I think
ExtUtils::Install creates the .packlist during make install. It was installed by cpanm like all my other modules and a reinstall did not create a .packlist. Going through the Catalyst files like Makefile.PL I don't see a deliberate effort to delete the .packfile so maybe something's wrong with how it interacts with ExtUtils::Install? Creating my own .packlist files for random CPAN modules is not within the scope of my application. I'd rather know what is breaking the perl toolchain here. Thanks