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Posted on Edited on Originally published at vznjs.github.io

A glob stops at the next project

#javascript #monorepo #devtools #opensource

A project's globs stop at the next project's folder. A root task that
globs **/*.ts won't rebuild when you edit a package under it:

// vx.config.ts (workspace root)
count: {
  exec: { command: "find . -name '*.ts' -not -path './node_modules/*' | wc -l" },
  inputs: { files: ['**/*.ts'] },
  cache: { outputs: { files: [] } },
}
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$ echo "// e" >> packages/a/src/index.ts
$ vx run //#count
  cache     local 1✓

$ echo "// e" >> scripts/x.ts
$ vx run //#count
  cache     local 1↑

$ vx why //#count
  what changed (1 component, 6 unchanged):
    changed file  scripts/x.ts  fdfb0708… → b549282e…
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An edit in packages/a doesn't change the root's key, though **/*.ts
matches it. A root file does.

Demo workspace · vx 69617eb · 2026-10-23

diagram

Why the fence

Without it What goes wrong
root inputs **/*.ts every edit anywhere re-runs the root task
root depends on members, no edge says so --affected and the graph disagree with the cache
root outputs **/*.js the pre-run wipe deletes members' files

vx clears a task's outputs before every run and restore, so an output
glob without a fence would delete other projects' files.

How it works

Once per run, vx lists the projects nested under each project. Every
glob skips paths under them, for inputs and for output cleaning.

A workspace package counts as a project even without a vx.config.ts.

One trap: sorted as strings, foo, foo-utils, foo/nested come in
that order, because - sorts before /.

A scan that stopped at foo-utils would miss foo/nested and leave a
hole. vx keeps scanning until it leaves the foo block.

The one way across

If A needs B, A says dependsOn B's task. B's key goes into A's, so an
edit in B runs A again, and the graph, --affected and the cache agree.

With the sandbox on, the fence holds at run time too. Import a sibling
your key never sees and the read fails with a report, instead of
caching a result that wouldn't rerun.

The escape hatch

inputs.workspaceFiles and cache.outputs.workspaceFiles start at the
workspace root and have no fence. Use them for root files like a shared
tsconfig.base.json.

For another project's files, prefer an edge.

Details: Caching, cross-project
boundaries. More at
vznjs.github.io/vx.

Originally published on the vx blog. vx is open-source (MIT) task orchestration with a build cache: vznjs.github.io/vx · GitHub.

Written with AI assistance.

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