Nx Monorepo Tools Cheat Sheet

Updated 2026-05-16

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Nx is a smart monorepo build system that amplifies developer productivity through intelligent caching, distributed task execution, and code generation. Built for managing large-scale codebases with multiple applications and libraries, Nx provides robust tooling for React, Angular, Node.js, and other frameworks. What sets Nx apart is its computation caching and affected command analysis — features that drastically reduce build times by only rebuilding what changed, making it indispensable for teams working with interconnected projects where one change shouldn't trigger a full workspace rebuild.

What This Cheat Sheet Covers

This topic spans 12 focused tables and 84 indexed concepts, 69 flashcards. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.

Table 1: Core CLI CommandsTable 2: Workspace GeneratorsTable 3: Task Execution and CachingTable 4: Configuration FilesTable 5: Nx Cloud and Remote CachingTable 6: Module Boundaries and ArchitectureTable 7: Plugins and ExecutorsTable 8: Project Graph and DependenciesTable 9: CI/CD OptimizationTable 10: Workspace OrganizationTable 11: Advanced FeaturesTable 12: Common Commands and Workflows

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Table 1: Core CLI Commands

These are the commands you'll type every day. The standouts are nx affected and nx run-many — they're how you run tasks across a sprawling workspace without touching projects that didn't change — while nx graph, nx reset, and nx migrate cover visualizing dependencies, clearing a misbehaving cache, and staying current with breaking changes.

Command	Example	Description
nx run	`nx run my-app:build` `nx run my-lib:test`	• Executes a specific target for a project • targets include build, test, serve, lint, and custom executors defined in project configuration
nx affected	`nx affected -t build test` `nx affected -t lint --base=main`	• Runs tasks only on projects affected by code changes • compares current branch against a base to determine dependency impact and minimize CI time
nx run-many	`nx run-many -t build --all` `nx run-many -t test --projects=tag:api`	• Executes tasks across multiple projects in parallel • supports filtering by tags, project names, or glob patterns with configurable parallelism limits
nx graph	`nx graph` `nx graph --affected`	Opens interactive dependency graph visualization showing relationships between projects, tasks, and affected scope after code changes.
nx migrate	`nx migrate latest` `nx migrate --run-migrations`	Generates migration plan for updating Nx and workspace dependencies, then applies automated code transformations to adapt to breaking changes.
nx reset	`nx reset` `nx reset --onlyCloud`	• Clears local task cache and stops daemon process • use when debugging cache issues or after configuration changes that affect hashing
nx show	`nx show project my-app` `nx show projects --affected`	• Displays detailed project configuration, tasks, dependencies, and metadata • useful for debugging and understanding project structure
nx watch	`nx watch --projects=my-app -- echo "Changed!"` `nx watch --all -- nx test`	• Monitors file changes and triggers custom commands on detection • enables continuous task execution during development workflows
nx format	`nx format:write` `nx format:check --base=main`	• Formats code using Prettier • `format:write` applies changes while `format:check` validates without modifying files for CI validation
nx import	`nx import https://github.com/org/repo` `nx import ../existing-repo --ref=main`	• Imports external repositories into workspace while preserving git history • useful for consolidating multiple repos into a single monorepo

Table 2: Workspace Generators

Generators scaffold consistent code so nobody hand-rolls a new library or project from scratch. Reach for these when you're creating, moving, or removing libraries — and for bootstrapping a brand-new workspace with create-nx-workspace or retrofitting Nx onto an existing repo with nx init. The last entries show how teams write their own generators to bake house conventions into every scaffold.

Generator	Example	Description
@nx/workspace:library	`nx g @nx/workspace:lib shared-utils` `nx g lib ui-components --directory=libs/shared`	• Creates reusable library with TypeScript configuration, testing setup, and project structure • supports buildable and publishable variants

The rest of this section is part of the full cheat sheet

Table 3: Task Execution and Caching

Caching is Nx's headline feature, and the mental model here is simple — every task gets a hash computed from its declared inputs, and if that hash has been seen before, Nx replays the stored outputs instead of running the work again. Get inputs and outputs configured correctly and builds that took minutes return instantly; misconfigure them and you'll either get stale results or cache misses you can't explain, which is exactly what the debugging entries help you untangle.

Concept	Example	Description
computation cache	Local: `node_modules/.cache/nx` Remote: Nx Cloud storage	• Stores task outputs and terminal logs keyed by input hash • restores results instantly when inputs match, eliminating redundant computation

The rest of this section is part of the full cheat sheet

Table 4: Configuration Files

Where Nx reads its settings from, ordered roughly from workspace-wide to per-project. nx.json holds the global defaults and project.json (or an nx block in package.json) overrides them per project — knowing which file wins when settings conflict saves a lot of head-scratching.

File	Example	Description
nx.json	Workspace root configuration	Configures workspace-wide defaults including task pipelines, cache settings, named inputs, and Nx Cloud connection parameters.

The rest of this section is part of the full cheat sheet

Table 1: Core CLI Commands

Command	Example	Description
nx run	`nx run my-app:build` `nx run my-lib:test`	• Executes a specific target for a project • targets include build, test, serve, lint, and custom executors defined in project configuration
nx affected	`nx affected -t build test` `nx affected -t lint --base=main`	• Runs tasks only on projects affected by code changes • compares current branch against a base to determine dependency impact and minimize CI time
nx run-many	`nx run-many -t build --all` `nx run-many -t test --projects=tag:api`	• Executes tasks across multiple projects in parallel • supports filtering by tags, project names, or glob patterns with configurable parallelism limits
nx graph	`nx graph` `nx graph --affected`	Opens interactive dependency graph visualization showing relationships between projects, tasks, and affected scope after code changes.
nx migrate	`nx migrate latest` `nx migrate --run-migrations`	Generates migration plan for updating Nx and workspace dependencies, then applies automated code transformations to adapt to breaking changes.
nx reset	`nx reset` `nx reset --onlyCloud`	• Clears local task cache and stops daemon process • use when debugging cache issues or after configuration changes that affect hashing
nx show	`nx show project my-app` `nx show projects --affected`	• Displays detailed project configuration, tasks, dependencies, and metadata • useful for debugging and understanding project structure
nx watch	`nx watch --projects=my-app -- echo "Changed!"` `nx watch --all -- nx test`	• Monitors file changes and triggers custom commands on detection • enables continuous task execution during development workflows
nx format	`nx format:write` `nx format:check --base=main`	• Formats code using Prettier • `format:write` applies changes while `format:check` validates without modifying files for CI validation
nx import	`nx import https://github.com/org/repo` `nx import ../existing-repo --ref=main`	• Imports external repositories into workspace while preserving git history • useful for consolidating multiple repos into a single monorepo

Table 2: Workspace Generators

Generator	Example	Description
@nx/workspace:library	`nx g @nx/workspace:lib shared-utils` `nx g lib ui-components --directory=libs/shared`	• Creates reusable library with TypeScript configuration, testing setup, and project structure • supports buildable and publishable variants

Table 3: Task Execution and Caching

Concept	Example	Description
computation cache	Local: `node_modules/.cache/nx` Remote: Nx Cloud storage	• Stores task outputs and terminal logs keyed by input hash • restores results instantly when inputs match, eliminating redundant computation

Table 4: Configuration Files

File	Example	Description
nx.json	Workspace root configuration	Configures workspace-wide defaults including task pipelines, cache settings, named inputs, and Nx Cloud connection parameters.

Nx Monorepo Tools and Build System Cheat Sheet

Table 1: Core CLI Commands

Table 2: Workspace Generators

Table 3: Task Execution and Caching

Table 4: Configuration Files

Nx Monorepo Tools and Build System Cheat Sheet

Table 1: Core CLI Commands

Table 2: Workspace Generators

Table 3: Task Execution and Caching

Table 4: Configuration Files