TL;DR

This package fixes errors caused by modules not being found because they exist only in an app’s local node_modules. It hoists (or reverses) them into the right place and now supports scoping, so you can easily switch between sets of dependencies (e.g. mobile, web) without reinstalling everything.

hoist-all

hoist-all is an NPM package for managing dependencies in monorepos. It supports two main features:

1. Hoisting – copy/symlink modules from app-level node_modules into the root node_modules.
2. Scoped installs – isolate sets of node_modules into named scopes (mobile, web, etc.) and switch between them instantly.

Installation

Install it in the root package.json:

npm install hoist-all --save-dev

Usage

1. Postinstall Hoisting (classic mode)

Add it to the root package.json:

"scripts": {
  "postinstall": "hoist-all"
}

After you run:

npm i -w your_app

hoist-all will automatically symlink or copy dependencies into the root node_modules.

2. Scoped Workspaces (new)

You can now save and switch between scopes. This is useful if you have many apps/packages but only want certain ones active at a time.

Save a scope

hoist-all s mobile "app1|app2" "shared|ui"

• mobile → the scope name
• "app1|app2" → regex for apps to include
• "shared|ui" → regex for packages to include

This saves the current node_modules into .hoist-all/mobile/ and remembers your regex filters.

Install a scope

hoist-all i mobile

• Restores node_modules from .hoist-all/mobile/
• Applies your app/package filters
• Switches active_scope in .hoist-all/state.json

Example

my-workspace/
  apps/
    app1/
    app2/
    app3/
  packages/
    shared/
    utils/
  node_modules/

# Save only app1 + shared into "mobile" scope
hoist-all s mobile "app1" "shared"

# Switch to mobile
hoist-all i mobile

CLI Reference

hoist-all [appsFolder] [workspaceRoot]

• appsFolder (optional) – Defaults to apps
• workspaceRoot (optional) – Defaults to cwd

Scope Commands

hoist-all s <scopeName> [appsRegex] [packagesRegex]

• -a, --apps <path> – Folder containing apps (default: apps)
• -p, --packages <path> – Folder containing packages (default: packages)

hoist-all i <scopeName>

Install a previously saved scope.

hoist-all ls

List available scopes and show the active one.

Features

• Hoist mode: Copy/symlink modules from app-level node_modules → root.

• Reverse-hoist mode: If hoist.target = "app", copy from root → app.

• Scoped dependency management:

  • Save root + app/package node_modules into .hoist-all/<scope>
  • Restore instantly without reinstall

• Regex-based filtering for apps/packages

• Skips system folders silently

• Reports copied/restored modules

• Zero runtime dependencies

Configuration

App-level config

Each app can define where dependencies should live:

{
  "name": "my-app",
  "hoist": {
    "target": "root"   // or "app"
  }
}

Default is "root".

Scope config (auto-managed)

Stored in .hoist-all/state.json:

{
  "active_scope": "mobile",
  "appsFolder": "apps",
  "packagesFolder": "packages",
  "scopes": {
    "mobile": {
      "appsRegex": "app1|app2",
      "packagesRegex": "shared|ui"
    }
  }
}

Example

Workspace

my-workspace/
  node_modules/
  apps/
    app1/
      node_modules/
        lodash/
    app2/
      node_modules/
        axios/

Classic hoist

npx hoist-all

Result: lodash and axios appear in the root node_modules.

Scoped workflow

# Save a scope
hoist-all s web "app2" "ui"

# Switch scopes
hoist-all i mobile
hoist-all i web

License

MIT