Monorepos in Frontend Development: When, Why, and How to Use Them

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Monorepos are gaining traction in frontend development, with teams looking for better ways to manage shared code, dependencies, and collaboration across multiple projects. But as with any architectural choice, they come with trade-offs.

Are monorepos the right choice for your team? Let’s break it down.

What is a Monorepo?

A monorepo (short for "monolithic repository") is a single code repository that contains multiple projects—such as frontend apps, backend services, shared UI components, and utilities. Instead of managing separate repositories, everything lives in one place, often with tools to handle dependencies and build processes efficiently.

Monorepo vs. Polyrepo

Why Use a Monorepo?

✅ 1. Shared UI Components and Logic

Frontend teams often maintain design systems, component libraries, and utility functions used across multiple projects. With a monorepo, these shared resources are versioned and updated in sync, reducing duplication and inconsistencies.

Example:

  • /apps/web-app/ – The main React app
  • /apps/admin-dashboard/ – A separate admin interface
  • /packages/ui-library/ – Shared React components
  • /packages/utils/ – Reusable helper functions

Instead of publishing @my-org/ui-library to an internal registry, teams consume the latest changes directly inside the monorepo.

✅ 2. Simplified Dependency Management

A monorepo centralizes dependency management, preventing “dependency drift” where different projects run conflicting versions of the same package. Tools like PNPM Workspaces, Turborepo, or Nx help enforce consistent package versions across all projects.

✅ 3. Atomic Changes and Cross-Project Refactoring

Making changes across multiple projects is easier in a monorepo. Instead of opening pull requests across different repositories, you update everything in a single commit, ensuring that related changes stay in sync.

Example:

  • Polyrepo: Update Button in ui-library, publish a new version, then update web-app and admin-dashboard separately.
  • Monorepo: Update Button in /packages/ui-library, and all consuming apps get the changes immediately.

✅ 4. Faster CI/CD with Incremental Builds

Monorepos avoid unnecessary rebuilds by using caching and dependency graphs. If only web-app is modified, tools like Turborepo or Nx ensure that only web-app is rebuilt—saving time in CI/CD pipelines.

Challenges and Trade-Offs of Monorepos

🚧 Tooling Complexity – Requires setup with PNPM Workspaces, Nx, Turborepo, or Lerna to handle dependencies, versioning, and caching.

🚧 Access Control Issues – In large organizations, fine-grained access control can be trickier than with separate repositories.

🚧 Scaling Issues in Massive Codebases – At a certain scale, even monorepos need additional optimizations (e.g., Facebook uses Buck, Google uses Bazel).

🚧 Learning Curve for Teams – Not all developers are familiar with monorepo tools, which can slow down onboarding.

Best Practices for Using a Monorepo in Frontend Development

1️⃣ Choose the Right Tooling – For JavaScript/TypeScript projects, consider PNPM Workspaces (lightweight), Nx (scalable), or Turborepo (fast builds).

2️⃣ Enforce Code Ownership and Boundaries – Use ESLint rules, Code Owners, and package constraints to prevent accidental dependencies between unrelated projects.

3️⃣ Optimize CI/CD with Incremental Builds – Avoid rebuilding everything by using task runners that detect what actually changed.

4️⃣ Use Independent or Fixed Versioning – Decide if shared packages should have a single version (simpler) or independent versions (more flexibility, but more maintenance).

5️⃣ Keep Documentation Up-to-Date – Monorepos introduce new workflows; good documentation ensures teams stay productive.

When Should You Use a Monorepo?

✅ You have multiple frontend apps (e.g., marketing site, dashboard, admin panel) sharing UI components and logic.
✅ You want a single source of truth for dependencies and shared libraries.
✅ Your team frequently makes cross-project changes.
✅ You want to optimize CI/CD with incremental builds and caching.

When to stick with polyrepos?
❌ If projects are completely independent with no shared code.
❌ If teams require strict access control between projects.
❌ If existing workflows heavily depend on separate repositories and versioning.

Final Thoughts

Monorepos aren’t a silver bullet, but for teams managing multiple frontend apps with shared dependencies, they provide better collaboration, faster builds, and easier cross-project refactoring.

The key is using the right tools and enforcing structure to keep complexity manageable.

Is your team using a monorepo, or considering the switch? What’s been your biggest challenge or success? Let’s discuss!

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