lerna build multiple packages for storybook

Yulia Chive

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07-12-2024

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Lerna Build: Streamlining Storybook Development for Multiple Packages

Storybook is a fantastic tool for developing UI components in isolation, but managing Storybook configurations across multiple packages within a monorepo using Lerna can become complex. This article will guide you through efficiently building Storybook for multiple packages using Lerna, focusing on best practices and troubleshooting common issues.

Understanding the Challenge

Lerna manages multiple npm packages within a single repository. When each package contains its own Storybook configuration, building all of them individually can be tedious and error-prone. Manually running npm run build-storybook (or similar) in each package directory isn't scalable. This is where leveraging Lerna's capabilities becomes crucial.

Solution: Utilizing Lerna's run command

Lerna provides a powerful run command that allows you to execute scripts across multiple packages simultaneously. This simplifies the Storybook build process significantly.

Step 1: Consistent Storybook Setup

Ensure each package has a consistent Storybook setup. This includes having a storybook directory (or similar) and a package.json file with a build-storybook script (or equivalent). Here's an example package.json snippet:

{
  "name": "@myorg/my-component-library",
  "scripts": {
    "build-storybook": "build-storybook -s public"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@storybook/react": "^7.0.0", // Adjust to your framework
    "@storybook/addon-actions": "^7.0.0",
    "@storybook/addon-links": "^7.0.0",
    // ... other storybook dependencies
  }
}

Step 2: Executing the Build with Lerna

Now, utilize Lerna's run command to execute the build-storybook script in all packages. The simplest approach is:

lerna run build-storybook

This command will execute the build-storybook script in every package within your Lerna monorepo. Lerna will handle the parallel execution, significantly speeding up the build process.

Step 3: Handling Dependencies (if necessary)

If your Storybook configurations depend on other packages within your monorepo, you might need to adjust your build process. Lerna handles package dependencies automatically during the run process. However, you need to ensure your Storybook configurations correctly import and use components from other packages, using the appropriate @myorg/package-name style imports. If build errors related to imports occur, verify the correct package imports and that the dependencies are correctly defined in your package.json file within each package.

Step 4: Specifying Packages (Optional)

You can also target specific packages for the build. For instance, to build only the button and input packages:

lerna run build-storybook --scope=@myorg/button --scope=@myorg/input

This is helpful when you only need to rebuild a subset of your components.

Step 5: Parallelism Control (Optional)

Lerna allows you to control the level of parallelism. By default, it runs scripts in parallel. To adjust this, use the --parallel flag:

lerna run build-storybook --parallel 2  // Run 2 builds concurrently

Experiment to find the optimal parallelism for your system.

Troubleshooting

• Dependency Issues: Ensure all necessary dependencies are installed and correctly specified in your package.json files. Run lerna bootstrap before building to ensure all dependencies are properly linked.
• Incorrect Script Name: Double-check that the script name (build-storybook in our examples) matches the script defined in each package's package.json.
• Path Issues: Verify that your Storybook configuration paths are correctly configured relative to your package directory.
• Port Conflicts: If you're running Storybook in multiple packages simultaneously, ensure they are configured to use different ports to avoid conflicts.

Conclusion

Utilizing Lerna's run command provides a highly efficient and scalable solution for building Storybook across multiple packages in a monorepo. By following these steps and addressing potential troubleshooting issues, you can significantly streamline your Storybook development workflow. Remember to tailor your approach based on the specifics of your monorepo structure and Storybook configurations.