link-workspace-packages

Link Workspace Packages

Add dependencies between packages in this npm workspace.

Confirm Workspace Context

Check the root package.json for a packageManager field and confirm the committed root package-lock.json is present.

Workflow

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

npm

npm links local workspace packages during install when the dependency name matches another workspace package.

# From the workspace root
npm install @org/ui --workspace @org/app

# Or from inside the consumer package directory
npm install @org/ui

Result in package.json:

{ "dependencies": { "@org/ui": "^0.0.1" } }

npm usually saves the current workspace package version range and resolves it to the local workspace during install.

Examples

Example 1: Link ui lib to app

npm install @org/ui --workspace @org/app

Example 2: npm - link multiple packages

npm install @org/data-access @org/ui --workspace @org/dashboard

Example 3: Debug "Cannot find module"

1. Check if dependency is declared in consumer's package.json
2. If not, add it using appropriate command above
3. Run npm install at the workspace root

Notes

• Symlinks appear in <consumer>/node_modules/@org/<package>
• npm workspaces hoist shared dependencies to the root node_modules by default, so each package should still declare its direct dependencies explicitly.
• Root package.json should have "private": true to prevent accidental publish