Monorepo Workflows with AI

You renamed a shared type in your monorepo’s core package. Seven downstream packages now have broken builds, two of them have integration tests that pass locally but fail in CI because they depend on a package that has not been rebuilt yet. The AI tool you used only looked at the file you were editing — it had no idea about the ripple effect across your workspace.

What You’ll Walk Away With

• Monorepo-aware prompting strategies that account for cross-package dependencies
• Workflows for coordinated multi-package changes with AI assistance
• Techniques for AI-driven dependency graph analysis and impact assessment
• Automated release coordination patterns using AI tools
• Strategies for shared configuration and convention enforcement

The Monorepo Context Challenge

Monorepos amplify the context problem. A change to a shared utility might affect 15 packages. The AI needs to understand not just the file you are editing, but the entire dependency chain.

Teaching AI Tools Your Monorepo Structure

Cursor

Structure your .cursor/rules to encode the monorepo graph:

# .cursor/rules (root)
This is a Turborepo monorepo managed with pnpm workspaces.

Package structure:
- /packages/core - Shared types, utilities, base classes (NO external deps)
- /packages/ui - React component library (depends on: core)
- /packages/api-client - API SDK (depends on: core)
- /apps/web - Next.js frontend (depends on: core, ui, api-client)
- /apps/api - Express backend (depends on: core)
- /apps/admin - Admin dashboard (depends on: core, ui, api-client)

Build order: core → ui, api-client → web, api, admin

CRITICAL RULES:
- Changes to /packages/core affect ALL other packages. Always check downstream.
- Never import from /apps/* into /packages/*
- Shared types go in /packages/core/src/types/
- Each package has its own tsconfig.json that extends /tsconfig.base.json

When working on cross-package changes, explicitly reference the dependency chain: @packages/core/src/types @packages/ui/src/components @apps/web/src/pages

Claude Code

Use the CLAUDE.md hierarchy to create monorepo-aware context:

# /CLAUDE.md (root)
pnpm monorepo with Turborepo. Run `pnpm turbo build` to build all packages.
Run `pnpm turbo test` to test all packages.
Package dependency graph: core → ui, api-client → web, api, admin.
Always run `pnpm turbo build --filter=...affected` after cross-package changes.

# /packages/core/CLAUDE.md
Foundation package. Changes here cascade everywhere.
After ANY modification: run `pnpm turbo build --filter=...dependents`
to verify downstream compatibility.
Exports must be backward-compatible. Use deprecation notices, not breaking changes.

# /packages/ui/CLAUDE.md
React component library. Storybook for development: `pnpm storybook`.
Components must be exported from /src/index.ts barrel.
Every component needs a .stories.tsx and .test.tsx file.

Claude Code’s sub-agents can parallelize analysis across packages.

Codex

Codex cloud tasks handle monorepo scope naturally:

codex.md

Monorepo with Turborepo + pnpm workspaces.
Before making cross-package changes:
1. Run: pnpm turbo build --dry-run --filter=...affected to preview impact
2. Identify all packages in the dependency chain
3. Make changes starting from the lowest dependency (core) upward
4. Run tests after each package modification

After all changes: pnpm turbo build && pnpm turbo test

Use Codex worktrees to work on multiple packages simultaneously without Git conflicts.

Cross-Package Refactoring Workflows

The Cascade Pattern

When modifying shared code, work from the bottom of the dependency tree upward.

1. Analyze the impact

   Before touching any code, understand what will break.

2. Modify the source package

   Change the shared type, utility, or component in the foundational package.

3. Build the source package

   Verify the source package compiles correctly in isolation.

4. Update direct dependents

   Move one level up the dependency tree. Update each direct dependent.

5. Build and test each dependent

   Verify each dependent compiles and its tests pass before moving further up.

6. Continue up the tree

   Repeat until you reach the leaf applications.

7. Run the full pipeline

   Execute the complete build and test suite to catch any issues.

Tip

Copy-paste prompt for cross-package refactoring:

I need to rename the `UserProfile` type to `UserAccount` across our monorepo.
The type is defined in /packages/core/src/types/user.ts.

Follow this exact sequence:
1. Find every file across ALL packages that imports or references UserProfile
2. Show me the complete list before making any changes
3. Update /packages/core first - rename the type and update the barrel export
4. Update /packages/ui - fix all component props and imports
5. Update /packages/api-client - fix all SDK methods and response types
6. Update each app (web, api, admin) one at a time
7. After each package, run its build to verify: pnpm turbo build --filter={package}

Stop after step 2 so I can review the impact before you proceed.

Shared Configuration Management

AI tools can help maintain consistency across monorepo packages.

Tip

Copy-paste prompt for monorepo consistency audit:

Audit our monorepo for configuration drift:
1. Compare tsconfig.json across all packages - flag any that don't extend tsconfig.base.json
2. Check that all packages use the same version of shared dependencies (React, TypeScript, etc.)
3. Verify each package has the required scripts: build, test, lint, type-check
4. Ensure ESLint configs are consistent across packages
5. Check that no package has a direct dependency that should come from the root

Present findings as a table: Package | Issue | Severity | Fix

Dependency Graph Analysis

Understanding your dependency graph is critical for safe changes. AI tools can generate and analyze these graphs.

Cursor

Analyze the import statements across our entire monorepo and build a dependency graph.
Flag any:
- Circular dependencies between packages
- Apps importing from other apps (forbidden)
- Packages importing from apps (forbidden)
- Unused packages (no dependents)
- Packages with suspiciously deep dependency chains (> 3 levels)

Visualize the graph as a text-based tree structure.

Claude Code

claude "Analyze our monorepo's package dependency graph.
Read every package.json in /packages/ and /apps/.
Build the complete dependency graph and check for:
1. Circular dependencies
2. Violation of the layering rule (apps must not depend on other apps)
3. Version mismatches for shared deps
4. Packages that could be merged (similar purpose, small surface)
Output the graph and any issues found."

Codex

Perform a full dependency analysis of this monorepo.
For each package, document:
- Direct dependencies (internal)
- Transitive dependencies (internal)
- External dependency versions
- Build time and test coverage

Create a dependency graph visualization in /docs/dependency-graph.md.
Flag any architectural violations or optimization opportunities.

Release Coordination

Coordinated Version Bumping

When a change spans multiple packages, version bumping needs to follow the dependency order.

Tip

Copy-paste prompt for release coordination:

I've made changes to packages/core and packages/ui. Help me prepare a release:
1. Determine the semver bump type for each package based on the changes:
   - Breaking changes to public API = major
   - New features = minor
   - Bug fixes = patch
2. Check which downstream packages need version bumps in their dependencies
3. Generate changelog entries for each affected package from the git commits
4. Create the version bump commands in the correct order
5. List the packages and versions that will be published

Show me the plan before executing anything.

When This Breaks

“The AI modified a shared package without updating dependents.” Your rules file does not encode the dependency graph. Add explicit dependency chains and build-order requirements to your .cursor/rules or CLAUDE.md.

“Build passes locally but fails in CI for downstream packages.” You likely tested with stale builds of dependencies. Always run turbo build --filter=...affected (or equivalent) to rebuild the entire affected chain.

“The AI created circular dependencies between packages.” Add explicit layering rules to your AI configuration: “packages/core MUST NOT import from packages/ui or any app.” AI tools follow constraints well when they are stated clearly.

“Version bumps are inconsistent across packages.” Use changesets or a similar tool for version management. Teach the AI your versioning workflow through rules files rather than relying on ad-hoc prompting.

What’s Next

Large Codebases Context management strategies for million-line repositories.

CI/CD Pipelines Build and deploy monorepo packages with AI-optimized CI pipelines.

Code Quality Gates Enforce quality standards across all packages consistently.