Monorepo with Turborepo

Q: What does workspace:* mean?

It tells pnpm to symlink the local packages/ui workspace into apps/mobile/node_modules instead of downloading from npm. The * means "whatever version exists in the workspace."

Q: Do shared packages need a build step?

For Metro bundling, no - apps import raw .tsx from @repo/ui. For publishing to npm outside the monorepo, add a build task that emits dist/. Inside the monorepo, source imports are standard.

Q: How do I scaffold the Expo app inside apps/?

Run pnpm install from the monorepo root afterward so workspace links resolve.

Q: Can I add a second Expo app?

Yes. Scaffold apps/admin with the same template, add "@repo/ui": "workspace:*", and run pnpm turbo run dev --filter=admin. Share packages/ui and packages/typescript-config across both.

Q: How do I run only one app?

The trailing ... includes workspace dependencies of mobile.

Q: Gotcha: why does Metro fail to resolve @repo/ui?

Common causes: missing exports entry for the subpath, package not listed in pnpm-workspace.yaml, or pnpm install not run from root. Verify node_modules/@repo/ui is a symlink to packages/ui.

Q: How do I prevent duplicate react-native?

Align all workspaces to 0.86.0. Add root pnpm.overrides if a transitive dependency pulls a different major.

Q: Should packages/ui use peerDependencies?

Yes. Declare react and react-native as peers so the app supplies a single copy. Install matching versions in the app's dependencies, not only in the package's devDependencies.

A Turborepo monorepo lets multiple Expo apps share TypeScript config, ESLint rules, and a UI package while Turbo caches lint and typecheck tasks across CI. Expo SDK 57 detects workspaces automatically - you focus on package boundaries, not Metro wiring.

Recipe

Quick-reference recipe card - copy-paste ready.

mkdir mobile-monorepo && cd mobile-monorepo
pnpm init
 
# Workspace roots (create pnpm-workspace.yaml - see Working Example)
npx create-expo-app@latest apps/mobile --template default@sdk-57 --yes
 
mkdir -p packages/ui/src
pnpm add turbo -Dw
 
# Link UI package into the app (from apps/mobile/package.json)
# "@repo/ui": "workspace:*"
 
pnpm install
pnpm turbo run typecheck
pnpm turbo run dev --filter=mobile

When to reach for this:

Two or more Expo apps (consumer + admin, white-label flavors) sharing components and utilities.
A design-system package consumed by mobile and a future web admin.
CI that runs lint/typecheck across apps and packages with remote caching.
Colocating native modules or shared business logic without publishing to npm.

Working Example

# pnpm-workspace.yaml
packages:
  - "apps/*"
  - "packages/*"

// package.json (root)
{
  "name": "mobile-monorepo",
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "turbo run dev",
    "lint": "turbo run lint",
    "typecheck": "turbo run typecheck",
    "doctor": "turbo run doctor"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "turbo": "^2.5.0",
    "typescript": "^5.8.0"
  },
  "packageManager": "pnpm@10.0.0",
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=20"
  }
}

// turbo.json
{
  "$schema": "https://turbo.build/schema.json",
  "tasks": {
    "dev": {
      "cache": false,
      "persistent": true
    },
    "lint": {
      "dependsOn": ["^lint"]
    },
    "typecheck": {
      "dependsOn": ["^typecheck"]
    },
    "doctor": {
      "cache": false
    }
  }
}

// apps/mobile/package.json
{
  "name": "mobile",
  "private": true,
  "main": "expo-router/entry",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "expo start",
    "android": "expo start --android",
    "ios": "expo start --ios",
    "lint": "expo lint",
    "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
    "doctor": "expo-doctor"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@repo/ui": "workspace:*",
    "expo": "~57.0.4",
    "expo-router": "~6.0.8",
    "react": "19.2.3",
    "react-native": "0.86.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@repo/typescript-config": "workspace:*",
    "typescript": "^5.8.0"
  }
}

// packages/ui/package.json
{
  "name": "@repo/ui",
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "private": true,
  "exports": {
    "./button": "./src/button.tsx",
    "./screen": "./src/screen.tsx"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "lint": "eslint . --max-warnings 0",
    "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit"
  },
  "peerDependencies": {
    "react": "^19.2.3",
    "react-native": "0.86.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@repo/typescript-config": "workspace:*",
    "@types/react": "^19.0.0",
    "react": "19.2.3",
    "react-native": "0.86.0",
    "typescript": "^5.8.0"
  }
}

// packages/ui/src/button.tsx
import type { ReactNode } from "react";
import { Pressable, StyleSheet, Text, type PressableProps } from "react-native";
 
type ButtonProps = PressableProps & {
  children: ReactNode;
  variant?: "primary" | "secondary";
};
 
export function Button({ children, variant = "primary", style, ...rest }: ButtonProps) {
  return (
    <Pressable style={[styles.base, variant === "primary" ? styles.primary : styles.secondary, style]} {...rest}>
      <Text style={styles.label}>{children}</Text>
    </Pressable>
  );
}
 
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  base: { paddingVertical: 12, paddingHorizontal: 20, borderRadius: 10, alignItems: "center" },
  primary: { backgroundColor: "#2563eb" },
  secondary: { backgroundColor: "#e2e8f0" },
  label: { fontSize: 16, fontWeight: "600", color: "#0f172a" },
});

// apps/mobile/app/(tabs)/index.tsx
import { Button } from "@repo/ui/button";
import { StyleSheet, Text, View } from "react-native";
 
export default function HomeScreen() {
  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Text style={styles.title}>Shared UI from @repo/ui</Text>
      <Button variant="primary" onPress={() => {}}>
        Continue
      </Button>
    </View>
  );
}
 
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: { flex: 1, alignItems: "center", justifyContent: "center", gap: 16, padding: 24 },
  title: { fontSize: 20, fontWeight: "700" },
});

// apps/mobile/metro.config.js - SDK 52+ default is usually enough
const { getDefaultConfig } = require("expo/metro-config");
 
module.exports = getDefaultConfig(__dirname);

What this demonstrates:

pnpm-workspace.yaml declares apps/* and packages/* - Expo detects the monorepo and configures Metro automatically on SDK 57.
workspace:* symlinks @repo/ui into apps/mobile/node_modules - Metro bundles source .tsx from the package without a separate build step.
turbo.json runs typecheck and lint with ^ dependency ordering - shared packages check before apps.
peerDependencies on react and react-native in @repo/ui prevent duplicate renderer copies inside the package.
Minimal metro.config.js - no manual watchFolders when using expo/metro-config on SDK 52+.

Deep Dive

How It Works

Workspaces let apps/mobile depend on local packages via symlinks instead of npm publishes.
Turborepo builds a task graph from each workspace's package.json scripts and caches task outputs by input hash.
Expo Metro (SDK 52+) auto-detects monorepos and watches workspace packages - manual watchFolders / extraNodeModules are only needed for legacy setups or non-standard layouts.
Metro bundles workspace TSX directly - unlike Next.js, there is no transpilePackages equivalent; Babel processes linked source through the app's config.
EAS Build runs from the app directory (apps/mobile) but installs dependencies from the monorepo root when configured with the correct working directory.

Recommended Layout

mobile-monorepo/
├── apps/
│   ├── mobile/              # Expo SDK 57 consumer app (default@sdk-57)
│   └── admin/               # optional second app
├── packages/
│   ├── ui/                  # shared primitives (Button, Screen)
│   ├── typescript-config/   # shared tsconfig bases
│   └── eslint-config/       # shared lint rules
├── pnpm-workspace.yaml
├── turbo.json
└── package.json

Directory	Owns	Does not own
`apps/mobile`	Routes (`app/`), feature folders, app config	Generic buttons usable by every app
`packages/ui`	Design-system primitives, shared styles	Feature screens, navigation, API clients
`packages/typescript-config`	`base.json`, `expo.json` extends	App-specific path aliases

turbo.json Tasks for Expo

Task	`cache`	`persistent`	Notes
`dev` (`expo start`)	`false`	`true`	Long-running dev server
`typecheck`	default	-	Fast CI gate; cacheable
`lint`	default	-	Cacheable per package
`doctor` (`expo-doctor`)	`false`	-	Validates SDK 57 dependency graph

# Run only the mobile app dev server
pnpm turbo run dev --filter=mobile
 
# Typecheck mobile and everything it depends on
pnpm turbo run typecheck --filter=mobile...
 
# Typecheck only packages changed since main
pnpm turbo run typecheck --filter="...[origin/main]"

Duplicate Dependency Prevention

Expo monorepos fail when multiple copies of react, react-native, or native modules resolve:

pnpm why --depth=10 react-native
pnpm why --depth=10 react

Problem	Fix
Two `react-native` versions	Align versions in root `package.json` `pnpm.overrides` or `resolutions`
Package missing `react` peer	Add `peerDependencies` in workspace packages; install peers in the app
Duplicate native modules	Enable `experiments.autolinkingModuleResolution` in `app.json` (SDK 54+; automatic in SDK 55+ monorepos)

// Root package.json - force single React 19 across workspaces (pnpm)
{
  "pnpm": {
    "overrides": {
      "react": "19.2.3",
      "react-native": "0.86.0"
    }
  }
}

TypeScript Notes

// packages/typescript-config/expo.json
{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig",
  "extends": "./base.json",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "jsx": "react-jsx",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "noEmit": true,
    "strict": true
  }
}

// apps/mobile/tsconfig.json
{
  "extends": "@repo/typescript-config/expo.json",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@/*": ["./src/*"]
    }
  },
  "include": ["**/*.ts", "**/*.tsx", ".expo/types/**/*.ts", "expo-env.d.ts"]
}

Workspace packages need their own tsconfig.json with "noEmit": true for turbo run typecheck. Path aliases like @/* belong in each app - not in the shared base.

Gotchas

Manual Metro monorepo config on SDK 57 - Copying pre-SDK-52 watchFolders recipes can conflict with Expo's automatic detection. Fix: Start with getDefaultConfig(__dirname) only; delete legacy resolver overrides and run npx expo start --clear.
Duplicate react-native versions - Two versions in one monorepo cause native build and runtime errors. Fix: pnpm why react-native; add root overrides; never let packages pin different RN majors.
workspace:* with npm - npm does not support the workspace protocol. Fix: Use pnpm (Turborepo's default recommendation), Yarn 4+, or Bun; or replace with * and accept weaker linking guarantees.
Feature screens in packages/ui - Shared package imports expo-router and feature hooks; every app inherits unwanted navigation coupling. Fix: Keep features in apps/mobile/src/features/; packages hold primitives only.
Missing exports entries - Adding ./card.tsx without listing it in package.json exports breaks Metro resolution. Fix: Declare every subpath explicitly once exports is present.
pnpm isolated installs - Strict isolation can break some React Native libraries. Fix: Use nodeLinker: hoisted in pnpm-workspace.yaml if resolution errors appear (Expo supports isolated installs from SDK 54+, but hoisted is safer during setup).
EAS Build from wrong directory - Build profile points at repo root without monorepo install config. Fix: Set EAS workingDirectory to apps/mobile and install from root per Expo monorepo guide.

Alternatives

Alternative	Use When	Don't Use When
Turborepo + pnpm workspaces	Multiple Expo apps, shared packages, CI caching	Single standalone app - monorepo overhead not worth it
Yarn/npm workspaces only	Simple linking without task orchestration	You need Turbo cache and `turbo run --filter` on CI
Nx monorepo	Generators, affected graph, polyglot repos with RN plugin	You want the lightest possible Expo + packages setup
Polyrepo + published npm packages	Teams are independent; semver boundaries matter	Rapid iteration on shared UI - publish cycles slow you down
Single app with `src/components/`	One product, one store listing	Two apps sharing 60%+ UI code

FAQs

Why use Turborepo with Expo?

Workspaces alone link packages. Turborepo adds a task graph, local caching, and remote caching so lint and typecheck skip unchanged packages on CI. Filtering (--filter=mobile) targets one app and its dependencies.

Do I need custom Metro config for monorepos on SDK 57?

Usually no. Expo auto-configures Metro when it detects workspace roots and you use expo/metro-config. If you migrated from a pre-SDK-52 guide, remove manual watchFolders and extraNodeModules, then run npx expo start --clear.

What does workspace:* mean?

It tells pnpm to symlink the local packages/ui workspace into apps/mobile/node_modules instead of downloading from npm. The * means "whatever version exists in the workspace."

Do shared packages need a build step?

For Metro bundling, no - apps import raw .tsx from @repo/ui. For publishing to npm outside the monorepo, add a build task that emits dist/. Inside the monorepo, source imports are standard.

How do I scaffold the Expo app inside apps/?

npx create-expo-app@latest apps/mobile --template default@sdk-57 --yes

Run pnpm install from the monorepo root afterward so workspace links resolve.

Can I add a second Expo app?

Yes. Scaffold apps/admin with the same template, add "@repo/ui": "workspace:*", and run pnpm turbo run dev --filter=admin. Share packages/ui and packages/typescript-config across both.

How do I run only one app?

pnpm turbo run dev --filter=mobile
pnpm turbo run typecheck --filter=mobile...

The trailing ... includes workspace dependencies of mobile.

Gotcha: why does Metro fail to resolve @repo/ui?

Common causes: missing exports entry for the subpath, package not listed in pnpm-workspace.yaml, or pnpm install not run from root. Verify node_modules/@repo/ui is a symlink to packages/ui.

How do I prevent duplicate react-native?

pnpm why --depth=10 react-native

Align all workspaces to 0.86.0. Add root pnpm.overrides if a transitive dependency pulls a different major.

Should packages/ui use peerDependencies?

Yes. Declare react and react-native as peers so the app supplies a single copy. Install matching versions in the app's dependencies, not only in the package's devDependencies.

Where do feature folders live in a monorepo?

Inside each app: apps/mobile/src/features/. Shared packages hold primitives and utilities - not product feature screens. See Folder Structure for Features.

How does EAS Build work with monorepos?

Point the build at the app subdirectory and install from the monorepo root. EAS detects pnpm-lock.yaml at the root. Set the app's eas.json and working directory per Expo's monorepo documentation.

What turbo.json settings does expo start need?

"dev": { "cache": false, "persistent": true }

Dev servers are long-running and should not be cached as completed tasks.

Turborepo vs Nx for React Native?

Turborepo is lighter - task caching and filtering with minimal config. Nx adds generators, affected commands, and RN-specific plugins at more setup cost. See Monorepo with Nx.

When is a monorepo the wrong choice?

Single app, single team, no shared packages. Monorepos add install complexity, duplicate-dependency risk, and tooling config. Start standalone; extract a monorepo when a second app or shared package is real - not speculative.

Shared Packages & Metro Resolution - watchFolders, legacy Metro overrides, and symlink pitfalls
Multiple Apps in One Repo - white-label flavors sharing a core package
Monorepo with Nx - generators and affected builds as an alternative orchestrator
Folder Structure for Features - keep features in apps, primitives in packages
create-expo-app Templates - scaffold apps/mobile with default@sdk-57
create-expo-app Quickstart - SDK pin verification after scaffold

Stack versions: This page was written for React 19.2.3, React Native 0.86.0, and Expo SDK 57 (expo ~57.0.4).

Recipe

Quick-reference recipe card - copy-paste ready.

mkdir mobile-monorepo && cd mobile-monorepo
pnpm init
 
# Workspace roots (create pnpm-workspace.yaml - see Working Example)
npx create-expo-app@latest apps/mobile --template default@sdk-57 --yes
 
mkdir -p packages/ui/src
pnpm add turbo -Dw
 
# Link UI package into the app (from apps/mobile/package.json)
# "@repo/ui": "workspace:*"
 
pnpm install
pnpm turbo run typecheck
pnpm turbo run dev --filter=mobile

When to reach for this:

Two or more Expo apps (consumer + admin, white-label flavors) sharing components and utilities.
A design-system package consumed by mobile and a future web admin.
CI that runs lint/typecheck across apps and packages with remote caching.
Colocating native modules or shared business logic without publishing to npm.

Working Example

# pnpm-workspace.yaml
packages:
  - "apps/*"
  - "packages/*"

// package.json (root)
{
  "name": "mobile-monorepo",
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "turbo run dev",
    "lint": "turbo run lint",
    "typecheck": "turbo run typecheck",
    "doctor": "turbo run doctor"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "turbo": "^2.5.0",
    "typescript": "^5.8.0"
  },
  "packageManager": "pnpm@10.0.0",
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=20"
  }
}

// turbo.json
{
  "$schema": "https://turbo.build/schema.json",
  "tasks": {
    "dev": {
      "cache": false,
      "persistent": true
    },
    "lint": {
      "dependsOn": ["^lint"]
    },
    "typecheck": {
      "dependsOn": ["^typecheck"]
    },
    "doctor": {
      "cache": false
    }
  }
}

// apps/mobile/package.json
{
  "name": "mobile",
  "private": true,
  "main": "expo-router/entry",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "expo start",
    "android": "expo start --android",
    "ios": "expo start --ios",
    "lint": "expo lint",
    "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
    "doctor": "expo-doctor"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@repo/ui": "workspace:*",
    "expo": "~57.0.4",
    "expo-router": "~6.0.8",
    "react": "19.2.3",
    "react-native": "0.86.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@repo/typescript-config": "workspace:*",
    "typescript": "^5.8.0"
  }
}

// packages/ui/package.json
{
  "name": "@repo/ui",
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "private": true,
  "exports": {
    "./button": "./src/button.tsx",
    "./screen": "./src/screen.tsx"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "lint": "eslint . --max-warnings 0",
    "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit"
  },
  "peerDependencies": {
    "react": "^19.2.3",
    "react-native": "0.86.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@repo/typescript-config": "workspace:*",
    "@types/react": "^19.0.0",
    "react": "19.2.3",
    "react-native": "0.86.0",
    "typescript": "^5.8.0"
  }
}

// packages/ui/src/button.tsx
import type { ReactNode } from "react";
import { Pressable, StyleSheet, Text, type PressableProps } from "react-native";
 
type ButtonProps = PressableProps & {
  children: ReactNode;
  variant?: "primary" | "secondary";
};
 
export function Button({ children, variant = "primary", style, ...rest }: ButtonProps) {
  return (
    <Pressable style={[styles.base, variant === "primary" ? styles.primary : styles.secondary, style]} {...rest}>
      <Text style={styles.label}>{children}</Text>
    </Pressable>
  );
}
 
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  base: { paddingVertical: 12, paddingHorizontal: 20, borderRadius: 10, alignItems: "center" },
  primary: { backgroundColor: "#2563eb" },
  secondary: { backgroundColor: "#e2e8f0" },
  label: { fontSize: 16, fontWeight: "600", color: "#0f172a" },
});

// apps/mobile/app/(tabs)/index.tsx
import { Button } from "@repo/ui/button";
import { StyleSheet, Text, View } from "react-native";
 
export default function HomeScreen() {
  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Text style={styles.title}>Shared UI from @repo/ui</Text>
      <Button variant="primary" onPress={() => {}}>
        Continue
      </Button>
    </View>
  );
}
 
const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: { flex: 1, alignItems: "center", justifyContent: "center", gap: 16, padding: 24 },
  title: { fontSize: 20, fontWeight: "700" },
});

// apps/mobile/metro.config.js - SDK 52+ default is usually enough
const { getDefaultConfig } = require("expo/metro-config");
 
module.exports = getDefaultConfig(__dirname);

What this demonstrates:

pnpm-workspace.yaml declares apps/* and packages/* - Expo detects the monorepo and configures Metro automatically on SDK 57.
workspace:* symlinks @repo/ui into apps/mobile/node_modules - Metro bundles source .tsx from the package without a separate build step.
turbo.json runs typecheck and lint with ^ dependency ordering - shared packages check before apps.
peerDependencies on react and react-native in @repo/ui prevent duplicate renderer copies inside the package.
Minimal metro.config.js - no manual watchFolders when using expo/metro-config on SDK 52+.

Deep Dive

How It Works

Workspaces let apps/mobile depend on local packages via symlinks instead of npm publishes.
Turborepo builds a task graph from each workspace's package.json scripts and caches task outputs by input hash.
Expo Metro (SDK 52+) auto-detects monorepos and watches workspace packages - manual watchFolders / extraNodeModules are only needed for legacy setups or non-standard layouts.
Metro bundles workspace TSX directly - unlike Next.js, there is no transpilePackages equivalent; Babel processes linked source through the app's config.
EAS Build runs from the app directory (apps/mobile) but installs dependencies from the monorepo root when configured with the correct working directory.

Recommended Layout

mobile-monorepo/
├── apps/
│   ├── mobile/              # Expo SDK 57 consumer app (default@sdk-57)
│   └── admin/               # optional second app
├── packages/
│   ├── ui/                  # shared primitives (Button, Screen)
│   ├── typescript-config/   # shared tsconfig bases
│   └── eslint-config/       # shared lint rules
├── pnpm-workspace.yaml
├── turbo.json
└── package.json

Directory	Owns	Does not own
`apps/mobile`	Routes (`app/`), feature folders, app config	Generic buttons usable by every app
`packages/ui`	Design-system primitives, shared styles	Feature screens, navigation, API clients
`packages/typescript-config`	`base.json`, `expo.json` extends	App-specific path aliases

turbo.json Tasks for Expo

Task	`cache`	`persistent`	Notes
`dev` (`expo start`)	`false`	`true`	Long-running dev server
`typecheck`	default	-	Fast CI gate; cacheable
`lint`	default	-	Cacheable per package
`doctor` (`expo-doctor`)	`false`	-	Validates SDK 57 dependency graph

# Run only the mobile app dev server
pnpm turbo run dev --filter=mobile
 
# Typecheck mobile and everything it depends on
pnpm turbo run typecheck --filter=mobile...
 
# Typecheck only packages changed since main
pnpm turbo run typecheck --filter="...[origin/main]"

Duplicate Dependency Prevention

Expo monorepos fail when multiple copies of react, react-native, or native modules resolve:

pnpm why --depth=10 react-native
pnpm why --depth=10 react

Problem	Fix
Two `react-native` versions	Align versions in root `package.json` `pnpm.overrides` or `resolutions`
Package missing `react` peer	Add `peerDependencies` in workspace packages; install peers in the app
Duplicate native modules	Enable `experiments.autolinkingModuleResolution` in `app.json` (SDK 54+; automatic in SDK 55+ monorepos)

// Root package.json - force single React 19 across workspaces (pnpm)
{
  "pnpm": {
    "overrides": {
      "react": "19.2.3",
      "react-native": "0.86.0"
    }
  }
}

TypeScript Notes

// packages/typescript-config/expo.json
{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig",
  "extends": "./base.json",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "jsx": "react-jsx",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "noEmit": true,
    "strict": true
  }
}

// apps/mobile/tsconfig.json
{
  "extends": "@repo/typescript-config/expo.json",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@/*": ["./src/*"]
    }
  },
  "include": ["**/*.ts", "**/*.tsx", ".expo/types/**/*.ts", "expo-env.d.ts"]
}

Workspace packages need their own tsconfig.json with "noEmit": true for turbo run typecheck. Path aliases like @/* belong in each app - not in the shared base.

Gotchas

Manual Metro monorepo config on SDK 57 - Copying pre-SDK-52 watchFolders recipes can conflict with Expo's automatic detection. Fix: Start with getDefaultConfig(__dirname) only; delete legacy resolver overrides and run npx expo start --clear.
Duplicate react-native versions - Two versions in one monorepo cause native build and runtime errors. Fix: pnpm why react-native; add root overrides; never let packages pin different RN majors.
workspace:* with npm - npm does not support the workspace protocol. Fix: Use pnpm (Turborepo's default recommendation), Yarn 4+, or Bun; or replace with * and accept weaker linking guarantees.
Feature screens in packages/ui - Shared package imports expo-router and feature hooks; every app inherits unwanted navigation coupling. Fix: Keep features in apps/mobile/src/features/; packages hold primitives only.
Missing exports entries - Adding ./card.tsx without listing it in package.json exports breaks Metro resolution. Fix: Declare every subpath explicitly once exports is present.
pnpm isolated installs - Strict isolation can break some React Native libraries. Fix: Use nodeLinker: hoisted in pnpm-workspace.yaml if resolution errors appear (Expo supports isolated installs from SDK 54+, but hoisted is safer during setup).
EAS Build from wrong directory - Build profile points at repo root without monorepo install config. Fix: Set EAS workingDirectory to apps/mobile and install from root per Expo monorepo guide.

Alternatives

Alternative	Use When	Don't Use When
Turborepo + pnpm workspaces	Multiple Expo apps, shared packages, CI caching	Single standalone app - monorepo overhead not worth it
Yarn/npm workspaces only	Simple linking without task orchestration	You need Turbo cache and `turbo run --filter` on CI
Nx monorepo	Generators, affected graph, polyglot repos with RN plugin	You want the lightest possible Expo + packages setup
Polyrepo + published npm packages	Teams are independent; semver boundaries matter	Rapid iteration on shared UI - publish cycles slow you down
Single app with `src/components/`	One product, one store listing	Two apps sharing 60%+ UI code

FAQs

Why use Turborepo with Expo?

Do I need custom Metro config for monorepos on SDK 57?

What does workspace:* mean?

It tells pnpm to symlink the local packages/ui workspace into apps/mobile/node_modules instead of downloading from npm. The * means "whatever version exists in the workspace."

Do shared packages need a build step?

For Metro bundling, no - apps import raw .tsx from @repo/ui. For publishing to npm outside the monorepo, add a build task that emits dist/. Inside the monorepo, source imports are standard.

How do I scaffold the Expo app inside apps/?

npx create-expo-app@latest apps/mobile --template default@sdk-57 --yes

Run pnpm install from the monorepo root afterward so workspace links resolve.

Can I add a second Expo app?

Yes. Scaffold apps/admin with the same template, add "@repo/ui": "workspace:*", and run pnpm turbo run dev --filter=admin. Share packages/ui and packages/typescript-config across both.

How do I run only one app?

pnpm turbo run dev --filter=mobile
pnpm turbo run typecheck --filter=mobile...

The trailing ... includes workspace dependencies of mobile.

Gotcha: why does Metro fail to resolve @repo/ui?

Common causes: missing exports entry for the subpath, package not listed in pnpm-workspace.yaml, or pnpm install not run from root. Verify node_modules/@repo/ui is a symlink to packages/ui.

How do I prevent duplicate react-native?

pnpm why --depth=10 react-native

Align all workspaces to 0.86.0. Add root pnpm.overrides if a transitive dependency pulls a different major.

Should packages/ui use peerDependencies?

Yes. Declare react and react-native as peers so the app supplies a single copy. Install matching versions in the app's dependencies, not only in the package's devDependencies.

Where do feature folders live in a monorepo?

Inside each app: apps/mobile/src/features/. Shared packages hold primitives and utilities - not product feature screens. See Folder Structure for Features.

How does EAS Build work with monorepos?

Point the build at the app subdirectory and install from the monorepo root. EAS detects pnpm-lock.yaml at the root. Set the app's eas.json and working directory per Expo's monorepo documentation.

What turbo.json settings does expo start need?

"dev": { "cache": false, "persistent": true }

Dev servers are long-running and should not be cached as completed tasks.

Turborepo vs Nx for React Native?

Turborepo is lighter - task caching and filtering with minimal config. Nx adds generators, affected commands, and RN-specific plugins at more setup cost. See Monorepo with Nx.

When is a monorepo the wrong choice?

Shared Packages & Metro Resolution - watchFolders, legacy Metro overrides, and symlink pitfalls
Multiple Apps in One Repo - white-label flavors sharing a core package
Monorepo with Nx - generators and affected builds as an alternative orchestrator
Folder Structure for Features - keep features in apps, primitives in packages
create-expo-app Templates - scaffold apps/mobile with default@sdk-57
create-expo-app Quickstart - SDK pin verification after scaffold

Stack versions: This page was written for React 19.2.3, React Native 0.86.0, and Expo SDK 57 (expo ~57.0.4).

Monorepo with Turborepo

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Monorepo with Turborepo