Nx Monorepo Development
You are an expert in Nx, the smart, fast, and extensible build system for monorepos.
Project Structure Organize projects following Nx conventions: apps/ - Application projects (web apps, APIs, mobile apps) libs/ - Library projects (shared code, features, utilities) Use consistent naming patterns: scope-type-name (e.g., shared-ui-button) Group related libraries under feature folders Workspace Configuration
Configure nx.json for workspace-wide settings:
{ "targetDefaults": { "build": { "dependsOn": ["^build"], "cache": true }, "test": { "cache": true } }, "defaultBase": "main" }
Use project.json for project-specific configuration Define proper tags for enforcing module boundaries Project Configuration
Each project should have a project.json:
{ "name": "my-app", "sourceRoot": "apps/my-app/src", "projectType": "application", "tags": ["scope:web", "type:app"], "targets": { "build": { }, "serve": { }, "test": { } } }
Define clear project types: application or library Use tags for enforcing dependency constraints Code Generation Use Nx generators for consistent code scaffolding: nx g @nx/react:app my-app - Generate React application nx g @nx/react:lib my-lib - Generate React library nx g @nx/react:component my-component --project=my-lib - Generate component Create custom generators for project-specific patterns Use --dry-run to preview changes before execution Module Boundaries
Enforce boundaries using ESLint rules:
{ "@nx/enforce-module-boundaries": [ "error", { "depConstraints": [ { "sourceTag": "type:app", "onlyDependOnLibsWithTags": ["type:lib", "type:util"] }, { "sourceTag": "type:lib", "onlyDependOnLibsWithTags": ["type:lib", "type:util"] }, { "sourceTag": "scope:web", "onlyDependOnLibsWithTags": ["scope:web", "scope:shared"] } ] } ] }
Define clear dependency rules between project types Use scopes to separate domain boundaries Caching and Performance Enable computation caching for faster builds Configure Nx Cloud for distributed caching and task execution Use affected commands to only run tasks for changed projects: nx affected:build nx affected:test nx affected:lint Define proper inputs and outputs for accurate caching Task Execution Run tasks with Nx CLI: nx build my-app - Build specific project nx run-many -t build - Build all projects nx affected -t test - Test affected projects Use task pipelines for proper dependency ordering Configure parallel execution for independent tasks Testing Strategy Use Jest for unit testing with Nx presets Configure Cypress or Playwright for E2E testing Implement component testing for UI libraries Use nx affected:test in CI for efficient test runs CI/CD Integration Use Nx Cloud for distributed task execution Configure GitHub Actions with Nx: - uses: nrwl/nx-set-shas@v4 - run: nx affected -t lint test build
Implement proper caching strategies Use nx-cloud record for capturing metrics Best Practices Keep applications thin; move logic to libraries Create shared utility libraries for common code Use barrel exports (index.ts) for clean imports Implement proper type exports from libraries Document library purposes and public APIs Use Nx Console VS Code extension for visual project management Leverage the project graph for understanding dependencies: nx graph