Nx Import

Quick Start

• nx import brings code from a source repository or folder into the current workspace, preserving commit history.
• After nx 22.6.0, nx import responds with .ndjson outputs and follow-up questions. For earlier versions, always run with --no-interactive and specify all flags directly.
• Run nx import --help for available options.
• Make sure the destination directory is empty before importing. EXAMPLE: target has libs/utils and libs/models; source has libs/ui and libs/data-access — you cannot import libs/ into libs/ directly. Import each source library individually.

Primary docs:

• https://nx.dev/docs/guides/adopting-nx/import-project
• https://nx.dev/docs/guides/adopting-nx/preserving-git-histories

Read the nx docs if you have the tools for it.

Import Strategy

Subdirectory-at-a-time (nx import <source> apps --source=apps):

• Recommended for monorepo sources — files land at top level, no redundant config
• Caveats: multiple import commands (separate merge commits each); dest must not have conflicting directories; root configs (deps, plugins, targetDefaults) not imported
• Directory conflicts: Import into alternate-named dir (e.g. imported-apps/), then rename

Whole repo (nx import <source> imported --source=.):

• Only for non-monorepo sources (single-project repos)
• For monorepos, creates messy nested config (imported/nx.json, imported/tsconfig.base.json, etc.)
• If you must: keep imported tsconfig.base.json (projects extend it), prefix workspace globs and executor paths

Directory Conventions

• Always prefer the destination's existing conventions. Source uses libs/but dest uses packages/? Import into packages/ (nx import <source> packages/foo --source=libs/foo).
• If dest has no convention (empty workspace), ask the user.

Application vs Library Detection

Before importing, identify whether the source is an application or a library:

• Applications: Deployable end products. Common indicators:
  • Frontend: next.config.*, vite.config.* with a build entry point, framework-specific app scaffolding (CRA, Angular CLI app, etc.)
  • Backend (Node.js): Express/Fastify/NestJS server entrypoint, no "exports" field in package.json
  • JVM: Maven pom.xml with <packaging>jar</packaging> or <packaging>war</packaging> and a main class; Gradle application plugin or mainClass setting
  • .NET: .csproj/.fsproj with <OutputType>Exe</OutputType> or <OutputType>WinExe</OutputType>
  • General: Dockerfile, a runnable entrypoint, no public API surface intended for import by other projects
• Libraries: Reusable packages consumed by other projects. Common indicators: "main"/"exports" in package.json, Maven/Gradle packaging as a library jar, .NET <OutputType>Library</OutputType>, named exports intended for import by other packages.

Destination directory rules:

• Applications → apps/<name>. Check workspace globs (e.g. pnpm-workspace.yaml, workspaces in root package.json) for an existing apps/* entry.
  • If apps/* is not present, add it before importing: update the workspace glob config and commit (or stage) the change.
  • Example: nx import <source> apps/my-app --source=packages/my-app
• Libraries → follow the dest's existing convention (packages/, libs/, etc.).

Common Issues

pnpm Workspace Globs (Critical)

nx import adds the imported directory itself (e.g. apps) to pnpm-workspace.yaml, NOT glob patterns for packages within it. Cross-package imports will fail with Cannot find module.

Fix: Replace with proper globs from the source config (e.g. apps/*, libs/shared/*), then pnpm install.

Root Dependencies and Config Not Imported (Critical)

nx import does NOT merge from the source's root:

• dependencies/devDependencies from package.json
• targetDefaults from nx.json (e.g. "@nx/esbuild:esbuild": { "dependsOn": ["^build"] } — critical for build ordering)
• namedInputs from nx.json (e.g. production exclusion patterns for test files)
• Plugin configurations from nx.json

Fix: Diff source and dest package.json + nx.json. Add missing deps, merge relevant targetDefaults and namedInputs.

TypeScript Project References

After import, run nx sync --yes. If it reports nothing but typecheck still fails, nx reset first, then nx sync --yes again.

Explicit Executor Path Fixups

Inferred targets (via Nx plugins) resolve config relative to project root — no changes needed. Explicit executor targets (e.g. @nx/esbuild:esbuild) have workspace-root-relative paths (main, outputPath, tsConfig, assets, sourceRoot) that must be prefixed with the import destination directory.

Plugin Detection

• Whole-repo import: nx import detects and offers to install plugins. Accept them.
• Subdirectory import: Plugins NOT auto-detected. Manually add with npx nx add @nx/PLUGIN. Check include/exclude patterns — defaults won't match alternate directories (e.g. apps-beta/).
• Run npx nx reset after any plugin config changes.

Redundant Root Files (Whole-Repo Only)

Whole-repo import brings ALL source root files into the dest subdirectory. Clean up:

• pnpm-lock.yaml — stale; dest has its own lockfile
• pnpm-workspace.yaml — source workspace config; conflicts with dest
• node_modules/ — stale symlinks pointing to source filesystem
• .gitignore — redundant with dest root .gitignore
• nx.json — source Nx config; dest has its own
• README.md — optional; keep or remove

Don't blindly delete tsconfig.base.json — imported projects may extend it via relative paths.

Root ESLint Config Missing (Subdirectory Import)

Subdirectory import doesn't bring the source's root eslint.config.mjs, but project configs reference ../../eslint.config.mjs.

Fix order:

1. Install ESLint deps first: pnpm add -wD eslint@^9 @nx/eslint-plugin typescript-eslint (plus framework-specific plugins)
2. Create root eslint.config.mjs (copy from source or create with @nx/eslint-plugin base rules)
3. Then npx nx add @nx/eslint to register the plugin in nx.json

Install typescript-eslint explicitly — pnpm's strict hoisting won't auto-resolve this transitive dep of @nx/eslint-plugin.

ESLint Version Pinning (Critical)

Pin ESLint to v9 (eslint@^9.0.0). ESLint 10 breaks @nx/eslint and many plugins with cryptic errors like Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'version').

@nx/eslint may peer-depend on ESLint 8, causing the wrong version to resolve. If lint fails with Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'allow'), add pnpm.overrides:

{ "pnpm": { "overrides": { "eslint": "^9.0.0" } } }

Dependency Version Conflicts

After import, compare key deps (typescript, eslint, framework-specific). If dest uses newer versions, upgrade imported packages to match (usually safe). If source is newer, may need to upgrade dest first. Use pnpm.overrides to enforce single-version policy if desired.

Module Boundaries

Imported projects may lack tags. Add tags or update @nx/enforce-module-boundaries rules.

Project Name Collisions (Multi-Import)

Same name in package.json across source and dest causes MultipleProjectsWithSameNameError. Fix: Rename conflicting names (e.g. @org/api → @org/teama-api), update all dep references and import statements, pnpm install. The root package.json of each imported repo also becomes a project — rename those too.

Workspace Dep Import Ordering

pnpm install fails during nx import if a "workspace:*" dependency hasn't been imported yet. File operations still succeed. Fix: Import all projects first, then pnpm install --no-frozen-lockfile.

.gitkeep Blocking Subdirectory Import

The TS preset creates packages/.gitkeep. Remove it and commit before importing.

Frontend tsconfig Base Settings (Critical)

The TS preset defaults (module: "nodenext", moduleResolution: "nodenext", lib: ["es2022"]) are incompatible with frontend frameworks (React, Next.js, Vue, Vite). After importing frontend projects, verify the dest root tsconfig.base.json:

• moduleResolution: Must be "bundler" (not "nodenext")
• module: Must be "esnext" (not "nodenext")
• lib: Must include "dom" and "dom.iterable" (frontend projects need these)
• jsx: "react-jsx" for React-only workspaces, per-project for mixed frameworks

For subdirectory imports, the dest root tsconfig is authoritative — update it. For whole-repo imports, imported projects may extend their own nested tsconfig.base.json, making this less critical.

If the dest also has backend projects needing nodenext, use per-project overrides instead of changing the root.

Gotcha: TypeScript does NOT merge lib arrays — a project-level override replaces the base array entirely. Always include all needed entries (e.g. es2022, dom, dom.iterable) in any project-level lib.

@nx/react Typings for Libraries

React libraries generated with @nx/react:library reference @nx/react/typings/cssmodule.d.ts and @nx/react/typings/image.d.ts in their tsconfig types. These fail with Cannot find type definition file unless @nx/react is installed in the dest workspace.

Fix: pnpm add -wD @nx/react

Jest Preset Missing (Subdirectory Import)

Nx presets create jest.preset.js at the workspace root, and project jest configs reference it (e.g. ../../jest.preset.js). Subdirectory import does NOT bring this file.

Fix:

1. Run npx nx add @nx/jest — registers @nx/jest/plugin in nx.json and updates namedInputs
2. Create jest.preset.js at workspace root (see references/JEST.md for content) — nx add only creates this when a generator runs, not on bare nx add
3. Install test runner deps: pnpm add -wD jest jest-environment-jsdom ts-jest @types/jest
4. Install framework-specific test deps as needed (see references/JEST.md)

For deeper Jest issues (tsconfig.spec.json, Babel transforms, CI atomization, Jest vs Vitest coexistence), see references/JEST.md.

Target Name Prefixing (Whole-Repo Import)

When importing a project with existing npm scripts (build, dev, start, lint), Nx plugins auto-prefix inferred target names to avoid conflicts: e.g. next:build, vite:build, eslint:lint.

Fix: Remove the Nx-rewritten npm scripts from the imported package.json, then either:

• Accept the prefixed names (e.g. nx run app:next:build)
• Rename plugin target names in nx.json to use unprefixed names

Non-Nx Source Issues

When the source is a plain pnpm/npm workspace without nx.json.

npm Script Rewriting (Critical)

Nx rewrites package.json scripts during init, creating broken commands (e.g. vitest run → nx test run). Fix: Remove all rewritten scripts — Nx plugins infer targets from config files.

noEmit → composite + emitDeclarationOnly (Critical)

Plain TS projects use "noEmit": true, incompatible with Nx project references.

Symptoms: "typecheck target is disabled because one or more project references set 'noEmit: true'" or TS6310.

Fix in all imported tsconfigs:

1. Remove "noEmit": true. If inherited via extends chain, set "noEmit": false explicitly.
2. Add "composite": true, "emitDeclarationOnly": true, "declarationMap": true
3. Add "outDir": "dist" and "tsBuildInfoFile": "dist/tsconfig.tsbuildinfo"
4. Add "extends": "../../tsconfig.base.json" if missing. Remove settings now inherited from base.

Stale node_modules and Lockfiles

nx import may bring node_modules/ (pnpm symlinks pointing to the source filesystem) and pnpm-lock.yaml from the source. Both are stale.

Fix: rm -rf imported/node_modules imported/pnpm-lock.yaml imported/pnpm-workspace.yaml imported/.gitignore, then pnpm install.

ESLint Config Handling

• Legacy .eslintrc.json (ESLint 8): Delete all .eslintrc.*, remove v8 deps, create flat eslint.config.mjs.
• Flat config (eslint.config.js): Self-contained configs can often be left as-is.
• No ESLint: Create both root and project-level configs from scratch.

TypeScript paths Aliases

Nx uses package.json "exports" + pnpm workspace linking instead of tsconfig "paths". If packages have proper "exports", paths are redundant. Otherwise, update paths for the new directory structure.

Technology-specific Guidance

Identify technologies in the source repo, then read and apply the matching reference file(s).

Available references:

• references/ESLINT.md — ESLint projects: duplicate lint/eslint:lint targets, legacy .eslintrc.* linting generated files, flat config .cjs self-linting, typescript-eslint v7/v9 peer dep conflict, mixed ESLint v8+v9 in one workspace.
• references/GRADLE.md
• references/JEST.md — Jest testing: @nx/jest/plugin setup, jest.preset.js, testing deps by framework, tsconfig.spec.json, Jest vs Vitest coexistence, Babel transforms, CI atomization.
• references/NEXT.md — Next.js projects: @nx/next/plugin targets, withNx, Next.js TS config (noEmit, jsx: "preserve"), auto-installing deps via wrong PM, non-Nx create-next-app imports, mixed Next.js+Vite coexistence.
• references/TURBOREPO.md
• references/VITE.md — Vite projects (React, Vue, or both): @nx/vite/plugin typecheck target, resolve.alias/__dirname fixes, framework deps, Vue-specific setup, mixed React+Vue coexistence.