Turborepo 2.x: Fast Monorepo Builds With Remote Caching
Turborepo's task graph and remote cache cut monorepo build times dramatically - here is how to set it up with pnpm workspaces, Docker, and self-hosted caching.
Running pnpm build in a monorepo with 20 packages rebuilds everything every time. Turborepo understands your task dependency graph, caches outputs by input hash, and skips tasks whose inputs have not changed - locally and in CI.
Initial Setup
pnpm add -D turbo -w # -w installs to workspace root
# Or scaffold a new monorepo
npx create-turbo@latest
# Use in CI
TURBO_API=http://your-cache-server:3000 TURBO_TOKEN=your-token TURBO_TEAM=your-team turbo build
Pruning for Docker Layers
turbo prune creates a minimal subset of your monorepo containing only the packages needed for a specific app - ideal for Docker:
FROM node:22-alpine AS pruner
WORKDIR /app
RUN pnpm add -g turbo
COPY . .
RUN turbo prune web --docker
FROM node:22-alpine AS installer
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=pruner /app/out/json/ .
COPY --from=pruner /app/out/pnpm-lock.yaml ./pnpm-lock.yaml
RUN pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
FROM node:22-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=installer /app .
COPY --from=pruner /app/out/full/ .
RUN turbo build --filter=web
FROM node:22-alpine AS runner
COPY --from=builder /app/apps/web/.next/standalone ./
CMD ["node", "server.js"]
Filtering for Affected Packages
Only build packages affected by changes on the current branch:
# Build only changed packages and their dependents
turbo build --filter="...[origin/main]"
# Build a specific app and all its dependencies
turbo build --filter=web...
Turborepo vs Nx
Feature
Turborepo
Nx
Config complexity
Simple JSON
More complex
Plugin ecosystem
Smaller
Larger
Code generation
No
Yes
Affected detection
Git-based
Git + dep graph
Remote cache
Vercel or self-hosted
Nx Cloud or self-hosted
Turborepo is better for teams that want minimal config and are already on pnpm workspaces. Nx is better for large enterprise monorepos that need code generation and extensive scaffolding.
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// written byFIG. AUTH-01
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Mahmudul Haque Qudrati
CEO & ML Engineer
CEO and ML Engineer at Pristren. Builds AI-powered software for teams and writes about machine learning, LLMs, developer tools, and practical AI applications.
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