Angular is a robust framework for building dynamic web applications, and as your projects grow, organizing your codebase becomes crucial. Angular workspaces are an essential tool that help developers efficiently manage multiple applications, libraries, and reusable components within a single repository. In this article, we’ll explore what Angular workspaces are, why you should use them, and some best practices to maximize their benefits.

What are Angular Workspaces?

An Angular workspace is a project structure that acts as a container for multiple Angular applications and libraries. Introduced with Angular CLI, workspaces are ideal for growing teams or solo developers who want to:

• Maintain multiple apps (e.g., admin panel, user dashboard) in one codebase
• Create and share common libraries (UI components, utilities, services)
• Ensure consistency and modularity across projects

When you create a new workspace using the Angular CLI:

ng new my-workspace --create-application=false

You get a clean structure without an initial app, allowing you to precisely add apps or libraries as needed:

ng generate application my-app
ng generate library my-shared-lib

Why Use Angular Workspaces?

1. Code Organization: Separate code for each application and library, making it easier to maintain and develop features independently.
2. Reusable Libraries: Share custom UI elements, services, and utilities across different apps without code duplication.
3. Streamlined Builds and Testing: Build and test individual applications or libraries separately, speeding up development workflows.
4. Unified Tooling: Leverage a single set of configuration files (tsconfig.json, angular.json) to ensure consistency across the workspace.

Best Practices for Managing Angular Workspaces

1. Modularize Your Code

Group related code into libraries: UI components, data access layers, and service APIs. Keep application-specific logic within the respective app folder.

2. Leverage Dependency Management

Declare dependencies between apps and libraries in your workspace. The Angular CLI will handle rebuilds when related libraries change.

3. Efficient Testing

Each library and application gets its own configuration for unit and end-to-end tests. Run tests at the workspace level or per project to streamline CI/CD.

4. Consistent Linting and Formatting

Utilize shared lint/config files to enforce code quality and style across your projects.

5. Versioning Internal Libraries

If you plan to publish libraries outside the workspace, maintain versioning and changelog practices compatible with Angular Package Format (APF).

Example Structure

my-workspace/
  projects/
    my-app/
    my-admin-app/
    my-shared-lib/
angular.json
package.json
tsconfig.json

Conclusion

Angular workspaces provide a scalable and maintainable way to manage large and growing Angular projects with multiple applications and shared libraries. By organizing your codebase with workspaces, you can foster reusability, maintain consistency, and accelerate development.

Get started today by restructuring your projects or initializing your next Angular workspace with ng new --create-application=false!

Happy coding!