---
status: "published"
label: "Adding a Turborepo App"
title: "Add a New Application to Your Makerkit Monorepo"
description: "Create additional applications in your Turborepo monorepo using git subtree to maintain updates from Makerkit while building separate products."
order: 13
---

Add new applications to your Makerkit monorepo using `git subtree` to clone the `apps/web` template while maintaining the ability to pull updates from the Makerkit repository. This is useful for building multiple products (e.g., a main app and an admin dashboard) that share the same packages and infrastructure.

{% alert type="warning" title="Advanced Topic" %}
This guide is for advanced use cases where you need multiple applications in a single monorepo. For most projects, a single `apps/web` application is sufficient. Creating a separate repository may be simpler if you don't need to share code between applications.
{% /alert %}

{% sequence title="Add a Turborepo Application" description="Create a new application from the web template" %}

[Create the subtree branch](#step-1-create-the-subtree-branch)

[Add the new application](#step-2-add-the-new-application)

[Configure the application](#step-3-configure-the-new-application)

[Keep it updated](#step-4-pulling-updates)

{% /sequence %}

## When to Add a New Application

Add a new Turborepo application when:

- **Multiple products**: You're building separate products that share authentication, billing, or UI components
- **Admin dashboard**: You need a separate admin interface with different routing and permissions
- **API server**: You want a dedicated API application separate from your main web app
- **Mobile companion**: You're building a React Native or Expo app that shares business logic

Keep a single application when:

- You only need one web application
- Different features can live under different routes in `apps/web`
- Separation isn't worth the complexity

## Step 1: Create the Subtree Branch

First, create a branch that contains only the `apps/web` folder. This branch serves as the template for new applications.

```bash
git subtree split --prefix=apps/web --branch web-branch
```

This command:
1. Extracts the history of `apps/web` into a new branch
2. Creates `web-branch` containing only the `apps/web` contents
3. Preserves commit history for that folder

## Step 2: Add the New Application

Create your new application by pulling from the subtree branch.

For example, to create a `pdf-chat` application:

```bash
git subtree add --prefix=apps/pdf-chat origin web-branch --squash
```

This command:
1. Creates `apps/pdf-chat` with the same structure as `apps/web`
2. Squashes the history into a single commit (cleaner git log)
3. Sets up tracking for future updates

### Verify the Application

```bash
ls apps/pdf-chat
```

You should see the same structure as `apps/web`:

```
apps/pdf-chat/
├── app/
├── components/
├── config/
├── lib/
├── supabase/
├── next.config.mjs
├── package.json
└── ...
```

## Step 3: Configure the New Application

### Update package.json

Change the package name and any app-specific settings:

```json {% title="apps/pdf-chat/package.json" %}
{
  "name": "pdf-chat",
  "version": "0.0.1",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "next dev --port 3001",
    "build": "next build",
    "start": "next start --port 3001"
  }
}
```

### Update Environment Variables

Create a separate `.env.local` for the new application:

```bash {% title="apps/pdf-chat/.env.local" %}
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL=http://localhost:3001
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_NAME="PDF Chat"
# ... other environment variables
```

### Update Supabase Configuration (if separate)

If the application needs its own database, update `apps/pdf-chat/supabase/config.toml` with unique ports and project settings.

### Add Turbo Configuration

Update the root `turbo.json` to include your new application:

```json {% title="turbo.json" %}
{
  "tasks": {
    "build": {
      "dependsOn": ["^build"],
      "outputs": [".next/**", "!.next/cache/**"]
    },
    "pdf-chat#dev": {
      "dependsOn": ["^build"],
      "persistent": true
    }
  }
}
```

### Run the New Application

```bash
# Run just the new app
pnpm --filter pdf-chat dev

# Run all apps in parallel
pnpm dev
```

## Step 4: Pulling Updates

When Makerkit releases updates, follow these steps to sync them to your new application.

### Pull Upstream Changes

First, pull the latest changes from Makerkit:

```bash
git pull upstream main
```

### Update the Subtree Branch

Re-extract the `apps/web` folder into the subtree branch:

```bash
git subtree split --prefix=apps/web --branch web-branch
```

### Push the Branch

Push the updated branch to your repository:

```bash
git push origin web-branch
```

### Pull Into Your Application

Finally, pull the updates into your new application:

```bash
git subtree pull --prefix=apps/pdf-chat origin web-branch --squash
```

### Resolve Conflicts

If you've modified files that were also changed upstream, you'll need to resolve conflicts:

```bash
# After conflicts appear
git status  # See conflicted files
# Edit files to resolve conflicts
git add .
git commit -m "Merge upstream changes into pdf-chat"
```

## Update Workflow Summary

```bash
# 1. Get latest from Makerkit
git pull upstream main

# 2. Update the template branch
git subtree split --prefix=apps/web --branch web-branch
git push origin web-branch

# 3. Pull into each additional app
git subtree pull --prefix=apps/pdf-chat origin web-branch --squash
git subtree pull --prefix=apps/admin origin web-branch --squash
```

## Troubleshooting

**"fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories"**

Add the `--squash` flag to ignore history differences:

```bash
git subtree pull --prefix=apps/pdf-chat origin web-branch --squash
```

**Subtree branch doesn't exist on remote**

Push it first:

```bash
git push origin web-branch
```

**Application won't start (port conflict)**

Update the port in `package.json`:

```json
{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "next dev --port 3001"
  }
}
```

**Shared packages not resolving**

Ensure the new app's `package.json` includes the workspace dependencies:

```json
{
  "dependencies": {
    "@kit/ui": "workspace:*",
    "@kit/supabase": "workspace:*"
  }
}
```

Then run `pnpm install` from the repository root.

## Related Resources

- [Adding Turborepo Packages](/docs/next-supabase-turbo/development/adding-turborepo-package) for creating shared packages
- [Technical Details](/docs/next-supabase-turbo/installation/technical-details) for monorepo structure
- [Clone Repository](/docs/next-supabase-turbo/installation/clone-repository) for initial setup