LLM Best Practices

Turborepo vs Nx

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Overview

Pick Turborepo when the need is “cache and parallelize tasks across pnpm, npm, or Yarn workspaces”; pick Nx when the repo needs a project graph, generators, enforced boundaries, framework plugins, or distributed CI. As of 2026-10-01 Turborepo is at 2.11 (2026-09-18, adds native Rust, Python, and Go support) and Nx is at 23 (June 2026). Both are free and open source.

Comparison

DimensionTurborepo 2.11Nx 23
Configturbo.jsonnx.json plus per-project config, inferred from plugins
ModelTask pipeline over workspace packagesProject graph, targets, plugins
Remote cacheVercel Remote Cache by default; self-host via the open Remote Caching APINx Cloud (free plans); custom server
Affected runs--affected, composable with --filternx affected on the project graph
Generatorsturbo generateFull generator and plugin system
Boundariesturbo boundaries (experimental)@nx/enforce-module-boundaries lint rule
Distributed CICache sharing onlyNx Agents split one CI run across machines
UpgradesManualnx migrate rewrites configs across the workspace

Pick Turborepo when

Pick Turborepo when the workspaces already work and the pain is CI time.

  • Add a turbo.json with build, lint, and test tasks and outputs; local caching works immediately. Remote cache needs npx turbo login and npx turbo link.
  • The team does not want a second config model beside package.json scripts.
  • Removing Turborepo later is cheap: delete turbo.json and run scripts directly.

Pick Nx when

Pick Nx when scale, structure, or multiple stacks justify the learning curve.

  • The graph and boundary rules must block forbidden imports (@nx/enforce-module-boundaries).
  • Mixed stacks (Next.js, Nest, Expo, .NET) benefit from plugins that infer targets and caches.
  • CI needs distributed execution (Nx Agents) rather than only a shared cache.
  • Many packages and frequent framework upgrades make nx migrate valuable.

Self-hosting a cache: Nx deprecated its S3, GCS, Azure, and shared-drive cache packages in May 2026 because bucket-based caches are vulnerable to cache poisoning (CVE-2025-36852). Prefer Nx Cloud or a custom server that implements Nx’s remote cache API.

Migrate

Move to Nx with nx init, which keeps workspaces and generates project config; port each turbo.json task to a target. Move to Turborepo by reducing targets to package scripts and writing turbo.json. Do not run both on one task graph. A repo already on Nx without friction should stay; the switch buys little. See monorepo-vs-polyrepo for the prior question of whether to use a monorepo.

FAQ

Should I use Turborepo or Nx for a monorepo?

Use Turborepo 2.11 to cache and parallelize tasks over existing pnpm, npm, or Yarn workspaces with one turbo.json. Use Nx 23 when the repo needs a project graph, generators, enforced module boundaries, framework plugins, or distributed CI.

Is Turborepo easier to set up than Nx?

Yes; add a turbo.json with build, lint, and test tasks and local caching works immediately. Removing it later is cheap: delete turbo.json and run scripts directly.

Can I self-host the Nx remote cache on S3?

Nx deprecated its S3, GCS, Azure, and shared-drive cache packages in May 2026 because bucket-based caches are vulnerable to cache poisoning (CVE-2025-36852). Prefer Nx Cloud or a custom server that implements Nx’s remote cache API.

Does Turborepo support distributed CI like Nx Agents?

No; Turborepo shares a cache across machines but does not split one CI run. Nx Agents distribute a single CI run across machines.

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