How to configure and use pnpm workspace?

pnpm workspace is pnpm's built-in monorepo solution for managing multiple packages in one repository.

Basic Configuration:

yaml
# pnpm-workspace.yaml
packages:
  - 'packages/*'      # All packages under packages directory
  - 'apps/*'          # All apps under apps directory
  - 'shared/*'        # Shared modules

Project Structure Example:

shell
my-monorepo/
├── pnpm-workspace.yaml
├── package.json
├── pnpm-lock.yaml
├── packages/
│   ├── ui/
│   │   ├── package.json
│   │   └── src/
│   └── utils/
│       ├── package.json
│       └── src/
└── apps/
    ├── web/
    │   ├── package.json
    │   └── src/
    └── server/
        ├── package.json
        └── src/

Inter-package Dependencies:

json
// apps/web/package.json
{
  "name": "@my-org/web",
  "dependencies": {
    "@my-org/ui": "workspace:*",    // Use workspace protocol
    "@my-org/utils": "workspace:^1.0.0"
  }
}

Workspace Protocol Types:

json
{
  "dependencies": {
    "package": "workspace:*",      // Use latest version
    "package": "workspace:^",      // Compatible version
    "package": "workspace:~",      // Approximate version
    "package": "workspace:^1.0.0"  // Specified version range
  }
}

Common Commands:

bash
# Install all dependencies
pnpm install

# Run command in specific package
pnpm --filter @my-org/ui build
pnpm -F @my-org/ui build          # Shorthand

# Run command in all packages
pnpm -r build                      # Recursive execution

# Run only in changed packages
pnpm -r --filter "...[origin/main]" build

# Add inter-package dependency
pnpm --filter @my-org/web add @my-org/ui

Advantages Comparison:

Feature	pnpm workspace	Lerna	Yarn Workspaces
Built-in Support	✅	❌ Need install	✅
Dependency Sharing	✅ Hard links	❌	✅ Symlinks
Disk Efficiency	Highest	Average	Medium
Configuration Complexity	Simple	Complex	Simple

Best Practices:

bash
# Use changesets for version management
pnpm add -Dw @changesets/cli
pnpm changeset init

# Release workflow
pnpm changeset          # Record changes
pnpm changeset version  # Update versions
pnpm -r publish         # Publish all packages