Muhammad Sufiyan's Blog

Episode 2: What is a Monorepo?

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Muhammad Sufiyan
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3 min read

Introduction to Monorepos

A monorepo (short for monolithic repository) is a single repository that stores all the code and assets for all your projects.

Unlike the traditional approach of storing each project in its own separate repository, a monorepo allows you to:

  • Develop multiple projects simultaneously.

  • Share dependencies and resources easily.

  • Ensure every project uses the latest version of shared libraries or tools.

Why Monorepos?

Imagine this scenario:

  • You’re developing a product.

  • The product depends on a small library you created.

Now, you want to add a new feature to the product, but it requires you to update the library first.

With a monorepo, you can:

  1. Make changes to both the product and the library at the same time.

  2. Test the updates together, ensuring they work seamlessly.

  3. Catch bugs early, before deploying to production.

When the changes are ready, you can:

  • Deploy both the library and the product at the same time.

The Monorepo Advantage

This approach simplifies the development process, enabling:

  • Faster iteration cycles.

  • Easier collaboration between teams.

  • Improved code quality by testing changes in real-world scenarios.

Monorepos in Action

Real-World Examples

Many of the largest tech companies and popular open-source projects use monorepos to streamline their development workflows:

  • Google: Manages the majority of its codebase in a single monorepo, using advanced internal tools.

  • Facebook: Uses a monorepo for its core products and libraries.

  • Open Source: Projects like React, Babel, and Jest use monorepos to develop their tools efficiently.

Open Source Monorepo Tools

Although companies like Google and Facebook have created specialized tools to manage their massive monorepos, most developers don’t need such complexity.

For smaller-scale projects, there are many free tools that make managing monorepos simple and effective:

  1. Lerna: A classic tool for managing monorepos.

  2. Nx: A modern, powerful monorepo tool tailored for JavaScript and TypeScript.

  3. Turborepo: Optimized for performance and speed when working with monorepos.

  4. Yarn Workspaces: Built into Yarn for dependency management and workspaces.

How Monorepos Simplify Development

Here’s a summary of how monorepos work in practice:

  1. Centralized Storage

    • Store all your projects, libraries, and dependencies in one repository.

  2. Unified Development Workflow

    • Develop, test, and deploy all your projects simultaneously.

  3. Real-Time Feedback

    • Test updates to shared libraries instantly with dependent projects.

  4. Easy Collaboration

    • Developers can work across multiple projects without switching repositories.

  5. Streamlined Deployments

    • Release products and their dependencies together, ensuring compatibility.

Conclusion

Monorepos offer a practical and efficient way to manage multiple interdependent projects. By storing everything in a single repository, you can:

  • Simplify your workflow.

  • Enhance collaboration.

  • Catch bugs early.

With the availability of robust open-source tools, implementing a monorepo has become easier than ever, even for smaller teams and individual developers.

In the next episode, we’ll dive into patterns for structuring monorepos and explore some best practices to get you started on the right foot.

Stay tuned! 🎉

monorepoNxYarnNode.js