What is Monorepo vs Polyrepo? — UK Software Development Guide
Direct Answer
Monorepo (single repository) vs polyrepo (multiple repositories) is an architectural decision about how to organise code across projects. Monorepo: all projects in one repository — enables atomic commits across projects, shared tooling, unified CI/CD. Polyrepo: each project has its own repository — clear ownership boundaries, independent versioning, smaller repository sizes.
Monorepo-vs-polyrepo in the UK
The monorepo vs polyrepo decision has real UK engineering cost implications. For a full-stack TypeScript product (React frontend + Node.js backend): monorepo (using Turborepo) enables shared types between frontend and backend, reducing a common UK bug — frontend and backend disagreeing on API data shapes. For a microservices architecture with genuinely independent teams: polyrepo enables independent deployment and clearer ownership boundaries. UK practical guidance: for teams under 15 engineers building a single product, monorepo is simpler. For teams above 30 engineers with multiple products, polyrepo aligns better with Conway's Law.
Related Glossary Terms
MVP
MVP explained for UK software developers and business owners. An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the smallest version of a product that allows you to validate your core business assu... UK context, examples, and related services.
Microservices
Microservices explained for UK software developers and business owners. Microservices architecture is a software design approach where an application is built as a collection of small, indepen... UK context, examples, and related services.
Kubernetes
Kubernetes explained for UK software developers. Kubernetes (commonly abbreviated as K8s) is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deploymen... UK context and related services.
GRAPHQL
GraphQL explained for UK software developers. GraphQL is a query language for APIs and a server-side runtime for executing those queries, developed by Meta (Facebook)... UK context and related services.
Agile
Agile explained for UK software developers. Agile is a set of principles and practices for software development that prioritises iterative delivery, collaboration, ...
Scrum
Scrum explained for UK software developers. Scrum is an agile framework for developing and delivering complex products. It defines three roles (Product Owner, Scrum...
Get Expert Advice on Monorepo-vs-polyrepo
Speak with our UK software development experts about Monorepo-vs-polyrepo. Free consultation, transparent pricing, no obligation.