- 1Runs onself-hosted, Web, Windows
- 2CostsFree plan · free trial · paid from $29/mo
- 3Task graphYes
- 4Affected buildsYes
- 5Remote cachingYes
- 6Package managersnpm, yarn, pnpm, bun
- 7Cache scopeboth
Overview
Lerna is a free, open-source build system for managing and publishing JavaScript and TypeScript packages from one repository. It runs commands across projects in an efficient order and can parallelize tasks, cache results, and distribute work across machines. When task files and terminal output are already in its computation cache, Lerna can restore them instead of rerunning the task. It manages package versioning and npm publishing, with fixed or independent versioning workflows, and includes an interactive graph for viewing workspace structure and dependencies. Lerna uses Nx to identify workspace packages and dependencies and to run scripts with parallelism, caching, and distribution. It supports npm, yarn, pnpm, and bun; dependency installation and linking should be handled through those package managers’ workspace features. Nx Cloud has a free Hobby plan, a Team plan at 29.00 USD per month, and Enterprise with custom pricing. For closed-source projects, Nx Cloud provides the first 500 computation hours per month free, then charges $1 per computation hour. Its Hobby plan includes 50,000 credits monthly, five contributors, 10 concurrent CI connections, and community support.
Who it is for
Lerna suits developers managing multiple JavaScript or TypeScript packages in one repository. Its versioning and publishing workflows may also suit teams that release packages to npm.
What is good
- Runs tasks in parallel and distributes them across machines.
- Caches task files and terminal output.
- Supports fixed or independent package versioning.
- Supports npm, yarn, pnpm, and bun.
- Includes an interactive workspace graph.
What to know first
- Dependency installation and linking use package-manager workspaces.
- Closed-source Nx Cloud usage is charged after 500 monthly hours.
- Nx Cloud Team costs 29.00 USD per month.
Verdict
Lerna brings multi-package task execution, caching, workspace visualization, and npm publishing together. Keep package-manager workspace features in charge of dependency installation and linking.
Lerna plans and pricing
All plansCompared on monorepo management tools
- Task graph
- Yeslerna.js.org
- Affected builds
- Yeslerna.js.org
- Remote caching
- Yeslerna.js.org
- Package managers
- npm, yarn, pnpm, bunlerna.js.org
- Cache scope
- bothlerna.js.org
Facts
- Product
- Lerna is a fast, modern build system for managing and publishing multiple JavaScript and TypeScript packages from one repository.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Task execution
- Lerna runs commands across projects in efficient order and in parallel, with caching and distribution across machines.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Caching
- Lerna restores previously executed task files and terminal output from its computation cache instead of rerunning tasks.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Publishing
- Lerna manages versioning and publishing packages to npm and supports fixed or independent versioning workflows.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Graph visualizer
- Lerna includes an interactive workspace graph visualizer for understanding project architecture and dependencies.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Nx integration
- Lerna uses Nx to detect workspace packages and dependencies and to run scripts with parallelism, caching, and distribution.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Dependency management
- Lerna says package managers should install and link dependencies through their workspaces features rather than Lerna commands.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Nx Cloud pricing
- Nx Cloud is free for open source projects; closed-source projects get the first 500 computation hours per month free and then pay $1 per computation hour.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Security
- Nx Cloud stores hashed task inputs and cached results rather than actual code, supports end-to-end encryption, and offers self-hosted deployment through Enterprise.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Publishing security
- Lerna 9.0.0 and later support npm OIDC trusted publishing so packages can publish without traditional fixed tokens.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Editor integrations
- Nx Console provides Lerna users with Visual Studio Code and JetBrains integrations for task execution, generators, project details, and workspace visualization.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
- Support
- The Nx Cloud Hobby plan includes community support, while the Team plan includes email support and Enterprise includes dedicated support and SLAs.nx.dev · 30 Sept 2026
- Stewardship
- Nx took over stewardship of Lerna in 2022, and Nx is an open-source MIT-licensed build system developed by ex-Googlers.lerna.js.org · 30 Sept 2026
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Sources
- lerna.js.org· checked 30 Sept 2026
- lerna.js.org/docs/introduction· checked 30 Sept 2026
- lerna.js.org/docs/features/version-and-publish· checked 30 Sept 2026
- lerna.js.org/docs/lerna-and-nx· checked 30 Sept 2026
- lerna.js.org/docs/getting-started· checked 30 Sept 2026
- lerna.js.org/docs/concepts/dte-guide· checked 30 Sept 2026
- lerna.js.org/docs/recipes/oidc-trusted-publishing· checked 30 Sept 2026
- lerna.js.org/docs/features/editor-integrations· checked 30 Sept 2026
- nx.dev/pricing· checked 30 Sept 2026