Workspaces & Monorepos

Using pastoralist in workspace and monorepo environments

Pastoralist works with workspace and monorepo setups. This guide covers how to track root-level overrides while still showing which workspace packages depend on them.

How Pastoralist Works in Workspaces

Pastoralist updates one target package.json, usually the workspace root. When depPaths is configured, it also reads workspace package manifests so the root appendix can show which packages still need each override.

You can also run it against an individual workspace package with --path when that package owns its own override field.

Configuration Methods

Pastoralist provides multiple ways to configure workspace scanning in monorepos:

Method 1: depPaths in package.json (Recommended)

Configure dependency paths directly in your package.json for workspace tracking:

{
  "name": "my-monorepo",
  "workspaces": ["packages/*", "apps/*"],
  "overrides": {
    "lodash": "4.17.21"
  },
  "pastoralist": {
    "depPaths": "workspace"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "postinstall": "pastoralist"
  }
}

Using "workspace" string - Pastoralist automatically uses all packages defined in your workspaces field. The appendix only appears in the root; workspace packages stay clean.

Using array of paths - Specify custom paths to scan:

{
  "pastoralist": {
    "depPaths": ["packages/app-a/package.json", "packages/app-b/package.json"]
  }
}

After running pastoralist, your root package.json will contain:

{
  "overrides": {
    "lodash": "4.17.21"
  },
  "pastoralist": {
    "depPaths": "workspace",
    "appendix": {
      "[email protected]": {
        "dependents": {
          "app-a": "lodash@^4.17.0",
          "app-b": "lodash@^4.17.0",
          "package-c": "lodash@^4.17.0"
        },
        "ledger": {
          "addedDate": "2026-05-30T00:00:00.000Z",
          "source": "manual"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

The workspace packages (packages/*/package.json and apps/*/package.json) remain clean without any pastoralist appendix.

Method 2: CLI depPaths Flag

Specify paths at runtime:

# Scan specific paths
pastoralist --depPaths "packages/*/package.json" "apps/*/package.json"

# CLI flags override package.json configuration
pastoralist --depPaths "packages/app-a/package.json"

Method 3: Guided Configuration

Pastoralist offers guided configuration for monorepo setups:

# Initialize with guided setup
pastoralist init

The initializer can:

Detect workspaces entries from package.json
Let you choose depPaths: "workspace" or custom package globs
Save configuration to package.json or a supported config file
Optionally configure security scanning

Basic Usage

Running on Root Package

# Run on the root package.json
pastoralist

This will manage overrides in your root package.json, which affect all workspaces.

Running on Workspace Packages

# Run on a specific workspace package
pastoralist --path packages/app-a/package.json

# Or navigate to the package
cd packages/app-a
pastoralist

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Root-Level Overrides

Most monorepos use root-level overrides that apply to all workspaces:

{
  "name": "my-monorepo",
  "workspaces": ["packages/*"],
  "overrides": {
    "lodash": "4.17.21",
    "react": "18.2.0"
  }
}

Run pastoralist at the root:

pastoralist

Pattern 2: Package-Specific Overrides

Some packages may need their own overrides:

{
  "name": "legacy-app",
  "overrides": {
    "react": "17.0.2"
  }
}

Run pastoralist for this package:

pastoralist --path packages/legacy-app/package.json

Pattern 3: Automated Workspace Management

Most workspaces should avoid running Pastoralist separately in every package. Keep shared overrides at the root and let depPaths read workspace manifests:

{
  "workspaces": ["packages/*", "apps/*"],
  "pastoralist": {
    "depPaths": "workspace"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "pastoralist": "pastoralist"
  }
}

Use --path only for workspace packages that intentionally own their own override field.

Integration Strategies

Strategy 1: Centralized Management with depPaths (Recommended)

Keep all overrides in the root package.json and use depPaths configuration:

{
  "workspaces": ["packages/*", "apps/*"],
  "overrides": {
    "lodash": "4.17.21"
  },
  "pastoralist": {
    "depPaths": "workspace"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "postinstall": "pastoralist"
  }
}

Strategy 2: Distributed Management

Allow packages to manage their own overrides only when those overrides are package-specific:

{
  "overrides": {
    "react": "17.0.2"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "pastoralist": "pastoralist --path package.json"
  }
}

Strategy 3: Hybrid Approach

Combine root overrides with package-specific ones:

Root overrides can hold shared security patches:

{
  "overrides": {
    "minimist": "1.2.8"
  }
}

Package overrides can hold feature-specific constraints:

{
  "overrides": {
    "react": "17.0.2"
  }
}

Package Manager Examples

npm Workspaces

{
  "name": "my-npm-workspace",
  "workspaces": ["packages/*", "apps/*"],
  "pastoralist": {
    "depPaths": "workspace"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "check-overrides": "pastoralist --dry-run"
  }
}

pnpm Workspace

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

{
  "pastoralist": {
    "depPaths": "workspace"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "check-overrides": "pastoralist --dry-run"
  }
}

Yarn Workspaces

{
  "private": true,
  "workspaces": {
    "packages": ["packages/*"]
  },
  "pastoralist": {
    "depPaths": "workspace"
  },
  "scripts": {
    "check-overrides": "pastoralist --dry-run"
  }
}

Best Practices

CI/CD Integration

Ensure overrides are valid in CI:

- name: Validate overrides
  run: |
    npx pastoralist
    git diff --exit-code package.json

Troubleshooting

Issue: Overrides Not Applied

Symptom: Workspace packages don't respect root overrides

Solution: Ensure you're using a package manager that supports workspace overrides:

npm 8.3+ ✅
yarn 1.x (use resolutions) ✅
pnpm (use pnpm.overrides) ✅

Issue: Duplicate Appendix Entries

Symptom: Same override tracked in multiple package.json files

Solution: If the override is shared, move it to the root package and use depPaths: "workspace". If each package owns a different override, separate appendixes are expected.

Issue: Performance in Large Monorepos

Symptom: Pastoralist takes long to run across many packages

Solution: First prefer depPaths: "workspace" so one root run reads the workspace manifests. If you must scan packages individually, make sure your file search excludes node_modules:

# Using GNU parallel for package-owned override fields
find . -name "node_modules" -prune -o -name "package.json" -print | \
  parallel "pastoralist --path {}"

Migration Guide

Moving to Centralized Overrides

Collect all overrides:

find . -name "package.json" -not -path "*/node_modules/*" \
  -exec jq '.overrides // {}' {} \; | jq -s 'add'

Add to root package.json
Remove from individual packages
Run pastoralist at root

Splitting Overrides

Identify package-specific needs
Move relevant overrides to packages
Run pastoralist on each package
Update CI/CD scripts