Monorepo with Nx and Angular Comprehensive Guide

Monorepo with Nx and Angular In the world of modern web development, managing large-scale applications can be quite challenging. As projects grow in complexity, so does the need for efficient code organization and maintenance. Nx, a popular development tool, along with Angular, provides a powerful solution to these challenges through the concept of a monorepo.

In this article, we will delve into the process of setting up a monorepo using Nx and Angular, highlighting the benefits and best practices for managing multiple projects within a single repository.

Understanding Monorepos

Monorepo with Nx and Angular, short for “monolithic repository,” is a code repository that contains multiple projects, libraries, and applications. In the context of web development, this means you can have various Angular applications, libraries, and shared code, all residing within a single repository. Monorepo with Nx and Angular offer several advantages:

1. Code Sharing: You can easily share code between different projects, which encourages code reusability and consistency.
2. Version Control: All the code is versioned together, simplifying dependency management and reducing version conflicts.
3. Simplified Build and Test: You can build, test, and deploy your projects collectively, ensuring consistent outcomes.

Setting up Nx

Nx is a set of extensible dev tools that facilitate building and managing monorepos. To get started, you’ll need to install Nx globally using npm or yarn:

npm install -g nx
# or
yarn global add nx

Creating a New Nx Workspace

Now that Nx is installed, you can create a new workspace using the following command:

nx create my-workspace

You’ll be prompted to select the Nx preset for your workspace. Choose “empty” for a clean slate or select a preset that suits your needs. This step will generate the initial project structure for your monorepo.

Projects in a Monorepo with Nx and Angular

Nx allows you to create different types of projects within your monorepo. The most common project types include:

1. Applications: Angular applications, each with its own source code.
2. Libraries: Reusable code libraries that can be shared between projects.
3. e2e: End-to-end tests for your applications.
4. Storybook: Projects for creating and documenting UI components.

Adding Projects

You can add new projects to your monorepo using the following Nx command:

nx g @nrwl/angular:application my-app

Replace my-app with your desired project name and choose the necessary configuration options.

Sharing Code Between Projects

One of the major advantages of Monorepo with Nx and Angular is the ability to share code between projects. To achieve this, you can create libraries within your workspace and import them into your applications.

1. Create a new library using Nx:

nx g @nrwl/angular:library my-lib

2. Export code from the library by specifying what should be available to other projects in the library’s public_api.ts file.
3. Import the library into an application or another library using standard import statements.

Building and Running Projects

Nx provides commands for building and running projects. For instance, to build an application, you can use:

nx build my-app

To run an application:

nx serve my-app

Testing is also straightforward with Nx. You can run tests for a specific project with:

nx test my-app

Conclusion

Nx and Angular monorepos are an effective solution for managing large-scale web development projects. With the ability to create, share, and test code across projects, your development process becomes more efficient and maintainable. Setting up a Monorepo with Nx and Angular may require some initial effort, but the long-term benefits are well worth it.

In this article, we’ve covered the basics of setting up a monorepo with Nx and Angular. The tools and practices outlined here should provide a solid foundation for your monorepo journey. As you continue to work on your projects, you’ll discover more ways to streamline your development workflow and maximize the benefits of monorepos.