monorepo-management

name	monorepo-management
version	0.1.0
description	Use this skill when setting up or managing monorepos, configuring workspace dependencies, optimizing build caching, or choosing between monorepo tools. Triggers on Turborepo, Nx, Bazel, pnpm workspaces, npm workspaces, yarn workspaces, build pipelines, task orchestration, affected commands, and any task requiring multi-package repository management.
category	engineering
tags	["monorepo","turborepo","nx","workspaces","build-caching","tooling"]
recommended_skills	["ci-cd-pipelines","git-advanced","developer-experience","vite-plus","meta-repo"]
platforms	["claude-code","gemini-cli","openai-codex"]
license	MIT
maintainers	[{"github":"maddhruv"}]

When this skill is activated, always start your first response with the 🧢 emoji.

Monorepo Management

A monorepo is a single version-controlled repository that houses multiple packages or applications sharing common tooling, dependencies, and build infrastructure. Done well, a monorepo eliminates dependency drift between packages, enables atomic cross-package changes, and lets you run only the builds and tests affected by a given change. This skill covers workspace managers (pnpm, npm, yarn), task orchestrators (Turborepo, Nx), enterprise build systems (Bazel), internal package patterns, and shared tooling config.

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When to use this skill

Trigger this skill when the user:

• Wants to set up a new monorepo or migrate from a multi-repo setup
• Asks how to configure Turborepo pipelines, caching, or remote caching
• Asks how to use Nx projects, affected commands, or the Nx task graph
• Needs to share TypeScript, ESLint, or Prettier configs across packages
• Asks about pnpm/npm/yarn workspace protocols and dependency hoisting
• Wants to implement internal packages with proper bundling and type exports
• Needs to choose between Turborepo, Nx, Bazel, or Lerna
• Asks about build caching, cache invalidation, or remote cache setup

Do NOT trigger this skill for:

• Single-package repository build tooling (Vite, webpack, esbuild) - use the frontend or backend skill
• Docker/container orchestration even when containers come from a monorepo

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Key principles

1. Single source of truth - Each config (TypeScript base, ESLint rules, Prettier) lives in exactly one package and is extended everywhere else. Duplication is the root cause of config drift.

2. Explicit dependencies - Every package declares its workspace dependencies with workspace:*. Never rely on hoisting to make an undeclared dependency available at runtime.

3. Cache everything - Every deterministic task should be cached. Define precise inputs and outputs so the cache is never stale and never over-broad. Remote caching multiplies this benefit across CI and team.

4. Affected-only builds - On CI, build and test only the packages that changed (directly or transitively). Running the full build on every PR does not scale past ~20 packages.

5. Consistent tooling - Use the same package manager, Node version, and task runner across all packages. Mixed tooling creates invisible resolution differences and breaks cache hits.