Though it may feel counterintuitive at first, using TurboRepo in a microservices system begins to make a lot of sense when you consider the valid and strategic advantages it brings.

Key Benefits

1. Monorepo with Microservices: Structure with Flexibility

Monorepo + Microservices = Shared code + Independent services

• TurboRepo supports a monorepo architecture where each microservice remains logically independent.
• This works particularly well for internal microservices developed and maintained by a single team or organization.
• Not ideal for third-party or externally hosted services, but excellent for cohesive systems.

2. Shared Code and Libraries

• Extract common logic into reusable packages (e.g., in the /packages folder).
• Avoid duplication across microservices.
• Ensure updates and fixes to shared libraries are automatically reflected across all consuming services.

Example shared packages:

packages/
  auth-lib/       # Shared authentication logic
  config-utils/   # Common configuration tools

3. Consistent Tooling Across Services

• Use a unified configuration for tools like ESLint, Prettier, and TypeScript across all services.
• Manage dependencies via pnpm or Yarn workspaces.
• Enforce best practices and streamline onboarding for new developers.

4. Incremental Builds and Caching

• TurboRepo provides smart caching of build artifacts.
• Supports incremental builds—only rebuilds packages/services that have changed.
• Use remote caching (e.g., with Vercel) to speed up CI/CD across machines and teams.

Saves time and compute in both local dev and CI environments.

5. Improved Developer Experience (DX)

• Use scoped commands like:

  turbo run test --filter=payment-service

• Run, build, or test only the affected services or packages.
• CI pipelines are significantly faster due to parallel execution and caching.
• Local development becomes easier with co-located code and utilities.

Recommended Project Structure

apps/
  api-gateway/       # API gateway or BFF layer
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/3og7rldz2dwtsr0fz63n.jpg)
  web-app/           # Frontend web application
  mobile-app/        # Mobile frontend (React Native, Flutter, etc.)

packages/
  auth-lib/          # Shared authentication logic
  config-utils/      # Common config/environment utilities

services/
  user-service/          # Microservice for user management
  payment-service/       # Microservice for payments
  notification-service/  # Microservice for sending notifications

When Does It Make the Most Sense?

Using TurboRepo for microservices is ideal when:

• You have closely related services developed in parallel.
• Your services are internally deployed or tightly coupled in purpose.
• You want to share code, config, and tools across services.
• You need fast, intelligent CI/CD pipelines and optimized builds.