Monorepo vs Polyrepo

#softwaredevelopment #git

Monorepo vs Polyrepo - Strategies for Organizing Codebases

Monorepo and polyrepo are two different strategies for organizing a codebase within version control systems like Git. The core difference lies in the number of repositories used: one for all projects (monorepo) or one for each project (polyrepo).

📊 Feature Comparison

Feature	Monorepo	Polyrepo
Structure	A single repository contains all projects, libraries, and applications.	Each project, service, or library has its own independent repository.
Code Sharing	Easy and immediate. Dependencies can be referenced directly within the repo.	Difficult. Requires setting up dependency managers and version coordination.
Atomic Commits	Possible. A single commit can span multiple projects.	Not possible. Requires separate commits/PRs per repo.
Team Autonomy	Lower. Changes affect all teams, requiring more coordination.	Higher. Teams control their own dependencies, cycles, and tooling.
Tooling	Standardized across all projects.	Fragmented; each team may use different tools.
Scalability	Can become challenging without tooling (e.g., Bazel, Nx, Turborepo).	More scalable for individual projects.
Deployment	More complex; changes may trigger builds/tests across the repo.	Simpler. Each project has its own CI/CD and schedule.

✅ Monorepo: Pros & Cons

Pros:

Simplified dependency management and versioning.
Easier refactoring and consistent changes across projects.
Improved visibility and collaboration.
Centralized tooling and CI/CD pipelines.

Cons:

Performance issues in large repositories (e.g., slow git pull/clone).
Harder access control (typically at the repo level).
Requires specialized tooling to manage builds efficiently.
A single bug in shared code can affect multiple projects.

✅ Polyrepo: Pros & Cons