Saiful Islam

Posted on Apr 27

Monorepo vs Polyrepo: Choosing the Right Structure for Your MERN Stack Project

#javascript #programming #node #typescript

In modern software development, project structure matters a lot. Whether you are a solo full-stack developer or working in a large team, choosing between Monorepo and Polyrepo can significantly impact your productivity and codebase management.

Today, let's dive into:

What is Monorepo and Polyrepo?
How Turborepo and pnpm workspaces help manage Monorepo?
Why solo/fullstack developers should choose Monorepo?
Why large teams often prefer Polyrepo?

🚀 What is Monorepo?

A Monorepo is a single repository that stores the code for multiple apps or packages.

Example:

apps/client (React frontend)
apps/server (Express backend)
packages/*-config (shared config. Example: typescript config, prettier config, eslint config)

✅ Advantages:

Shared code easily
Single place for versioning and dependency management
Unified CI/CD pipeline
Easy refactoring across apps

🏢 What is Polyrepo?

A Polyrepo is multiple repositories, each responsible for a separate app or service.

Example:

frontend-repo
backend-repo

✅ Advantages:

Clear separation of teams
Independent release cycles
Specific access control

⚙️ How Turborepo + pnpm Workspace Helps Monorepo

Turborepo: Smart task running, build caching, and pipeline orchestration.
pnpm Workspace: Handles dependencies between apps efficiently without duplication.
With Turborepo, you can run and build only the parts of the project that changed.
With pnpm Workspace, all dependencies are installed once, and shared efficiently.

Result: Fast, lightweight, developer-friendly Monorepo management.

👨‍💻 Which One Should You Choose?

Solo fullstack developer use monorepo
Small team of fullstack developers use monorepo
Separate frontend and backend teams use polyrepo
Independent services use polyrepo

💬 Real Talk for Fullstack Developers:

If you are building a MERN Stack project (MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js) and you are working alone as like me or with a small fullstack team — use Monorepo.

Why?

Faster local development.
Easier dependency sharing (e.g., types, API schemas).
Single PR for changes affecting frontend + backend.

"As a fullstack developer, Monorepo feels like home. Everything in one place. Easy to manage. Easy to scale."

🧱 How to Structure MERN Monorepo (Quick Example)

my-monorepo/
│
├── apps/
│   ├── client/       # React app
│   └── server/       # Express API
│
├── packages/
│   └── *-configs/       # all config packages
│
├── turbo.json
├── pnpm-workspace.yaml
└── README.md

🧠 Conclusion

Choosing between Monorepo and Polyrepo depends on your team structure and workflow.

🔵 Solo fullstack or small fullstack team → Monorepo (with Turborepo + pnpm).
🔴 Separate frontend/backend teams → Polyrepo.

Use the right structure and tools to maximize your efficiency 🚀!

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