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Following monorepo packages

followMonorepoPackages decides whether rev-dep, when it sees an import of an internal workspace package, traces into that package's source or treats it as an opaque external dependency.

The three modes​

  • true - follow every workspace package (trace into all of them)
  • false - follow none (every workspace package is an external boundary)
  • ["@acme/shared", "@acme/ui"] - follow only the listed packages, treat the rest as external
{
  "rules": [
    {
      "path": "packages/app",
      "followMonorepoPackages": ["@acme/shared", "@acme/ui"],
      "prodEntryPoints": ["src/main.tsx"],
      "orphanFilesDetection": { "enabled": true },
      "unusedExportsDetection": { "enabled": true }
    }
  ]
}

Compiled vs. just-in-time packages​

This setting exists for monorepos that mix two kinds of internal packages:

  • Just-in-time (source) packages are consumed directly as TS/JS source, with no build step. Follow these so rev-dep traces into them and counts their files and exports.
  • Compiled packages are built to their published output and consumed through it. Leave these unfollowed so rev-dep treats them as external module boundaries, the same way the consumer does at runtime.

The per-package array form is how you express exactly that split: list the source-consumed packages, omit the compiled ones.

How a followed package resolves​

When a package is followed, its import resolves through the package's own package.json exports/imports map into the source file it points to. A package is only followed if the consumer actually declares it in its dependencies or devDependencies - undeclared packages are not traced even with followMonorepoPackages: true.

Defaults differ between config and CLI​

  • Config: a rule with no followMonorepoPackages key defaults to true (follow all).
  • CLI: commands follow nothing unless you pass --follow-monorepo-packages. Passed without a value it means "follow all"; with a comma-separated list it follows those packages.
rev-dep resolve --file packages/app/src/main.tsx --follow-monorepo-packages
rev-dep resolve --file packages/app/src/main.tsx --follow-monorepo-packages @acme/shared,@acme/ui

Tradeoff​

Following more packages broadens the graph and changes which files count as reachable. Use the smallest scope that matches how the package is actually consumed.