CLI Deployment Limitations with Monorepo Projects

[ezeikel]

Currently, there’s a significant limitation when using vercel deploy with monorepo projects that needs addressing.

Current Behavior

When using Vercel CLI with a monorepo:

1. Running vercel from the root creates a 1:1 link between the entire repository and a single Vercel project
2. All subsequent vercel deploy commands from root will target that same project
3. This prevents deploying other apps in the monorepo via CLI to different Vercel projects

Impact

This forces developers to either:

• Deploy only from individual app directories (breaking workspace package access)
• Rely solely on Git integration for deployments
• Use workarounds like --cwd flag (which also breaks workspace access)

Expected Behavior

The CLI should support:

• Multiple project configurations from the root directory
• Ability to specify which project to deploy to when running vercel deploy
• Maintain workspace package access when deploying any app

Suggested Solution

Consider adding a --project flag or similar to vercel deploy that allows specifying which project to deploy to while maintaining the monorepo context.

Would love to hear if others are experiencing this limitation and any potential workarounds being used.

[pawlean (Pauline P. Narvas)]

Hey, @ezeikel! Welcome to the Vercel Community

Thank you for taking the time to write up this feedback - I’ve shared it to the builds team internally.

[anthony-shew]

Hey, @ezeikel . Would vc link --repo work for this case?

vercel link