Turborepo Skill

Turborepo is a high-performance build system optimized for JavaScript and TypeScript monorepos, written in Rust. It provides intelligent caching, task orchestration, and remote execution capabilities to dramatically speed up development workflows.

Reference

https://turborepo.com/llms.txt

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Setting up a new monorepo with multiple packages

• Optimizing build performance in existing monorepos

• Implementing task pipelines across packages

• Configuring intelligent caching strategies

• Setting up remote caching for teams

• Orchestrating tasks with dependency awareness

• Integrating monorepo with CI/CD pipelines

• Migrating from Lerna, Nx, or other monorepo tools

• Building microfrontends or shared libraries

• Managing workspace dependencies

Core Concepts

1. Monorepo Architecture

Turborepo organizes code into packages within a single repository:

• Root Package: Contains workspace configuration

• Internal Packages: Shared libraries, utilities, configs

• Applications: Frontend apps, backend services, etc.

• Workspaces: npm/yarn/pnpm workspace configuration

2. Task Pipeline

Tasks are organized in a dependency graph:

• Task Dependencies: Define execution order (build before test)

• Package Dependencies: Respect internal package relationships

• Parallel Execution: Run independent tasks simultaneously

• Topological Ordering: Execute tasks in correct dependency order

3. Intelligent Caching

Turborepo caches task outputs based on inputs:

• Local Cache: Stores outputs on local machine

• Remote Cache: Shares cache across team/CI (Vercel or custom)

• Content-Based Hashing: Only re-run when inputs change

• Cache Restoration: Instant task completion from cache

4. Task Outputs

Define what gets cached:

• Build artifacts (dist/, build/)

• Test results

• Generated files

• Type definitions

Installation

Prerequisites

Requires Node.js 18+ and a package manager

node --version # v18.0.0+

Global Installation

npm

npm install turbo --global

yarn

yarn global add turbo

pnpm

pnpm add turbo --global

bun

bun add turbo --global

Per-Project Installation

npm

npm install turbo --save-dev

yarn

yarn add turbo --dev

pnpm

pnpm add turbo --save-dev

bun

bun add turbo --dev

Project Setup

Create New Monorepo

Using official examples:

npx create-turbo@latest

Interactive prompts will ask:

• Project name

• Package manager (npm/yarn/pnpm/bun)

• Example template selection

Manual Setup

1. Initialize workspace:

// package.json (root) { "name": "my-turborepo", "private": true, "workspaces": ["apps/", "packages/"], "scripts": { "build": "turbo run build", "dev": "turbo run dev", "test": "turbo run test", "lint": "turbo run lint" }, "devDependencies": { "turbo": "latest" } }

2. Create directory structure:

my-turborepo/ ├── apps/ │ ├── web/ # Next.js app │ └── docs/ # Documentation site ├── packages/ │ ├── ui/ # Shared UI components │ ├── config/ # Shared configs (ESLint, TS) │ └── tsconfig/ # Shared TypeScript configs ├── turbo.json # Turborepo configuration └── package.json # Root package.json

3. Create turbo.json:

{ "$schema": "https://turbo.build/schema.json", "globalDependencies": ["/.env.*local"], "pipeline": { "build": { "dependsOn": ["^build"], "outputs": [".next/", "!.next/cache/", "dist/"] }, "dev": { "cache": false, "persistent": true }, "lint": {}, "test": { "dependsOn": ["build"] } } }

Configuration (turbo.json)

Basic Structure

{ "$schema": "https://turbo.build/schema.json", "globalDependencies": [".env", "tsconfig.json"], "globalEnv": ["NODE_ENV"], "pipeline": { // Task definitions } }

Pipeline Configuration

Task with dependencies:

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "dependsOn": ["^build"], "outputs": ["dist/", ".next/"], "env": ["NODE_ENV", "API_URL"] } } }

Key properties:

• dependsOn : Tasks to run first

• ["^build"] : Run dependencies' build first

• ["build"] : Run own build first

• ["^build", "lint"] : Run deps' build and own lint

• outputs : Files/directories to cache

• inputs : Override input detection (default: all tracked files)

• cache : Enable/disable caching (default: true)

• env : Environment variables that affect output

• persistent : Keep task running (for dev servers)

• outputMode : Control output display

Task Dependency Patterns

Topological (^):

{ "build": { "dependsOn": ["^build"] // Run dependencies' build first } }

Regular:

{ "deploy": { "dependsOn": ["build", "test"] // Run own build and test first } }

Combined:

{ "test": { "dependsOn": ["^build", "lint"] // Deps' build, then own lint } }

Output Modes

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "outputMode": "full" // Show all output }, "dev": { "outputMode": "hash-only" // Show cache hash only }, "test": { "outputMode": "new-only" // Show new output only }, "lint": { "outputMode": "errors-only" // Show errors only } } }

Environment Variables

Global environment variables:

{ "globalEnv": ["NODE_ENV", "CI"], "globalDependencies": [".env", ".env.local"] }

Per-task environment variables:

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "env": ["NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL", "DATABASE_URL"], "passThroughEnv": ["CUSTOM_VAR"] // Pass without hashing } } }

Commands

turbo run

Run tasks across packages:

Run build in all packages

turbo run build

Run multiple tasks

turbo run build test lint

Run in specific packages

turbo run build --filter=web turbo run build --filter=@myorg/ui

Run in packages matching pattern

turbo run build --filter='./apps/*'

Force execution (skip cache)

turbo run build --force

Run from specific directory

turbo run build --filter='[./apps/web]'

Run with dependencies

turbo run build --filter='...^web'

Parallel execution control

turbo run build --concurrency=3 turbo run build --concurrency=50%

Continue on error

turbo run test --continue

Dry run

turbo run build --dry-run

Output control

turbo run build --output-logs=new-only turbo run build --output-logs=hash-only turbo run build --output-logs=errors-only turbo run build --output-logs=full

turbo prune

Create a subset of the monorepo:

Prune for specific app

turbo prune --scope=web

Prune with Docker

turbo prune --scope=api --docker

Output to custom directory

turbo prune --scope=web --out-dir=./deploy

Use cases:

• Docker builds (only include necessary packages)

• Deploy specific apps

• Reduce CI/CD context size

turbo gen

Generate code in your monorepo:

Generate new package

turbo gen workspace

Generate from custom generator

turbo gen my-generator

List available generators

turbo gen --list

turbo link

Link local repo to remote cache:

Link to Vercel

turbo link

Unlink

turbo unlink

turbo login

Authenticate with Vercel:

turbo login

turbo ls

List packages in monorepo:

List all packages

turbo ls

JSON output

turbo ls --json

Filtering

Filter by Package Name

Single package

turbo run build --filter=web

Multiple packages

turbo run build --filter=web --filter=api

Scoped package

turbo run build --filter=@myorg/ui

Filter by Pattern

All apps

turbo run build --filter='./apps/*'

Pattern matching

turbo run build --filter='*-ui'

Filter by Directory

From specific directory

turbo run build --filter='[./apps/web]'

Filter by Git

Changed since main

turbo run build --filter='[main]'

Changed since HEAD~1

turbo run build --filter='[HEAD~1]'

Changed in working directory

turbo run test --filter='...[HEAD]'

Filter by Dependencies

Package and its dependencies

turbo run build --filter='...web'

Package's dependencies only

turbo run build --filter='...^web'

Package and its dependents

turbo run test --filter='ui...'

Package's dependents only

turbo run test --filter='^ui...'

Caching Strategies

Local Caching

Enabled by default, stores in ./node_modules/.cache/turbo

Cache behavior:

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "outputs": ["dist/**"], // Cache dist directory "cache": true // Enable caching (default) }, "dev": { "cache": false // Disable for dev servers } } }

Clear cache:

Clear Turbo cache

rm -rf ./node_modules/.cache/turbo

Or use turbo command

turbo run build --force # Skip cache for this run

Remote Caching

Share cache across team and CI:

1. Link to Vercel (recommended):

turbo login turbo link

2. Custom remote cache:

// .turbo/config.json { "teamid": "team_123", "apiurl": "https://cache.example.com", "token": "your-token" }

Benefits:

• Share builds across team

• Speed up CI/CD

• Consistent builds

• Reduce compute costs

Cache Signatures

Cache is invalidated when:

• Source files change

• Dependencies change

• Environment variables change (if specified)

• Global dependencies change

• Task configuration changes

Control inputs:

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "inputs": ["src//*.ts", "!src//*.test.ts"], "env": ["NODE_ENV"] } } }

Workspace Patterns

Package Types

1. Internal packages (packages/*):

// packages/ui/package.json { "name": "@myorg/ui", "version": "0.0.0", "main": "./dist/index.js", "types": "./dist/index.d.ts", "scripts": { "build": "tsc", "dev": "tsc --watch", "lint": "eslint ." } }

2. Applications (apps/*):

// apps/web/package.json { "name": "web", "version": "1.0.0", "private": true, "dependencies": { "@myorg/ui": "*", "next": "latest" }, "scripts": { "dev": "next dev", "build": "next build", "start": "next start" } }

Dependency Management

Workspace protocol (pnpm/yarn):

{ "dependencies": { "@myorg/ui": "workspace:*" } }

Version protocol (npm):

{ "dependencies": { "@myorg/ui": "*" } }

Shared Configuration

ESLint config package:

// packages/eslint-config/index.js module.exports = { extends: ["next", "prettier"], rules: { // shared rules }, };

TypeScript config package:

// packages/tsconfig/base.json { "compilerOptions": { "strict": true, "esModuleInterop": true, "skipLibCheck": true, "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true } }

Usage:

// apps/web/tsconfig.json { "extends": "@myorg/tsconfig/base.json", "compilerOptions": { "jsx": "preserve" } }

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

name: CI

on: push: branches: [main] pull_request: branches: [main]

jobs: build: runs-on: ubuntu-latest

steps:
  - uses: actions/checkout@v4

  - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
    with:
      node-version: 18

  - name: Install dependencies
    run: npm install

  - name: Build
    run: npx turbo run build
    env:
      TURBO_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.TURBO_TOKEN }}
      TURBO_TEAM: ${{ secrets.TURBO_TEAM }}

  - name: Test
    run: npx turbo run test

GitLab CI

image: node:18

cache: key: ${CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG} paths: - node_modules/ - .turbo/

build: stage: build script: - npm install - npx turbo run build variables: TURBO_TOKEN: $TURBO_TOKEN TURBO_TEAM: $TURBO_TEAM

Docker

FROM node:18-alpine AS base

Prune workspace

FROM base AS builder RUN npm install -g turbo COPY . . RUN turbo prune --scope=web --docker

Install dependencies

FROM base AS installer COPY --from=builder /app/out/json/ . COPY --from=builder /app/out/package-lock.json ./package-lock.json RUN npm install

Build

COPY --from=builder /app/out/full/ . RUN npx turbo run build --filter=web

Runner

FROM base AS runner COPY --from=installer /app/apps/web/.next/standalone ./ COPY --from=installer /app/apps/web/.next/static ./apps/web/.next/static COPY --from=installer /app/apps/web/public ./apps/web/public

CMD node apps/web/server.js

Optimization Tips

• Use remote caching in CI:

env: TURBO_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.TURBO_TOKEN }} TURBO_TEAM: ${{ secrets.TURBO_TEAM }}

• Cache node_modules:

• uses: actions/cache@v3 with: path: node_modules key: ${{ runner.os }}-node-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}

• Run only affected tasks:

turbo run build test --filter='...[origin/main]'

Framework Integration

Next.js

// apps/web/package.json { "name": "web", "scripts": { "dev": "next dev", "build": "next build", "start": "next start" }, "dependencies": { "next": "latest", "react": "latest" } }

turbo.json:

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "outputs": [".next/", "!.next/cache/"] }, "dev": { "cache": false, "persistent": true } } }

Vite

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "dependsOn": ["^build"], "outputs": ["dist/**"] }, "dev": { "cache": false, "persistent": true } } }

NuxtJS

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "outputs": [".output/", ".nuxt/"] }, "dev": { "cache": false, "persistent": true } } }

Development Tools Integration

TypeScript

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "dependsOn": ["^build"], "outputs": ["dist/**", "*.tsbuildinfo"] }, "typecheck": { "dependsOn": ["^build"] } } }

ESLint

{ "pipeline": { "lint": { "dependsOn": ["^build"], "outputs": [] } } }

Jest / Vitest

{ "pipeline": { "test": { "dependsOn": ["build"], "outputs": ["coverage/**"], "cache": true } } }

Prisma

{ "pipeline": { "db:generate": { "cache": false }, "db:push": { "cache": false } } }

Best Practices

1. Structure Your Monorepo

my-monorepo/ ├── apps/ # Applications │ ├── web/ # Frontend app │ ├── api/ # Backend API │ └── docs/ # Documentation ├── packages/ # Shared packages │ ├── ui/ # UI components │ ├── config/ # Shared configs │ ├── utils/ # Utilities │ └── tsconfig/ # TS configs ├── tooling/ # Development tools │ ├── eslint-config/ │ └── prettier-config/ └── turbo.json

2. Define Clear Task Dependencies

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "dependsOn": ["^build"] }, "test": { "dependsOn": ["build"] }, "lint": { "dependsOn": ["^build"] }, "deploy": { "dependsOn": ["build", "test", "lint"] } } }

3. Optimize Cache Configuration

• Cache build outputs, not source files

• Include all generated files in outputs

• Exclude cache directories (e.g., .next/cache )

• Disable cache for dev servers

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "outputs": [ "dist/", ".next/", "!.next/cache/", "storybook-static/" ] }, "dev": { "cache": false, "persistent": true } } }

4. Use Environment Variables Wisely

{ "globalEnv": ["NODE_ENV", "CI"], "pipeline": { "build": { "env": ["NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL"], "passThroughEnv": ["DEBUG"] // Don't affect cache } } }

5. Leverage Remote Caching

• Enable for all team members

• Configure in CI/CD

• Reduces build times significantly

• Especially beneficial for large teams

6. Use Filters Effectively

Build only changed packages

turbo run build --filter='...[origin/main]'

Build specific app with dependencies

turbo run build --filter='...web'

Test only affected packages

turbo run test --filter='...[HEAD^1]'

7. Organize Scripts Consistently

Root package.json:

{ "scripts": { "build": "turbo run build", "dev": "turbo run dev", "lint": "turbo run lint", "test": "turbo run test", "clean": "turbo run clean && rm -rf node_modules" } }

8. Handle Persistent Tasks

{ "pipeline": { "dev": { "cache": false, "persistent": true // Keeps running } } }

Common Patterns

Full-Stack Application

apps/ ├── web/ # Next.js frontend │ └── package.json ├── api/ # Express backend │ └── package.json └── mobile/ # React Native └── package.json

packages/ ├── ui/ # Shared UI components ├── database/ # Database client/migrations ├── types/ # Shared TypeScript types └── config/ # Shared configs

Shared Component Library

packages/ ├── ui/ # Component library │ ├── src/ │ ├── package.json │ └── tsconfig.json └── ui-docs/ # Storybook ├── .storybook/ ├── stories/ └── package.json

Microfrontends

apps/ ├── shell/ # Container app ├── dashboard/ # Dashboard MFE └── settings/ # Settings MFE

packages/ ├── shared-ui/ # Shared components └── router/ # Routing logic

Troubleshooting

Cache Issues

Problem: Task not using cache when it should

Check what's causing cache miss

turbo run build --dry-run=json

Force rebuild

turbo run build --force

Clear cache

rm -rf ./node_modules/.cache/turbo

Problem: Cache too large

Limit cache size in turbo.json

{ "cacheDir": ".turbo", "cacheSize": "50gb" }

Dependency Issues

Problem: Internal package not found

Ensure workspace is set up correctly

npm install

Check package names match

npm ls @myorg/ui

Rebuild dependencies

turbo run build --filter='...web'

Task Execution Issues

Problem: Tasks running in wrong order

• Check dependsOn configuration

• Use ^task for dependency tasks

• Verify task names match package.json scripts

Problem: Dev server not starting

{ "pipeline": { "dev": { "cache": false, "persistent": true // Add this } } }

Performance Issues

Problem: Builds taking too long

Run with concurrency limit

turbo run build --concurrency=2

Use filters to build less

turbo run build --filter='...[origin/main]'

Check for unnecessary dependencies

turbo run build --dry-run

Problem: Remote cache not working

Verify authentication

turbo link

Check environment variables

echo $TURBO_TOKEN echo $TURBO_TEAM

Test connection

turbo run build --output-logs=hash-only

Migration Guide

From Lerna

• Replace Lerna with Turborepo:

npm uninstall lerna npm install turbo --save-dev

• Convert lerna.json to turbo.json:

{ "pipeline": { "build": { "dependsOn": ["^build"] } } }

• Update scripts:

{ "scripts": { "build": "turbo run build", "test": "turbo run test" } }

From Nx

• Install Turborepo:

npm install turbo --save-dev

• Convert nx.json to turbo.json:

• Map targetDefaults to pipeline

• Convert dependsOn syntax

• Configure caching

• Update workspace configuration

• Migrate CI/CD scripts

Resources

• Documentation: https://turbo.build/repo/docs

• Examples: https://github.com/vercel/turbo/tree/main/examples

• Discord: https://turbo.build/discord

• GitHub: https://github.com/vercel/turbo

Implementation Checklist

When setting up Turborepo:

• Install Turborepo globally or per-project

• Set up workspace structure (apps/, packages/)

• Create turbo.json with pipeline configuration

• Define task dependencies (build, test, lint)

• Configure cache outputs for each task

• Set up global dependencies and environment variables

• Link to remote cache (Vercel or custom)

• Configure CI/CD integration

• Add filtering strategies for large repos

• Document monorepo structure for team

• Set up code generation (turbo gen)

• Configure Docker builds with turbo prune

• Test caching behavior locally

• Verify remote cache in CI

• Optimize concurrency settings