold', () => {
         name: appName,
         template: 'reactRouter',
         flavor: 'javascript',
-        packageManager: 'npm',
+        packageManager: 'pnpm',
         orgId: env.orgId,
       })
       expect(initResult.exitCode).toBe(0)
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ test.describe('App scaffold', () => {
         parentDir,
         name: appName,
         template: 'none',
-        packageManager: 'npm',
+        packageManager: 'pnpm',
         orgId: env.orgId,
       })
       expect(initResult.exitCode).toBe(0)
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ test.describe('App scaffold', () => {
         name: appName,
         template: 'reactRouter',
         flavor: 'javascript',
-        packageManager: 'npm',
+        packageManager: 'pnpm',
         orgId: env.orgId,
       })
       expect(initResult.exitCode).toBe(0)