Monorepo vs Polyrepo: How to Structure Your Backend Projects

Monorepo vs Polyrepo: How to Structure Your Backend Projects One giant repo or many small ones? Both have trade-offs. Here is how to decide. Monorepo All services, libraries, and tools in a single repository. my-company/ packages/ shared-types/ # Shared TypeScript types logger/ # Common logging library db-client/ # Database client wrapper services/ api-gateway/ # Express API gateway user-service/ # User management billing-service/ # Stripe integration tools/ cli/ # Internal CLI tools package.json # Workspace root turbo.json # Turborepo config Pros : Atomic cross-service changes, shared code without publishing packages, single CI/CD pipeline, easy refactoring. Cons : Slow CI without caching, complex permissions, intimidating for new developers. Polyrepo Each service gets its own repository. Pros : Clear ownership, independent deploys, simpler CI per repo, smaller clone sizes. Cons : Shared code requires published packages, cross-service changes need multiple PRs, version drift. When to