---
title: 'Define Code Ownership at the Project Level'
description: 'Learn how to use Nx owners plugin to manage code ownership at the project level and automatically generate CODEOWNERS files for GitHub, Bitbucket, or GitLab.'
filter: 'type:Guides'
---

{% youtube src="https://youtu.be/mor6urvw-L0" title="Nx Codeowners" /%}

This plugin provides [Nx Enterprise plan](https://nx.dev/enterprise) users the ability to configure and maintain code owners for projects in an Nx workspace.

The atomic unit of code in an Nx workspace is a project. Tasks, module boundaries and the Nx graph all train us to conceptualize the workspace as a collection of projects. The CODEOWNERS file, however, requires you to switch from a project mental model to a more low-level definition based on the folder structure of your workspace. The `@nx/owners` plugin enables you to stay in the mental model that your workspace is a collection of projects as you define the ownership rules for your workspace. Nx will take care of compiling the project ownership rules into file-based ownership rules that [GitHub](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/managing-your-repositorys-settings-and-features/customizing-your-repository/about-code-owners), [Bitbucket](https://support.atlassian.com/bitbucket-cloud/docs/set-up-and-use-code-owners/) or [GitLab](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/codeowners/) can understand in the CODEOWNERS file.

## Setup

The `@nx/owners` plugin requires an Nx Enterprise plan to function. [Activating your license](/docs/enterprise/activate-license) is a simple process.

{% call_to_action title="Get a License and Activate Nx Enterprise plan extensions" icon="nx" description="Unlock all the features of the Nx CLI" url="/docs/enterprise/activate-license" /%}

Then, add the Owners plugin to your workspace.

{% linkcard title="Owners Overview" href="/docs/reference/owners/overview"  /%}

## Project or file-based configuration

The ownership configuration is defined in the `nx.json` file or in individual project configuration files. Nx then uses a [sync generator](/docs/concepts/sync-generators) to automatically compile those settings into a valid CODEOWNERS file for GitHub, Bitbucket or GitLab. See the [plugin documentation](/docs/reference/owners) for more details.

**Define Project Owners**:

```json
// nx.json
{
  "owners": {
    "format": "github",
    "patterns": [
      {
        "description": "Joe's Rust projects",
        "projects": ["tag:rust"],
        "owners": ["@joelovesrust"]
      },
      {
        "description": "Finance projects",
        "projects": ["finance-*"],
        "owners": ["@finance-team"]
      },
      {
        "description": "Alphabet soup",
        "projects": ["admin", "books", "cart"],
        "owners": ["@alice", "@bob", "@cecil"]
      },
      {
        "description": "CI Workflows",
        "files": [".github/workflows/**/*"],
        "owners": ["@devops"]
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

```json
// packages/my-project/project.json
{
  "owners": {
    "**/*": ["@ahmed", "@petra"],
    "package.json": ["@ahmed"]
  },
};
```

**Nx Generates the CODEOWNERS file**

```yaml {% title=".github/CODEOWNERS" %}
# Joe's Rust projects
/packages/rust-api @joelovesrust
/packages/experimental-rust @joelovesrust

# Finance projects
/packages/finance-ui @finance-team
/packages/finance-data @finance-team

# Alphabet soup
/packages/admin @alice @bob @cecil
/packages/books @alice @bob @cecil
/packages/cart @alice @bob @cecil

# CI Workflows
.github/workflows/**/* @devops

/packages/my-project/ @ahmed @petra
/packages/my-project/package.json @ahmed
```