A Guide to Monorepos

What is a Monorepo ?

A monorepo (monolithic repository) is a software development strategy where multiple projects, packages, or applications are stored in a single version control repository.
Unlike the traditional approach of maintaining separate repositories for each project, monorepos consolidate related codebases into one unified workspace.

Popular Monorepo Tools

Turborepo - The Performance Champion

Turborepo has quickly become a favorite in the JavaScript ecosystem.
Created by Vercel, it focuses on speed and developer experience.

Getting Started:

npx create-turbo@latest my-monorepo

Configuration Example:

{
  "pipeline": {
    "build": {
      "dependsOn": ["^build"],
      "outputs": ["dist/**", ".next/**"]
    },
    "dev": {
      "cache": false,
      "persistent": true
    }
  }
}

Nx - The Enterprise Solution

Nx is a powerful build system with extensive tooling for large-scale development.
It supports multiple frameworks and provides advanced features like dependency graph visualization.

Quick Start:

npx create-nx-workspace@latest myworkspace

Documentation: Nx

Lerna - The Veteran

Lerna has been around the longest and offers comprehensive package management capabilities, especially for npm package publishing.

Documentation: Lerna

PNPM Workspaces - The Lightweight Option

PNPM offers built-in workspace support with excellent disk space efficiency and fast installation times.

Simple Setup:

# pnpm-workspace.yaml
packages:
  - 'apps/*'
  - 'packages/*'

Documentation: PNPM Workspaces

Practices for Monorepo

1. Establish Clear Project Structure

Organize your monorepo with a logical hierarchy:

my-monorepo/
├── apps/                 # Applications
│   ├── web/
│   ├── mobile/
│   └── admin/
├── packages/             # Shared packages
│   ├── ui/
│   ├── utils/
│   └── config/
├── tools/                # Build tools and scripts
└── docs/                 # Documentation

2. Implement Effective Caching Strategies

Configure your build tool to cache effectively:

• Cache build outputs based on input hashes
• Share caches across team members
• Use remote caching for CI/CD environments

3. Use Conventional Commit Messages

Implement Conventional Commits to enable automated versioning and changelog generation:

feat(ui): add new button component
fix(api): resolve authentication timeout
docs(readme): update installation instructions

4. Set Up Proper Linting and Formatting

Use tools like ESLint and Prettier with shared configurations:

{
  "extends": ["@company/eslint-config"],
  "rules": {
    "import/no-relative-parent-imports": "error"
  }
}