Monorepos consolidate multiple projects in one repository. Here's how to set up and manage them effectively.
Why Monorepos
Benefits:
- Shared code and dependencies
- Atomic changes across packages
- Consistent tooling and config
- Simplified dependency management
Challenges:
- Build complexity
- CI performance
- Code ownership
- Repository size
Workspace Setup with pnpm
project/
├── apps/
│ ├── web/
│ │ └── package.json
│ └── api/
│ └── package.json
├── packages/
│ ├── ui/
│ │ └── package.json
│ ├── utils/
│ │ └── package.json
│ └── config/
│ └── package.json
├── package.json
└── pnpm-workspace.yaml
Turborepo Configuration
Shared Configuration
Internal Packages
Build Caching
CI Configuration
Versioning and Publishing
Task Dependencies
Best Practices
Structure:
✓ Use consistent package naming (@scope/name)
✓ Keep shared config in dedicated package
✓ Organize by feature or layer
✓ Document package dependencies
Performance:
✓ Enable build caching
✓ Use remote cache in CI
✓ Filter builds to changed packages
✓ Parallelize independent tasks
Dependencies:
✓ Use workspace protocol (workspace:*)
✓ Hoist shared dependencies
✓ Keep package versions aligned
✓ Avoid circular dependencies
CI/CD:
✓ Cache node_modules and turbo
✓ Build only affected packages
✓ Run tests in parallel
✓ Deploy packages independently
Conclusion
Monorepos work well with proper tooling. Use pnpm workspaces for dependency management, Turborepo for build orchestration, and changesets for versioning. Focus on caching and filtering to keep builds fast as the repository grows.