Link Workspace Packages

Link Workspace Packages

Add dependencies between packages in a monorepo. All package managers support workspaces but with different syntax.

Detect Package Manager

Check whether there's a packageManager field in the root-level package.json.

Alternatively check lockfile in repo root:

• pnpm-lock.yaml → pnpm
• yarn.lock → yarn
• bun.lock / bun.lockb → bun
• package-lock.json → npm

Workflow

1. Identify consumer package (the one importing)
2. Identify provider package(s) (being imported)
3. Add dependency using package manager's workspace syntax
4. Verify symlinks created in consumer's node_modules/

---

pnpm

Uses workspace: protocol - symlinks only created when explicitly declared.

# From consumer directory
pnpm add @org/ui --workspace

# Or with --filter from anywhere
pnpm add @org/ui --filter @org/app --workspace

Result in package.json:

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

---

yarn (v2+/berry)

Also uses workspace: protocol.

yarn workspace @org/app add @org/ui

Result in package.json:

{ "dependencies": { "@org/ui": "workspace:^" } }

---

npm