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Monorepo expertise with Bazel

Improve your control over large codebases with our monorepo expertise.
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Why adopting a monorepo is a smart move for your organization

Adopting a monorepo approach means that the majority of the code and configurations for the project reside in a single repository. This leads to several benefits.
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Simplifies code editing

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Enables more frequent releases

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Helps to produce new code faster

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Integrates multiple technologies

Monorepo consulting services

We know how to navigate and respond to the challenges of working with monorepos. Our engineers have experience in migrating projects using every major tooling (e.g. CMake, Maven, and Gradle), particularly with large codebases.

Monorepo migrations

  • Streamlining the process of building, testing and releasing your software.
  • Adopting the industry-standard tooling and practices.
  • Securing your build from supply chain attacks.
  • Updating your security to match industry standards.
  • Optimizing build time and reducing CI/CD costs.

Monorepo consulting and strategy

  • Assessment of your existing code.
  • Building custom monorepos.
  • Simplifying your build and developer tooling.
  • Onboarding for your new developers.

Why is Bazel the best choice for monorepos?

Bazel is a tool dedicated to monorepos that allows for faster loading times. Its architecture supports massive scalability, ideal for large projects and distributed teams. Migrating to Bazel minimizes friction and makes your builds faster, more secure, and scalable across multiple languages and platforms. Take advantage of Bazel migrations and elevate your development process.
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Achieve up to 10 times faster build times and faster code compiling.

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Improve your security with reproducible builds.

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Save the costs of running your CI infrastructure.

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Accelerate development cycles with remote execution.

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Enhance your code’s reusability and reduce its dependencies.

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Offers better control over your project.

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Team up with official Bazel Product Partners

Our expertise in managing monorepos and migrating codebases to Bazel has earned us the title of official partners of the Bazel Community. It’s a recognition given to companies dedicated to enhancing Bazel's end-user experience and accelerating developer productivity.

The Bazel migration process

Assessment

We start by determining which areas will benefit the most from the Bazel migration. After careful assessment, our engineers suggest the most appropriate out of 3 approaches.

1. An immediate migration. 

We select an optimal time to freeze non-critical updates to the old system. This allows our team to start migrating your project to Bazel. Meanwhile, we will continue to maintain your existing tooling, ensuring a stable development environment.

2. An integration layer approach. 

The migration is gradual and is achieved by integrating the old build system into the new one (or vice versa). For example, initially, the first 80% of your project will use your old build, and the remaining 20% will be Bazel-based, but your developers will interact only with Bazel. Over time, the balance will shift until your tooling becomes 100% Bazel-based.

3. Maintaining parallel builds. 

Bazel as well as your old tooling are run and maintained simultaneously. Our team manages the Bazel build and migrates changes done to the old build system. Developers and releases pipelines will be moved gradually to the Bazel build.

Proof of concept

At this stage, we are assessing whether your desired setup can be done and what we need to make it work. Once this stage is complete, our engineers will be able to estimate how fast the new build is going to be. 

Migration

Every migration process looks different, depending on the approach and each client. As a result, the codebase is built faster, in a more secure manner, and with fewer resources.

Bazel and Monorepo's success stories

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    Achieved fewer disruptions and more stable development environments.

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    Simplified adoption of new tools and setup.

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    Improved productivity and decreased coding errors.

C++ integration in Bazel monorepos

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    Streamlined maintenance across our client's multinational operations.

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    Improved scalability of the employee platform.

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    Improved User Interface.

Employee self-service portal

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    Enhanced the development environment.

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    Ensured code quality and consistency.

  3. 3

    Made the integration process more efficient.

Upgrading the development tooling with Bazel

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Bazel integration

We can help you integrate Bazel with your technical stack, regardless of the technology you are using.

Integration

  • Multi-langage support
  • Caching
  • Remote execution
  • Custom Bazel rules and toolchains
  • Reliable IDE integration

Consulting

  • Troubleshooting
  • Performance optimization
  • Build analysis
  • Training and mentoring for your development teams

Maintenance and optimization

  • Developer Experience as a service
  • Developer support
  • Metrics & Monitoring

Meet our experts

  • Krzysztof Romanowski

    Krzysztof Romanowski

    Head of Tooling

  • Łukasz Wawrzyk

    Łukasz Wawrzyk

    Bazel & IDE expert

FAQ

Can I migrate to Bazel myself?

Yes, you can. However, compared to similar tooling, Bazel is non-standard, and its migration process can take different paths for each project. With our experience, we will propose the most efficient path, tailored to your codebase and organization.

Why is Bazel VirtusLab’s recommended tooling?

Bazel is derived from tooling created at Google, created to reliabliy build of the biggest codebase ever created. We've used it for years, with great results. It has a growing community and is being used by many large companies word-wide. When it comes to monorepos, Bazel is a gold standard and we believe that it will continue to be a market leader.

Bazel focuses on performance, correctness, and security, which are key aspects for tools used to build large projects. Bazel has a reputation for complexity, but with our expertise, we can make it the foundation of your project's success.

Do monorepos have any drawbacks?

The biggest drawback of monorepos is related to their size—without proper setup, monorepos are slow to work with. Their size puts a strain on tooling and can often overwhelm developers. This is when experience and expertise are needed, as a properly set up monorepo can be as fast and responsive as any other project from a developer's perspective.

Would Bazel work with my tech stack?

Most likely. Bazel comes with a wide selection of rules, allowing it to build almost all popular languages and technologies. Bazel features an extensive system for extensions, making it possible to integrate with any technology used in a project.

Thanks to features like remote build execution and caching, Bazel can replace some of the expensive and error-prone tools used in your project.

Will my team need special training?

Bazel requires specialist knowledge to manage it properly. We provide training for your development team, so they can use it effectively.