Monorepo Management

Build efficient, scalable monorepos that enable code sharing, consistent tooling, and atomic changes across multiple packages and applications.

When to Use This Skill

• Setting up new monorepo projects
• Migrating from multi-repo to monorepo
• Optimizing build and test performance
• Managing shared dependencies
• Implementing code sharing strategies
• Setting up CI/CD for monorepos
• Versioning and publishing packages
• Debugging monorepo-specific issues

Core Concepts

1. Why Monorepos?

Advantages:

• Shared code and dependencies
• Atomic commits across projects
• Consistent tooling and standards
• Easier refactoring
• Simplified dependency management
• Better code visibility

Challenges:

• Build performance at scale
• CI/CD complexity
• Access control
• Large Git repository

2. Monorepo Tools

Package Managers:

• pnpm workspaces (recommended)
• npm workspaces
• Yarn workspaces

Build Systems:

• Turborepo (recommended for most)
• Nx (feature-rich, complex)
• Lerna (older, maintenance mode)

Turborepo Setup

Initial Setup

# Create new monorepo
npx create-turbo@latest my-monorepo
cd my-monorepo

# Structure:
# apps/
#   web/          - Next.js app
#   docs/         - Documentation site
# packages/
#   ui/           - Shared UI components
#   config/       - Shared configurations
#   tsconfig/     - Shared TypeScript configs
# turbo.json      - Turborepo configuration
# package.json    - Root package.json

Configuration

// turbo.json
{
  "$schema": "https://turbo.build/schema.json",
  "globalDependencies": ["**/.env.*local"],
  "pipeline": {
    "build": {
      "dependsOn": ["^build"],
      "outputs": ["dist/**", ".next/**", "!.next/cache/**"]
    },
    "test": {
      "dependsOn": ["build"],
      "outputs": ["coverage/**"]
    },
    "lint": {
      "outputs": []
    },
    "dev": {
      "cache": false,
      "persistent": true
    },
    "type-check": {
      "dependsOn": ["^build"],
      "outputs": []
    }
  }
}

// package.json (root)
{
  "name": "my-monorepo",
  "private": true,
  "workspaces": ["apps/*", "packages/*"],
  "scripts": {
    "build": "turbo run build",
    "dev": "turbo run dev",
    "test": "turbo run test",
    "lint": "turbo run lint",
    "format": "prettier --write \"**/*.{ts,tsx,md}\"",
    "clean": "turbo run clean && rm -rf node_modules"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "turbo": "^1.10.0",
    "prettier": "^3.0.0",
    "typescript": "^5.0.0"
  },
  "packageManager": "[email protected]"
}

Package Structure

// packages/ui/package.json
{
  "name": "@repo/ui",
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "private": true,
  "main": "./dist/index.js",
  "types": "./dist/index.d.ts",
  "exports": {
    ".": {
      "import": "./dist/index.js",
      "types": "./dist/index.d.ts"
    },
    "./button": {
      "import": "./dist/button.js",
      "types": "./dist/button.d.ts"
    }
  },
  "scripts": {
    "build": "tsup src/index.ts --format esm,cjs --dts",
    "dev": "tsup src/index.ts --format esm,cjs --dts --watch",
    "lint": "eslint src/",
    "type-check": "tsc --noEmit"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@repo/tsconfig": "workspace:*",
    "tsup": "^7.0.0",
    "typescript": "^5.0.0"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^18.2.0"
  }
}

pnpm Workspaces

Setup

# pnpm-workspace.yaml
packages:
  - "apps/*"
  - "packages/*"
  - "tools/*"

// .npmrc
# Hoist shared dependencies
shamefully-hoist=true

# Strict peer dependencies
auto-install-peers=true
strict-peer-dependencies=true

# Performance
store-dir=~/.pnpm-store

Dependency Management

# Install dependency in specific package
pnpm add react --filter @repo/ui
pnpm add -D typescript --filter @repo/ui

# Install workspace dependency
pnpm add @repo/ui --filter web

# Install in all packages
pnpm add -D eslint -w

# Update all dependencies
pnpm update -r

# Remove dependency
pnpm remove react --filter @repo/ui

Scripts

# Run script in specific package
pnpm --filter web dev
pnpm --filter @repo/ui build

# Run in all packages
pnpm -r build
pnpm -r test

# Run in parallel
pnpm -r --parallel dev

# Filter by pattern
pnpm --filter "@repo/*" build
pnpm --filter "...web" build  # Build web and dependencies

Nx Monorepo

Setup

# Create Nx monorepo
npx create-nx-workspace@latest my-org

# Generate applications
nx generate @nx/react:app my-app
nx generate @nx/next:app my-next-app

# Generate libraries
nx generate @nx/react:lib ui-components
nx generate @nx/js:lib utils

Configuration

// nx.json
{
  "extends": "nx/presets/npm.json",
  "$schema": "./node_modules/nx/schemas/nx-schema.json",
  "targetDefaults": {
    "build": {
      "dependsOn": ["^build"],
      "inputs": ["production", "^production"],
      "cache": true
    }
how to use monorepo-management
CursorClaude CodeClineCodexWindsurfGooseGitHub CopilotVS CodeGemini CLIKiloOpencodeKimi CLIRoo ClineAiderContinueZedBolt.newLovablev0Replit AgentSweepSmol DeveloperDevinCavemanAmpAntigravity
How to use monorepo-management on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
1
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add monorepo-management
2
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
$npx skills add https://github.com/wshobson/agents --skill monorepo-managementcopy
The skills CLI fetches monorepo-management from GitHub repository wshobson/agents and configures it for Cursor.
3
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│   • Amp
│   • Antigravity
│   • Cline
│   • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│   • Cursor
│   • Windsurf
4
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
.cursor/skills/monorepo-management
Reload or restart Cursor to activate monorepo-management. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /monorepo-management) or your agent's skill management interface.
⚠
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
Additional Resources
›View source code on GitHub›Skills CLI documentation›Learn more about Cursor›What are agent skills?