nx-workspace

name

nx-workspace

description

Configure, explore, and optimize Nx monorepo workspaces. Use when setting up Nx, exploring workspace structure, configuring project boundaries, analyzing affected projects, optimizing build caching, or implementing CI/CD with affected commands. Keywords — nx, monorepo, workspace, projects, targets, affected. Do NOT use for running tasks (use nx-run-tasks) or code generation with generators (use nx-generate).

Nx Workspace Management

Quick Start

Exploring workspace: nx show projects and nx show project <name> --json
Running tasks: nx <target> <project> (e.g., nx build my-app)
Affected analysis: nx show projects --affected or nx affected -t <target>

Note: Prefix commands with npx/pnpx/yarn if nx isn't installed globally.

Core Commands

List and Explore Projects

# List all projects
nx show projects

# Filter by type, pattern, or target
nx show projects --type app
nx show projects --projects "apps/*"
nx show projects --withTarget build

# Find affected projects
nx show projects --affected --base=main

Get Project Information

Critical: Always use nx show project <name> --json for full resolved configuration. Do NOT read project.json directly - it contains only partial configuration.

# Get full configuration
nx show project my-app --json

# Extract targets
nx show project my-app --json | jq '.targets | keys'

Configuration schemas:

• Workspace: node_modules/nx/schemas/nx-schema.json
• Project: node_modules/nx/schemas/project-schema.json

Run Tasks

# Run specific project
nx build web --configuration=production

# Run affected
nx affected -t test --base=main

# View dependency graph
nx graph

Workspace Architecture

workspace/
├── apps/              # Deployable applications
├── libs/              # Shared libraries
│   ├── shared/        # Shared across scopes
│   └── feature/       # Feature-specific
├── nx.json            # Workspace configuration
└── tools/             # Custom executors/generators

Library Types

Type	Purpose	Example
feature	Business logic, smart components	feature-auth
ui	Presentational components	ui-buttons
data-access	API calls, state management	data-access-users
util	Pure functions, helpers	util-formatting

Detailed Resources

Configuration: See reference/configuration.md for:

• nx.json templates and options
• project.json structure
• Module boundary rules
• Remote caching setup

Commands: See reference/commands.md for:

• Complete command reference
• Advanced filtering options
• Common workflows

CI/CD: See reference/ci-cd.md for:

• GitHub Actions configuration
• GitLab CI setup
• Jenkins, Azure Pipelines, CircleCI examples
• Affected commands in pipelines

Best Practices: See reference/best-practices.md for:

• Do's and don'ts
• Complete troubleshooting guide
• Performance optimization
• Migration guides

Common Workflows

"What's in this workspace?"

nx show projects --type app  # List applications
nx show projects --type lib  # List libraries

"How do I run project X?"

nx show project X --json | jq '.targets | keys'

"What changed?"

nx show projects --affected --base=main

Quick Troubleshooting

• Targets not showing: Use nx show project <name> --json, not project.json
• Affected not working: Ensure git history available (fetch-depth: 0 in CI)
• Cache issues: Run nx reset

For detailed troubleshooting, see reference/best-practices.md.