Developer Experience, or DevEx, is all about making the lives of developers easier. When working in large teams or managing multiple projects, it’s important to create tools that save time, reduce errors, and boost productivity. In full stack development, especially when using monorepos, custom DevEx tooling can make a huge difference.
A monorepo is a single codebase that holds both frontend and backend code, and sometimes even mobile apps, infrastructure scripts, and shared libraries. Managing everything in one place is powerful, but it can also be complicated. That’s where building custom DevEx tools helps.
If you want to learn how to manage full stack projects using monorepos, enrolling in a developer course can be a great step. These courses teach not just coding, but how to work in real-life team environments, use tooling, and solve real problems efficiently.
What is a Monorepo?
Monorepo stands for “monolithic repository.” Unlike multi-repo setups where each part of the application is in a separate repository, a monorepo keeps everything together. For example:
- Frontend (React, Angular, or Vue)
- Backend (Node.js, NestJS, or Django)
- Shared code and libraries
- Tests and utilities
- CI/CD scripts
This structure can help teams work better together, reuse code, and make changes across systems more easily.
But managing all of this in one place comes with challenges. You need good tools to organize, build, test, and deploy everything smoothly.
What is DevEx Tooling?
DevEx tooling includes all the tools and scripts that help developers write, test, and deploy code faster. These tools are usually customized to match the needs of the team and the codebase.
Examples include:
- Custom CLI commands
- Project scaffolding tools
- Auto-formatters
- Dependency checkers
- Commit and PR validators
- Code generators
Good DevEx tooling means developers spend less time fighting with setup and more time writing code.
If you’re learning to become a full stack engineer, a good full stack developer course will help you understand both the development and operations side. You’ll not only write apps but also build tools that help your team succeed.
Why Build Custom Tools?
There are many tools available today like ESLint, Prettier, Husky, and TurboRepo. But sometimes, your project needs something more specific. That’s when building your own tooling makes sense.
Custom DevEx tools can:
- Match your team’s workflow perfectly
- Combine multiple tasks into one command
- Reduce onboarding time for new developers
- Enforce rules and practices consistently
- Improve testing and deployment pipelines
Let’s look at a few types of custom tools you can build for a full stack monorepo.
1. Project Generators
In large codebases, creating a new service or feature manually can take time. A project generator can speed up the process.
For example, you can build a command like:
npm run create:service user-auth
This could:
- Create a new folder under apps/
- Add boilerplate code
- Register the service in a router or module file
- Update documentation
Tools like Nx, Yeoman, or even simple Node.js scripts can help build these generators.
2. Smart Build Scripts
Monorepos often include multiple apps and libraries. Building the whole thing every time is wasteful. Instead, create scripts that detect what changed and build only those parts.
Tools like TurboRepo or Nx use dependency graphs to decide what to build. But you can also create custom scripts that:
- Detect changes in specific folders
- Run builds only where needed
- Save time during CI/CD
3. Automated Testing Commands
Testing becomes more complex when you have many services and libraries. You can create tools that:
- Run unit tests only for changed files
- Test both frontend and backend with a single command
- Start mock servers automatically
For example:
npm run test:changed
This command could find what files were changed in the last commit and only run the related tests.
4. Custom Linting and Formatting
Sometimes the default linting rules don’t cover all your team’s needs. You might want to check for things like:
- Forbidden imports
- File naming patterns
- Project structure rules
You can write custom ESLint rules or create your own linters using Node.js. These tools can be run before every commit or during code reviews.
5. CI/CD Helpers
CI/CD systems are critical in modern development. But setting up pipelines can be hard, especially in large monorepos. You can create tools that:
- Generate GitHub Actions or GitLab CI files
- Run selective builds and tests
- Publish only updated packages
Having these tools helps keep your CI/CD fast and clean.
You’ll learn more about these skills in a developer course, especially those that focus on DevOps practices. These courses often include project work where you build and automate your own development pipelines.
Real-Life Example: Internal CLI Tool
Imagine your team has many frontend and backend projects in a monorepo. You want a way to make common tasks easier, like:
- Creating new components
- Running tests
- Updating shared libraries
You can build an internal CLI tool using Node.js or a framework like oclif. It could offer commands like:
devtools generate:component Button
devtools update:lib shared-utils
devtools lint
Each command could run a script that does multiple things ensuring everything stays consistent and easy to manage.
Team Collaboration Benefits
When you build DevEx tools, you’re not just helping yourself you’re helping your whole team. Here’s how:
- Onboarding new developers becomes easier
- Junior devs make fewer mistakes
- Senior devs save time on reviews
- Everyone works faster with fewer bugs
And the best part? You can evolve the tools over time based on team feedback.
When Not to Build Your Own Tools
Custom tools are great, but they also come with maintenance. Here are times when it’s better to use existing tools:
- If your need is already solved well by an open-source tool
- If you don’t have time to maintain it
- If the custom tool adds more complexity than benefit
Start simple. Build only what your team really needs.
How to Get Started
If you want to start building your own DevEx tools:
- Identify repetitive tasks in your workflow
- Ask your team what slows them down
- Choose a scripting language (Node.js is common)
- Start small, like a code generator or a lint rule
- Get feedback and keep improving
Over time, your toolbox will grow, and your team will thank you for it.
These real-world skills are hard to learn from books alone. That’s why joining a developer course can help you practice and build in a guided environment. You’ll learn not just how to code, but how to create systems and tools that scale with your team.
Conclusion
Custom DevEx tooling can make a huge difference when working with full stack monorepos. It improves speed, quality, and team happiness. Whether it’s scaffolding new projects, speeding up builds, or enforcing coding rules, these tools help developers focus on what matters most building great apps.
If you want to go beyond just writing code and learn how to build better systems, consider enrolling in a full stack developer course in Hyderabad. These programs give you hands-on experience in real-world tools, workflows, and practices that are used in top tech companies.
Start building your own DevEx tools today, and become the developer that every team wants.
Contact Us:
Name: ExcelR – Full Stack Developer Course in Hyderabad
Address: Unispace Building, 4th-floor Plot No.47 48,49, 2, Street Number 1, Patrika Nagar, Madhapur, Hyderabad, Telangana 500081
Phone: 087924 83183
