Monorepo Support

Expo supports monorepo setups where multiple packages and apps share dependencies and code. This guide covers configuration and best practices.

Overview

A monorepo structure for Expo:

my-monorepo/
├── packages/
│   ├── shared-components/
│   │   ├── src/
│   │   └── package.json
│   └── shared-utils/
│       ├── src/
│       └── package.json
├── apps/
│   ├── mobile/
│   │   ├── app/
│   │   ├── app.json
│   │   └── package.json
│   └── admin/
│       ├── app/
│       ├── app.json
│       └── package.json
└── package.json  # Root

Workspace Managers

Yarn Workspaces

package.json (root)

{
  "name": "my-monorepo",
  "private": true,
  "workspaces": [
    "apps/*",
    "packages/*"
  ],
  "scripts": {
    "mobile": "yarn workspace @myapp/mobile start",
    "build:mobile": "yarn workspace @myapp/mobile build"
  }
}

npm Workspaces

package.json (root)

{
  "name": "my-monorepo",
  "private": true,
  "workspaces": [
    "apps/*",
    "packages/*"
  ],
  "scripts": {
    "mobile": "npm run start -w @myapp/mobile"
  }
}

pnpm Workspaces

pnpm-workspace.yaml

packages:
  - 'apps/*'
  - 'packages/*'

package.json (root)

{
  "scripts": {
    "mobile": "pnpm --filter @myapp/mobile start"
  }
}

Setting Up

Initialize root package

mkdir my-monorepo
cd my-monorepo
npm init -y

package.json

{
  "private": true,
  "workspaces": ["apps/*", "packages/*"]
}

Create Expo app

mkdir -p apps
cd apps
npx create-expo-app mobile

Create shared packages

mkdir -p packages/shared-components
cd packages/shared-components
npm init -y

packages/shared-components/package.json

{
  "name": "@myapp/shared-components",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "src/index.ts",
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "*",
    "react-native": "*"
  }
}

Link packages

apps/mobile/package.json

{
  "name": "@myapp/mobile",
  "dependencies": {
    "@myapp/shared-components": "*",
    "@myapp/shared-utils": "*"
  }
}

# Install dependencies
cd ../..
yarn install
# or: npm install
# or: pnpm install

Metro Configuration

Configure Metro to resolve workspace packages.

Basic Config

apps/mobile/metro.config.js

const { getDefaultConfig } = require('expo/metro-config');
const path = require('path');

// Find the project root
const projectRoot = __dirname;
const monorepoRoot = path.resolve(projectRoot, '../..');

const config = getDefaultConfig(projectRoot);

// Watch all files in the monorepo
config.watchFolders = [monorepoRoot];

// Resolve modules from monorepo
config.resolver.nodeModulesPaths = [
  path.resolve(projectRoot, 'node_modules'),
  path.resolve(monorepoRoot, 'node_modules'),
];

// Support workspace packages
config.resolver.disableHierarchicalLookup = true;

module.exports = config;

Advanced Config

apps/mobile/metro.config.js

const { getDefaultConfig } = require('expo/metro-config');
const path = require('path');

const projectRoot = __dirname;
const monorepoRoot = path.resolve(projectRoot, '../..');

const config = getDefaultConfig(projectRoot);

// 1. Watch all workspace packages
config.watchFolders = [monorepoRoot];

// 2. Resolve modules
config.resolver.nodeModulesPaths = [
  path.resolve(projectRoot, 'node_modules'),
  path.resolve(monorepoRoot, 'node_modules'),
];

// 3. Disable hierarchical lookup
config.resolver.disableHierarchicalLookup = true;

// 4. Support TypeScript in workspace packages
config.resolver.sourceExts = ['js', 'jsx', 'ts', 'tsx', 'json'];

// 5. Handle symlinks (for some workspace managers)
config.resolver.resolveRequest = (context, moduleName, platform) => {
  // Let Metro handle workspace packages
  if (moduleName.startsWith('@myapp/')) {
    return context.resolveRequest(context, moduleName, platform);
  }
  return context.resolveRequest(context, moduleName, platform);
};

module.exports = config;

TypeScript Configuration

Root Config

tsconfig.json (root)

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2020",
    "module": "commonjs",
    "lib": ["ES2020"],
    "jsx": "react-native",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "resolveJsonModule": true
  },
  "exclude": ["node_modules"]
}

App Config

apps/mobile/tsconfig.json

{
  "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@myapp/shared-components": ["../../packages/shared-components/src"],
      "@myapp/shared-utils": ["../../packages/shared-utils/src"]
    }
  },
  "include": ["**/*.ts", "**/*.tsx"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules"]
}

Package Config

packages/shared-components/tsconfig.json

{
  "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "outDir": "dist",
    "rootDir": "src",
    "declaration": true
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"]
}

Shared Packages

Component Library

packages/shared-components/src/Button.tsx

import { Pressable, Text, StyleSheet } from 'react-native';

interface ButtonProps {
  title: string;
  onPress: () => void;
}

export function Button({ title, onPress }: ButtonProps) {
  return (
    <Pressable style={styles.button} onPress={onPress}>
      <Text style={styles.text}>{title}</Text>
    </Pressable>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  button: {
    backgroundColor: '#007AFF',
    padding: 12,
    borderRadius: 8,
  },
  text: {
    color: '#fff',
    textAlign: 'center',
    fontWeight: '600',
  },
});

packages/shared-components/src/index.ts

export { Button } from './Button';
export { Card } from './Card';
export { Input } from './Input';

Utility Library

packages/shared-utils/src/format.ts

export function formatCurrency(amount: number): string {
  return new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', {
    style: 'currency',
    currency: 'USD',
  }).format(amount);
}

export function formatDate(date: Date): string {
  return new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US').format(date);
}

packages/shared-utils/src/index.ts

export * from './format';
export * from './validation';

Using Shared Code

apps/mobile/app/index.tsx

import { Button } from '@myapp/shared-components';
import { formatCurrency } from '@myapp/shared-utils';

export default function HomeScreen() {
  const price = formatCurrency(99.99);
  
  return (
    <View>
      <Text>Price: {price}</Text>
      <Button title="Buy Now" onPress={() => {}} />
    </View>
  );
}

Native Modules in Monorepos

Autolinking

Expo modules need special handling:

apps/mobile/metro.config.js

const { getDefaultConfig } = require('expo/metro-config');
const path = require('path');

const projectRoot = __dirname;
const monorepoRoot = path.resolve(projectRoot, '../..');

const config = getDefaultConfig(projectRoot);

config.watchFolders = [monorepoRoot];
config.resolver.nodeModulesPaths = [
  path.resolve(projectRoot, 'node_modules'),
  path.resolve(monorepoRoot, 'node_modules'),
];

// Important for native modules
config.resolver.disableHierarchicalLookup = true;

module.exports = config;

Custom Native Modules

packages/
└── my-native-module/
    ├── android/
    ├── ios/
    ├── src/
    ├── expo-module.config.json
    └── package.json

packages/my-native-module/package.json

{
  "name": "@myapp/my-native-module",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "src/index.ts",
  "expo": {
    "platforms": ["ios", "android"]
  }
}

Building and Deployment

Local Builds

# From root
yarn workspace @myapp/mobile run ios
yarn workspace @myapp/mobile run android

# Or from app directory
cd apps/mobile
npx expo run:ios
npx expo run:android

EAS Build

EAS Build automatically supports monorepos:

apps/mobile/eas.json

{
  "build": {
    "development": {
      "developmentClient": true
    },
    "production": {}
  }
}

cd apps/mobile
eas build --platform ios

CI/CD

.github/workflows/build.yml

name: Build Mobile App

on:
  push:
    paths:
      - 'apps/mobile/**'
      - 'packages/**'

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    defaults:
      run:
        working-directory: apps/mobile
    
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      
      - name: Setup Node
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: '18'
      
      - name: Install dependencies (root)
        run: |
          cd ../..
          yarn install
      
      - name: Build
        run: npx expo export

Troubleshooting

Metro Can’t Resolve Module

Error: Unable to resolve module @myapp/shared-components

Solution:

# Clear Metro cache
npx expo start --clear

# Reinstall dependencies
rm -rf node_modules
yarn install

Duplicate Module in Graph

Error: Duplicate module in graph: react-native

Solution:

metro.config.js

config.resolver.resolveRequest = (context, moduleName, platform) => {
  if (moduleName === 'react-native') {
    return {
      filePath: path.resolve(projectRoot, 'node_modules/react-native/index.js'),
      type: 'sourceFile',
    };
  }
  return context.resolveRequest(context, moduleName, platform);
};

Native Module Not Found

Error: Native module 'ExpoCamera' is not available

Solution:

# Install native modules in app directory
cd apps/mobile
npx expo install expo-camera

# NOT in packages

Build Fails: Package Not Found

# Ensure all workspace packages are built
cd packages/shared-components
npm run build

# Or add prepare script in root
"scripts": {
  "prepare": "yarn workspaces foreach -A run build"
}

Best Practices

1. Use Path Aliases

tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "paths": {
      "@myapp/*": ["packages/*/src"]
    }
  }
}

2. Shared ESLint Config

.eslintrc.js (root)

module.exports = {
  extends: ['expo', 'prettier'],
  rules: {
    // Shared rules
  },
};

apps/mobile/.eslintrc.js

module.exports = {
  extends: ['../../.eslintrc.js'],
};

3. Hoisted Dependencies

package.json (root)

{
  "devDependencies": {
    "typescript": "^5.0.0",
    "@types/react": "^18.0.0",
    "eslint": "^8.0.0"
  }
}

4. Build Scripts

package.json (root)

{
  "scripts": {
    "build:packages": "yarn workspaces foreach -A --exclude @myapp/mobile run build",
    "dev:mobile": "yarn workspace @myapp/mobile start",
    "test": "yarn workspaces foreach -A run test",
    "lint": "yarn workspaces foreach -A run lint"
  }
}

Next Steps

Prebuild

Generate native projects in monorepos

Build Properties

Configure builds

Native Modules

Create shared native modules

Testing

Test across packages

Development Builds

Debugging

Testing

Native Development

​Overview

​Workspace Managers

​Yarn Workspaces

​npm Workspaces

​pnpm Workspaces

​Setting Up

​Metro Configuration

​Basic Config

​Advanced Config

​TypeScript Configuration

​Root Config

​App Config

​Package Config

​Shared Packages

​Component Library

​Utility Library

​Using Shared Code

​Native Modules in Monorepos

​Autolinking

​Custom Native Modules

​Building and Deployment

​Local Builds

​EAS Build

​CI/CD

​Troubleshooting

​Metro Can’t Resolve Module

​Duplicate Module in Graph

​Native Module Not Found

​Build Fails: Package Not Found

​Best Practices

​1. Use Path Aliases

​2. Shared ESLint Config

​3. Hoisted Dependencies

​4. Build Scripts

​Next Steps

Prebuild

Build Properties

Native Modules

Testing

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Workspace Managers

Yarn Workspaces

npm Workspaces

pnpm Workspaces

Setting Up

Metro Configuration

Basic Config

Advanced Config

TypeScript Configuration

Root Config

App Config

Package Config

Shared Packages

Component Library

Utility Library

Using Shared Code

Native Modules in Monorepos

Autolinking

Custom Native Modules

Building and Deployment

Local Builds

EAS Build

CI/CD

Troubleshooting

Metro Can’t Resolve Module

Duplicate Module in Graph

Native Module Not Found

Build Fails: Package Not Found

Best Practices

1. Use Path Aliases

2. Shared ESLint Config

3. Hoisted Dependencies

4. Build Scripts

Next Steps