Note: Bundled scripts ship as Markdown reference (.md) — copy the code out of the .md file to run it.
Monorepo Navigator
Tier: POWERFUL
Category: Engineering
Domain: Monorepo Architecture / Build Systems
Overview
Navigate, manage, and optimize monorepos. Covers Turborepo, Nx, pnpm workspaces, and Lerna. Enables cross-package impact analysis, selective builds/tests on affected packages only, remote caching, dependency graph visualization, and structured migrations from multi-repo to monorepo. Includes Claude Code configuration for workspace-aware development.
Core Capabilities
- Cross-package impact analysis — determine which apps break when a shared package changes
- Selective commands — run tests/builds only for affected packages (not everything)
- Dependency graph — visualize package relationships as Mermaid diagrams
- Build optimization — remote caching, incremental builds, parallel execution
- Migration — step-by-step multi-repo → monorepo with zero history loss
- Publishing — changesets for versioning, pre-release channels, npm publish workflows
- Claude Code config — workspace-aware CLAUDE.md with per-package instructions
When to Use
Use when:
- Multiple packages/apps share code (UI components, utils, types, API clients)
- Build times are slow because everything rebuilds when anything changes
- Migrating from multiple repos to a single repo
- Need to publish packages to npm with coordinated versioning
- Teams work across multiple packages and need unified tooling
Skip when:
- Single-app project with no shared packages
- Team/project boundaries are completely isolated (polyrepo is fine)
- Shared code is minimal and copy-paste overhead is acceptable
Tool Selection
| Tool |
Best For |
Key Feature |
| Turborepo |
JS/TS monorepos, simple pipeline config |
Best-in-class remote caching, minimal config |
| Nx |
Large enterprises, plugin ecosystem |
Project graph, code generation, affected commands |
| pnpm workspaces |
Workspace protocol, disk efficiency |
workspace:* for local package refs |
| Lerna |
npm publishing, versioning |
Batch publishing, conventional commits |
| Changesets |
Modern versioning (preferred over Lerna) |
Changelog generation, pre-release channels |
Most modern setups: pnpm workspaces + Turborepo + Changesets
Turborepo
→ See references/monorepo-tooling-reference.md for details
Workspace Analyzer
python3 scripts/monorepo_analyzer.py /path/to/monorepo
python3 scripts/monorepo_analyzer.py /path/to/monorepo --json
Also see references/monorepo-patterns.md for common architecture and CI patterns.
Common Pitfalls
| Pitfall |
Fix |
Running turbo run build without --filter on every PR |
Always use --filter=...[origin/main] in CI |
workspace:* refs cause publish failures |
Use pnpm changeset publish — it replaces workspace:* with real versions automatically |
| All packages rebuild when unrelated file changes |
Tune inputs in turbo.json to exclude docs, config files from cache keys |
| Shared tsconfig causes one package to break all type-checks |
Use extends properly — each package extends root but overrides rootDir / outDir |
| git history lost during migration |
Use git filter-repo --to-subdirectory-filter before merging — never move files manually |
| Remote cache not working in CI |
Check TURBO_TOKEN and TURBO_TEAM env vars; verify with turbo run build --summarize |
| CLAUDE.md too generic — Claude modifies wrong package |
Add explicit "When working on X, only touch files in apps/X" rules per package CLAUDE.md |
Best Practices
- Root CLAUDE.md defines the map — document every package, its purpose, and dependency rules
- Per-package CLAUDE.md defines the rules — what's allowed, what's forbidden, testing commands
- Always scope commands with --filter — running everything on every change defeats the purpose
- Remote cache is not optional — without it, monorepo CI is slower than multi-repo CI
- Changesets over manual versioning — never hand-edit package.json versions in a monorepo
- Shared configs in root, extended in packages — tsconfig.base.json, .eslintrc.base.js, jest.base.config.js
- Impact analysis before merging shared package changes — run affected check, communicate blast radius
- Keep packages/types as pure TypeScript — no runtime code, no dependencies, fast to build and type-check
1---2name: monorepo-navigator3description: Monorepo Navigator4---56> **Note:** Bundled scripts ship as Markdown reference (`.md`) — copy the code out of the `.md` file to run it.78# Monorepo Navigator910**Tier:** POWERFUL 11**Category:** Engineering 12**Domain:** Monorepo Architecture / Build Systems1314---1516## Overview1718Navigate, manage, and optimize monorepos. Covers Turborepo, Nx, pnpm workspaces, and Lerna. Enables cross-package impact analysis, selective builds/tests on affected packages only, remote caching, dependency graph visualization, and structured migrations from multi-repo to monorepo. Includes Claude Code configuration for workspace-aware development.1920---2122## Core Capabilities2324- **Cross-package impact analysis** — determine which apps break when a shared package changes25- **Selective commands** — run tests/builds only for affected packages (not everything)26- **Dependency graph** — visualize package relationships as Mermaid diagrams27- **Build optimization** — remote caching, incremental builds, parallel execution28- **Migration** — step-by-step multi-repo → monorepo with zero history loss29- **Publishing** — changesets for versioning, pre-release channels, npm publish workflows30- **Claude Code config** — workspace-aware CLAUDE.md with per-package instructions3132---3334## When to Use3536Use when:3738- Multiple packages/apps share code (UI components, utils, types, API clients)39- Build times are slow because everything rebuilds when anything changes40- Migrating from multiple repos to a single repo41- Need to publish packages to npm with coordinated versioning42- Teams work across multiple packages and need unified tooling4344Skip when:4546- Single-app project with no shared packages47- Team/project boundaries are completely isolated (polyrepo is fine)48- Shared code is minimal and copy-paste overhead is acceptable4950---5152## Tool Selection5354| Tool | Best For | Key Feature |55| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |56| **Turborepo** | JS/TS monorepos, simple pipeline config | Best-in-class remote caching, minimal config |57| **Nx** | Large enterprises, plugin ecosystem | Project graph, code generation, affected commands |58| **pnpm workspaces** | Workspace protocol, disk efficiency | `workspace:*` for local package refs |59| **Lerna** | npm publishing, versioning | Batch publishing, conventional commits |60| **Changesets** | Modern versioning (preferred over Lerna) | Changelog generation, pre-release channels |6162Most modern setups: **pnpm workspaces + Turborepo + Changesets**6364---6566## Turborepo6768→ See references/monorepo-tooling-reference.md for details6970## Workspace Analyzer7172```bash73python3 scripts/monorepo_analyzer.py /path/to/monorepo74python3 scripts/monorepo_analyzer.py /path/to/monorepo --json75```7677Also see `references/monorepo-patterns.md` for common architecture and CI patterns.7879## Common Pitfalls8081| Pitfall | Fix |82| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |83| Running `turbo run build` without `--filter` on every PR | Always use `--filter=...[origin/main]` in CI |84| `workspace:*` refs cause publish failures | Use `pnpm changeset publish` — it replaces `workspace:*` with real versions automatically |85| All packages rebuild when unrelated file changes | Tune `inputs` in turbo.json to exclude docs, config files from cache keys |86| Shared tsconfig causes one package to break all type-checks | Use `extends` properly — each package extends root but overrides `rootDir` / `outDir` |87| git history lost during migration | Use `git filter-repo --to-subdirectory-filter` before merging — never move files manually |88| Remote cache not working in CI | Check TURBO_TOKEN and TURBO_TEAM env vars; verify with `turbo run build --summarize` |89| CLAUDE.md too generic — Claude modifies wrong package | Add explicit "When working on X, only touch files in apps/X" rules per package CLAUDE.md |9091---9293## Best Practices94951. **Root CLAUDE.md defines the map** — document every package, its purpose, and dependency rules962. **Per-package CLAUDE.md defines the rules** — what's allowed, what's forbidden, testing commands973. **Always scope commands with --filter** — running everything on every change defeats the purpose984. **Remote cache is not optional** — without it, monorepo CI is slower than multi-repo CI995. **Changesets over manual versioning** — never hand-edit package.json versions in a monorepo1006. **Shared configs in root, extended in packages** — tsconfig.base.json, .eslintrc.base.js, jest.base.config.js1017. **Impact analysis before merging shared package changes** — run affected check, communicate blast radius1028. **Keep packages/types as pure TypeScript** — no runtime code, no dependencies, fast to build and type-check
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