What is a monorepo?

Learn the monorepo concept.

What is a monorepo?

A monorepo keeps multiple packages or apps in a single Git repository. Each package has its own package.json; shared dependencies are managed from the root. It is contrasted with polyrepo.

Pros: easy code sharing, single-commit changes, synced versions. Cons: the repo grows, builds get complex. This is why tools like Turborepo exist.

Monorepo structure

A typical monorepo root contains: apps/ (apps), packages/ (shared libraries), package.json (root) and turbo.json (build settings). Each sub-package has its own package.json.

The root package.json declares sub-packages with the workspaces setting. This way npm install sets up all dependencies in one command; conflicting versions are resolved in one place.

Exercise Add the workspaces setting

Add a workspaces field to a root package.json. It should include apps/* and packages/* directories.

Show example solution

{
  "name": "my-monorepo",
  "private": true,
  "workspaces": ["apps/*", "packages/*"]
}

Test yourself

What does a monorepo keep in one place?
- Only docs
- One package in many repos
- Many packages in one repo
- Only tests
Show answer

Many packages in one repo — A monorepo keeps many packages in one repo.

Write the apps folder name

At the monorepo root, apps usually live in the ____/ folder.

Show answer

At the monorepo root, apps usually live in the apps/ folder.

Match the monorepo pieces

apps/

Apps
packages/

Shared library
package.json

Root deps
turbo.json

Build config

Next lesson: Yarn workspaces

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