Turborepo + pnpm: Optimizing Build Cache in Monorepos

Summary

The two things that make Turborepo + pnpm work:

1. Task graph: Understands dependencies, runs tasks in the right order and in parallel
2. Caching: Same inputs → same outputs → skip re-execution

Setup checklist:

• pnpm-workspace.yaml to define workspace packages
• turbo.json tasks with dependsOn and outputs
• env field for environment variables that affect the build
• Remote cache in CI via TURBO_TOKEN and TURBO_TEAM
• --filter=[main] in PR workflows to test only changed packages

If your builds are slow, the problem is probably tooling configuration, not code. One day to set up Turborepo, 80% reduction in build time. Worth it.