Monorepo Orchestration Setup

Overview

Configure and orchestrate monorepos for scalable multi-project development. This skill covers workspace setup, task pipeline configuration, incremental builds, and CI/CD integration using modern monorepo tooling (Nx, Turborepo, Lerna).

REQUIRED: superpowers:verification-before-completion

When to Use

• Setting up a new monorepo from scratch
• Migrating from polyrepo to monorepo architecture
• Adding monorepo tooling (Nx, Turborepo, Lerna) to existing repository
• Configuring task pipelines and build orchestration
• Optimising build performance with caching strategies
• Setting up CI/CD for monorepo workflows
• User asks about "workspace configuration" or "multi-package repository"

Detection and Deference

Before creating new monorepo configuration, check for existing setup:

# Check for existing monorepo tools
ls nx.json turbo.json lerna.json pnpm-workspace.yaml 2>/dev/null

# Check for existing workspace configuration
ls package.json && grep -l "workspaces" package.json 2>/dev/null

# Check for existing project structure
ls packages/ apps/ libs/ projects/ 2>/dev/null

If existing configuration found:

• Build upon existing monorepo setup
• Use existing tool conventions
• Reference existing workspace structure

If no configuration found:

• Help select appropriate monorepo tool
• Create minimal initial configuration
• Document tool selection in ADR

Tool Selection Guide

Select monorepo tooling based on ecosystem and requirements:

Selection Criteria

Choose Nx when:

• Building full-stack applications (frontend + backend)
• Need code generators and scaffolding
• Require advanced dependency graph analysis
• Team benefits from opinionated structure

Choose Turborepo when:

• Primary focus is JavaScript/TypeScript
• Want minimal configuration overhead
• Need fast remote caching
• Prefer flexibility over structure

Choose Lerna when:

• Managing multiple npm packages for publishing
• Need version synchronisation across packages
• Publishing to npm registry is primary goal
• Already using Lerna (migration cost consideration)

Core Workflow

1. Assess requirements (team size, project types, CI/CD needs)
2. Select monorepo tool based on ecosystem and requirements
3. Configure workspace with appropriate project structure
4. Define task pipelines (build, test, lint dependencies)
5. Enable caching (local and remote)
6. Configure CI/CD with affected-only execution
7. Document conventions and onboarding guide

Configuration Patterns

Workspace Structure

Standard monorepo directory layout:

monorepo/
  apps/           # Deployable applications
    web/
    api/
  packages/       # Shared libraries
    ui/
    utils/
  tools/          # Build tooling and scripts
  nx.json         # or turbo.json
  package.json    # Root package with workspaces

Task Pipeline Configuration

Define task dependencies to enable incremental builds:

Nx (nx.json):

{
  "targetDefaults": {
    "build": {
      "dependsOn": ["^build"],
      "cache": true
    },
    "test": {
      "dependsOn": ["build"],
      "cache": true
    },
    "lint": {
      "cache": true
    }
  }
}

Turborepo (turbo.json):

{
  "tasks": {
    "build": {
      "dependsOn": ["^build"],
      "outputs": ["dist/**"]
    },
    "test": {
      "dependsOn": ["build"],
      "outputs": []
    },
    "lint": {
      "outputs": []
    }
  }
}

Caching Strategies

Enable caching for reproducible, fast builds:

Local caching:

• Enabled by default in Nx and Turborepo
• Cache stored in .nx/cache or node_modules/.cache/turbo
• Clear with nx reset or turbo run build --force

Remote caching:

• Nx Cloud: npx nx connect
• Vercel Remote Cache: turbo login and turbo link
• Self-hosted: Configure cache storage endpoint

CI/CD Integration

Run only affected projects in CI:

GitHub Actions (Nx):

- name: Build affected
  run: npx nx affected -t build --base=origin/main

- name: Test affected
  run: npx nx affected -t test --base=origin/main

GitHub Actions (Turborepo):

- name: Build
  run: npx turbo run build --filter=...[origin/main]

- name: Test
  run: npx turbo run test --filter=...[origin/main]

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Over-coupling packages

Problem: Too many dependencies between packages slow builds.

Solution: Design packages with clear boundaries. Use dependency graph visualisation to identify problematic coupling (nx graph or turbo run build --graph).

Pitfall 2: Missing task dependencies

Problem: Tasks run in wrong order causing failures.

Solution: Explicitly define dependsOn for all tasks that require outputs from other tasks. Test with clean cache.

Pitfall 3: Cache invalidation issues

Problem: Stale cache causes incorrect builds.

Solution: Define all outputs and inputs correctly. Use hashing configuration to include all relevant files. When in doubt, clear cache and rebuild.

Pitfall 4: Slow CI without affected filtering

Problem: CI rebuilds everything on every commit.

Solution: Use affected commands with base branch comparison. Configure proper base branch for PRs and main branch builds.

Verification Checklist

Before declaring setup complete, verify:

• Workspace configuration is valid (nx show projects or turbo run build --dry-run)
• Task pipelines execute in correct order
• Caching works correctly (second run is fast)
• Affected detection works (only changed projects run)
• CI/CD pipeline executes affected tasks only
• Team onboarding documentation exists
• Architecture decision documented (tool selection rationale)

Quick Reference Commands

Nx

# Create workspace
npx create-nx-workspace@latest myworkspace

# Generate application
npx nx g @nx/web:app myapp

# Generate library
npx nx g @nx/js:lib mylib

# Run affected
npx nx affected -t build test lint

# Visualise dependency graph
npx nx graph

Turborepo

# Create workspace
npx create-turbo@latest

# Run all builds
npx turbo run build

# Run affected builds
npx turbo run build --filter=...[origin/main]

# Visualise dependency graph
npx turbo run build --graph

Lerna

# Initialise Lerna
npx lerna init

# Bootstrap packages
npx lerna bootstrap

# Run script in all packages
npx lerna run build

# Run only in changed packages
npx lerna run build --since main

# Version and publish
npx lerna version
npx lerna publish

Red Flags - STOP

These statements indicate monorepo anti-patterns:

Integration with Other Skills

• walking-skeleton-delivery: Use monorepo structure for E2E skeleton across services
• ci-cd-conformance: Configure CI/CD pipelines with affected-only execution
• automated-standards-enforcement: Apply linting and formatting across all packages

Evidence Examples

Nx Graph Output

npx nx graph --file=output.json

Sample output.json (dependency graph):

{
  "graph": {
    "nodes": {
      "web": {
        "name": "web",
        "type": "app",
        "data": { "root": "apps/web" }
      },
      "api": {
        "name": "api",
        "type": "app",
        "data": { "root": "apps/api" }
      },
      "ui": {
        "name": "ui",
        "type": "lib",
        "data": { "root": "packages/ui" }
      },
      "utils": {
        "name": "utils",
        "type": "lib",
        "data": { "root": "packages/utils" }
      }
    },
    "dependencies": {
      "web": [
        { "source": "web", "target": "ui", "type": "static" },
        { "source": "web", "target": "utils", "type": "static" }
      ],
      "api": [{ "source": "api", "target": "utils", "type": "static" }],
      "ui": [{ "source": "ui", "target": "utils", "type": "static" }],
      "utils": []
    }
  }
}

Turborepo Graph Output

$ npx turbo run build --graph=graph.html
# Or JSON format:
$ npx turbo run build --graph=graph.json

Sample turbo output (task execution):

• Packages in scope: @myorg/api, @myorg/ui, @myorg/utils, @myorg/web
• Running build in 4 packages
• Remote caching disabled

@myorg/utils:build: cache hit, replaying output
@myorg/ui:build: cache miss, executing
@myorg/api:build: cache hit, replaying output
@myorg/web:build: cache miss, executing

 Tasks:    4 successful, 4 total
Cached:    2 cached, 4 total
  Time:    3.245s

Affected Detection Evidence

# Nx affected output
$ npx nx affected:apps --base=main --head=HEAD
>  NX   Affected apps:
- web

$ npx nx affected:libs --base=main --head=HEAD
>  NX   Affected libs:
- ui
- utils

# Turborepo affected output
$ npx turbo run build --filter='...[origin/main]' --dry-run
• Packages in scope: @myorg/ui, @myorg/web
• Running build in 2 packages
• 2 packages in graph are affected by changes

Baseline Performance Metrics

Metrics to Capture

Performance Worksheet

# Monorepo Performance Baseline

**Repository**: [repo-name]
**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Tool**: [Nx/Turborepo/Lerna]
**Packages**: [N] apps, [M] libs

## Build Performance

| Scenario         | Time | Cache Status | Notes                                  |
| ---------------- | ---- | ------------ | -------------------------------------- |
| Cold build (all) | [X]s | No cache     | `nx run-many -t build --skip-nx-cache` |
| Warm build (all) | [X]s | Full cache   | Second run of above                    |
| Affected (1 lib) | [X]s | Partial      | After changing utils                   |
| Affected (1 app) | [X]s | Partial      | After changing web only                |

## CI Performance

| Metric             | Before Optimization | After | Improvement |
| ------------------ | ------------------- | ----- | ----------- |
| Average PR build   | [X]m                | [Y]m  | [Z]%        |
| Cache hit rate     | [X]%                | [Y]%  | +[Z]%       |
| Affected detection | [X]s                | [Y]s  | [Z]%        |

## Verification Commands

# Measure cold build

time npx nx run-many -t build --skip-nx-cache

# Measure warm build (run twice, take second)

npx nx run-many -t build
time npx nx run-many -t build

# Measure affected build

git checkout -b test-affected
echo "// change" >> packages/utils/src/index.ts
time npx nx affected -t build --base=main
git checkout main && git branch -D test-affected

# Check cache statistics (Nx)

npx nx show cache-stats

# Check cache statistics (Turborepo)

npx turbo run build --summarize

Sample CI Evidence

# GitHub Actions summary output
Build Summary:
  Total packages: 12
  Affected packages: 3
  Cached tasks: 9/12 (75%)
  Build time: 45s (vs 180s full build)
  Cache savings: 135s (75% reduction)