diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index dd52e35d8e..6c7596c8f4 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ yarn local-registry disable
 To publish packages to a local registry, do the following:
 
 - Run `yarn local-registry start` in Terminal 1 (keep it running)
-- Run `npm adduser` in Terminal 2 (real credentials are not required, you just need to be logged in)
+- Run `npm adduser --registry http://localhost:4873` in Terminal 2 (real credentials are not required, you just need to be logged in)
 - Run `yarn local-registry enable` in Terminal 2
 - Run `yarn nx-release 999.9.9 --local` in Terminal 2
 - Run `cd /tmp` in Terminal 2
diff --git a/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/create-nx-workspace.ts b/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/create-nx-workspace.ts
index 8a7300797d..41cba686d2 100644
--- a/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/create-nx-workspace.ts
+++ b/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/create-nx-workspace.ts
@@ -1,19 +1,31 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 
-import { output } from '@nrwl/workspace/src/utilities/output';
-import { unparse } from '@nrwl/workspace/src/tasks-runner/utils';
-import { Schema, Preset } from '@nrwl/workspace/src/generators/new/new';
-import {
-  getPackageManagerCommand,
-  getPackageManagerVersion,
-} from '@nrwl/tao/src/shared/package-manager';
 import { execSync } from 'child_process';
 import { writeFileSync } from 'fs';
 import * as inquirer from 'inquirer';
 import * as path from 'path';
 import { dirSync } from 'tmp';
 import * as yargsParser from 'yargs-parser';
-import { showNxWarning } from './shared';
+import { showNxWarning, unparse } from './shared';
+import { output } from './output';
+import {
+  getPackageManagerCommand,
+  getPackageManagerVersion,
+} from './package-manager';
+
+export enum Preset {
+  Empty = 'empty',
+  OSS = 'oss',
+  WebComponents = 'web-components',
+  Angular = 'angular',
+  AngularWithNest = 'angular-nest',
+  React = 'react',
+  ReactWithExpress = 'react-express',
+  NextJs = 'next',
+  Gatsby = 'gatsby',
+  Nest = 'nest',
+  Express = 'express',
+}
 
 const presetOptions: { value: Preset; name: string }[] = [
   {
@@ -73,12 +85,7 @@ const cliVersion = 'NX_VERSION';
 const nxVersion = 'NX_VERSION';
 const prettierVersion = 'PRETTIER_VERSION';
 
-interface WorkspaceArgs extends Schema {
-  _?: string[];
-  help?: boolean;
-}
-
-const parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs = yargsParser(process.argv.slice(2), {
+const parsedArgs: any = yargsParser(process.argv.slice(2), {
   string: [
     'cli',
     'preset',
@@ -168,7 +175,7 @@ function showHelp() {
 `);
 }
 
-function determineWorkspaceName(parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs): Promise<string> {
+function determineWorkspaceName(parsedArgs: any): Promise<string> {
   const workspaceName: string = parsedArgs._[0];
 
   if (workspaceName) {
@@ -195,7 +202,7 @@ function determineWorkspaceName(parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs): Promise<string> {
     });
 }
 
-function determinePreset(parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs): Promise<Preset> {
+function determinePreset(parsedArgs: any): Promise<Preset> {
   if (parsedArgs.preset) {
     if (Object.values(Preset).indexOf(parsedArgs.preset) === -1) {
       output.error({
@@ -225,10 +232,7 @@ function determinePreset(parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs): Promise<Preset> {
     .then((a: { Preset: Preset }) => a.Preset);
 }
 
-function determineAppName(
-  preset: Preset,
-  parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs
-): Promise<string> {
+function determineAppName(preset: Preset, parsedArgs: any): Promise<string> {
   if (preset === Preset.Empty || preset === Preset.OSS) {
     return Promise.resolve('');
   }
@@ -259,7 +263,7 @@ function determineAppName(
 
 function determineCli(
   preset: Preset,
-  parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs
+  parsedArgs: any
 ): Promise<'nx' | 'angular'> {
   if (parsedArgs.cli) {
     if (['nx', 'angular'].indexOf(parsedArgs.cli) === -1) {
@@ -283,7 +287,7 @@ function determineCli(
   }
 }
 
-function determineStyle(preset: Preset, parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs) {
+function determineStyle(preset: Preset, parsedArgs: any) {
   if (
     preset === Preset.Empty ||
     preset === Preset.OSS ||
@@ -371,7 +375,7 @@ function determineStyle(preset: Preset, parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs) {
   return Promise.resolve(parsedArgs.style);
 }
 
-function determineLinter(preset: Preset, parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs) {
+function determineLinter(preset: Preset, parsedArgs: any) {
   if (!parsedArgs.linter) {
     if (preset === Preset.Angular || preset === Preset.AngularWithNest) {
       return inquirer
@@ -411,7 +415,13 @@ function determineLinter(preset: Preset, parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs) {
 }
 
 function createSandbox(packageManager: string) {
-  console.log(`Creating a sandbox with Nx...`);
+  output.log({
+    title: 'Nx is creating your workspace.',
+    bodyLines: [
+      'To make sure the command works reliably in all environments, and that the preset is applied correctly,',
+      `Nx will run "${packageManager} install" several times. Please wait.`,
+    ],
+  });
   const tmpDir = dirSync().name;
   writeFileSync(
     path.join(tmpDir, 'package.json'),
@@ -434,13 +444,12 @@ function createSandbox(packageManager: string) {
   return tmpDir;
 }
 
-function createApp(tmpDir: string, name: string, parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs) {
+function createApp(tmpDir: string, name: string, parsedArgs: any) {
   const { _, cli, ...restArgs } = parsedArgs;
   const args = unparse(restArgs).join(' ');
 
   const pmc = getPackageManagerCommand(packageManager);
   const command = `new ${name} ${args} --collection=@nrwl/workspace`;
-  console.log(command);
 
   let nxWorkspaceRoot = `"${process.cwd().replace(/\\/g, '/')}"`;
 
@@ -456,14 +465,27 @@ function createApp(tmpDir: string, name: string, parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs) {
       nxWorkspaceRoot = `\\"${nxWorkspaceRoot.slice(1, -1)}\\"`;
     }
   }
+  const fullCommand = `${pmc.exec} tao ${command}/collection.json --cli=${cli} --nxWorkspaceRoot=${nxWorkspaceRoot}`;
 
-  execSync(
-    `${pmc.exec} tao ${command}/collection.json --cli=${cli} --nxWorkspaceRoot=${nxWorkspaceRoot}`,
-    {
+  try {
+    execSync(fullCommand, {
+      stdio: ['ignore', 'ignore', 'ignore'],
+      cwd: tmpDir,
+    });
+  } catch (e) {
+    output.error({
+      title:
+        'Something went wrong. Rerunning the command with verbose logging.',
+    });
+    execSync(fullCommand, {
       stdio: [0, 1, 2],
       cwd: tmpDir,
-    }
-  );
+    });
+  }
+
+  output.success({
+    title: 'Nx has successfully created the workspace.',
+  });
 
   if (parsedArgs.nxCloud) {
     output.addVerticalSeparator();
@@ -474,7 +496,7 @@ function createApp(tmpDir: string, name: string, parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs) {
   }
 }
 
-async function askAboutNxCloud(parsedArgs: WorkspaceArgs) {
+async function askAboutNxCloud(parsedArgs: any) {
   if (parsedArgs.nxCloud === undefined) {
     return inquirer
       .prompt([
diff --git a/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/output.ts b/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/output.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fcf3fdff75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/output.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,210 @@
+import * as chalk from 'chalk';
+/*
+ * Because we don't want to depend on @nrwl/workspace (to speed up the workspace creation)
+ * we duplicate the helper functions from @nrwl/workspace in this file.
+ */
+export interface CLIErrorMessageConfig {
+  title: string;
+  bodyLines?: string[];
+  slug?: string;
+}
+
+export interface CLIWarnMessageConfig {
+  title: string;
+  bodyLines?: string[];
+  slug?: string;
+}
+
+export interface CLINoteMessageConfig {
+  title: string;
+  bodyLines?: string[];
+}
+
+export interface CLISuccessMessageConfig {
+  title: string;
+  bodyLines?: string[];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Automatically disable styling applied by chalk if CI=true
+ */
+if (process.env.CI === 'true') {
+  (chalk as any).level = 0;
+}
+
+class CLIOutput {
+  private readonly NX_PREFIX = `${chalk.cyan(
+    '>'
+  )} ${chalk.reset.inverse.bold.cyan(' NX ')}`;
+  /**
+   * Longer dash character which forms more of a continuous line when place side to side
+   * with itself, unlike the standard dash character
+   */
+  private readonly VERTICAL_SEPARATOR =
+    '———————————————————————————————————————————————';
+
+  /**
+   * Expose some color and other utility functions so that other parts of the codebase that need
+   * more fine-grained control of message bodies are still using a centralized
+   * implementation.
+   */
+  colors = {
+    gray: chalk.gray,
+  };
+  bold = chalk.bold;
+  underline = chalk.underline;
+
+  private writeToStdOut(str: string) {
+    process.stdout.write(str);
+  }
+
+  private writeOutputTitle({
+    label,
+    title,
+  }: {
+    label?: string;
+    title: string;
+  }): void {
+    let outputTitle: string;
+    if (label) {
+      outputTitle = `${this.NX_PREFIX} ${label} ${title}\n`;
+    } else {
+      outputTitle = `${this.NX_PREFIX} ${title}\n`;
+    }
+    this.writeToStdOut(outputTitle);
+  }
+
+  private writeOptionalOutputBody(bodyLines?: string[]): void {
+    if (!bodyLines) {
+      return;
+    }
+    this.addNewline();
+    bodyLines.forEach((bodyLine) => this.writeToStdOut('  ' + bodyLine + '\n'));
+  }
+
+  addNewline() {
+    this.writeToStdOut('\n');
+  }
+
+  addVerticalSeparator() {
+    this.writeToStdOut(`\n${chalk.gray(this.VERTICAL_SEPARATOR)}\n\n`);
+  }
+
+  addVerticalSeparatorWithoutNewLines() {
+    this.writeToStdOut(`${chalk.gray(this.VERTICAL_SEPARATOR)}\n`);
+  }
+
+  error({ title, slug, bodyLines }: CLIErrorMessageConfig) {
+    this.addNewline();
+
+    this.writeOutputTitle({
+      label: chalk.reset.inverse.bold.red(' ERROR '),
+      title: chalk.bold.red(title),
+    });
+
+    this.writeOptionalOutputBody(bodyLines);
+
+    /**
+     * Optional slug to be used in an Nx error message redirect URL
+     */
+    if (slug && typeof slug === 'string') {
+      this.addNewline();
+      this.writeToStdOut(
+        chalk.grey('  ' + 'Learn more about this error: ') +
+          'https://errors.nx.dev/' +
+          slug +
+          '\n'
+      );
+    }
+
+    this.addNewline();
+  }
+
+  warn({ title, slug, bodyLines }: CLIWarnMessageConfig) {
+    this.addNewline();
+
+    this.writeOutputTitle({
+      label: chalk.reset.inverse.bold.yellow(' WARNING '),
+      title: chalk.bold.yellow(title),
+    });
+
+    this.writeOptionalOutputBody(bodyLines);
+
+    /**
+     * Optional slug to be used in an Nx warning message redirect URL
+     */
+    if (slug && typeof slug === 'string') {
+      this.addNewline();
+      this.writeToStdOut(
+        chalk.grey('  ' + 'Learn more about this warning: ') +
+          'https://errors.nx.dev/' +
+          slug +
+          '\n'
+      );
+    }
+
+    this.addNewline();
+  }
+
+  note({ title, bodyLines }: CLINoteMessageConfig) {
+    this.addNewline();
+
+    this.writeOutputTitle({
+      label: chalk.reset.inverse.bold.keyword('orange')(' NOTE '),
+      title: chalk.bold.keyword('orange')(title),
+    });
+
+    this.writeOptionalOutputBody(bodyLines);
+
+    this.addNewline();
+  }
+
+  success({ title, bodyLines }: CLISuccessMessageConfig) {
+    this.addNewline();
+
+    this.writeOutputTitle({
+      label: chalk.reset.inverse.bold.green(' SUCCESS '),
+      title: chalk.bold.green(title),
+    });
+
+    this.writeOptionalOutputBody(bodyLines);
+
+    this.addNewline();
+  }
+
+  logSingleLine(message: string) {
+    this.addNewline();
+
+    this.writeOutputTitle({
+      title: message,
+    });
+
+    this.addNewline();
+  }
+
+  logCommand(message: string, isCached: boolean = false) {
+    this.addNewline();
+
+    this.writeToStdOut(chalk.bold(`> ${message} `));
+
+    if (isCached) {
+      this.writeToStdOut(chalk.bold.grey(`[retrieved from cache]`));
+    }
+
+    this.addNewline();
+  }
+
+  log({ title, bodyLines }: CLIWarnMessageConfig) {
+    this.addNewline();
+
+    this.writeOutputTitle({
+      title: chalk.white(title),
+    });
+
+    this.writeOptionalOutputBody(bodyLines);
+
+    this.addNewline();
+  }
+}
+
+export const output = new CLIOutput();
diff --git a/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/package-manager.ts b/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/package-manager.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c39c525982
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/package-manager.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+import { execSync } from 'child_process';
+import { existsSync } from 'fs';
+import { join } from 'path';
+
+/*
+ * Because we don't want to depend on @nrwl/workspace (to speed up the workspace creation)
+ * we duplicate the helper functions from @nrwl/workspace in this file.
+ */
+
+export function detectPackageManager(dir = '') {
+  return existsSync(join(dir, 'yarn.lock'))
+    ? 'yarn'
+    : existsSync(join(dir, 'pnpm-lock.yaml'))
+    ? 'pnpm'
+    : 'npm';
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns commands for the package manager used in the workspace.
+ * By default, the package manager is derived based on the lock file,
+ * but it can also be passed in explicitly.
+ *
+ * Example:
+ *
+ * ```javascript
+ * execSync(`${getPackageManagerCommand().addDev} my-dev-package`);
+ * ```
+ *
+ */
+export function getPackageManagerCommand(
+  packageManager = detectPackageManager()
+): {
+  install: string;
+  add: string;
+  addDev: string;
+  rm: string;
+  exec: string;
+  list: string;
+  run: (script: string, args: string) => string;
+} {
+  switch (packageManager) {
+    case 'yarn':
+      return {
+        install: 'yarn',
+        add: 'yarn add',
+        addDev: 'yarn add -D',
+        rm: 'yarn remove',
+        exec: 'yarn',
+        run: (script: string, args: string) => `yarn ${script} ${args}`,
+        list: 'yarn list',
+      };
+
+    case 'pnpm':
+      return {
+        install: 'pnpm install --no-frozen-lockfile', // explicitly disable in case of CI
+        add: 'pnpm add',
+        addDev: 'pnpm add -D',
+        rm: 'pnpm rm',
+        exec: 'pnpx',
+        run: (script: string, args: string) => `pnpm run ${script} -- ${args}`,
+        list: 'pnpm ls --depth 100',
+      };
+
+    case 'npm':
+      return {
+        install: 'npm install --legacy-peer-deps',
+        add: 'npm install --legacy-peer-deps',
+        addDev: 'npm install --legacy-peer-deps -D',
+        rm: 'npm rm',
+        exec: 'npx',
+        run: (script: string, args: string) => `npm run ${script} -- ${args}`,
+        list: 'npm ls',
+      };
+  }
+}
+
+export function getPackageManagerVersion(
+  packageManager: 'npm' | 'yarn' | 'pnpm'
+): string {
+  return execSync(`${packageManager} --version`).toString('utf-8').trim();
+}
diff --git a/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/shared.ts b/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/shared.ts
index 609ad14156..11333cf1d0 100644
--- a/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/shared.ts
+++ b/packages/create-nx-workspace/bin/shared.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,12 @@
 import * as path from 'path';
 import { execSync } from 'child_process';
-import { output } from '@nrwl/workspace/src/utilities/output';
+import { output } from './output';
+import * as flatten from 'flat';
 
+/*
+ * Because we don't want to depend on @nrwl/workspace (to speed up the workspace creation)
+ * we duplicate the helper functions from @nrwl/workspace in this file.
+ */
 export function showNxWarning(workspaceName: string) {
   try {
     const pathToRunNxCommand = path.resolve(process.cwd(), workspaceName);
@@ -21,3 +26,36 @@ export function showNxWarning(workspaceName: string) {
     });
   }
 }
+
+export function unparse(options: Object): string[] {
+  const unparsed = [];
+  for (const key of Object.keys(options)) {
+    const value = options[key];
+    unparseOption(key, value, unparsed);
+  }
+
+  return unparsed;
+}
+
+function unparseOption(key: string, value: any, unparsed: string[]) {
+  if (value === true) {
+    unparsed.push(`--${key}`);
+  } else if (value === false) {
+    unparsed.push(`--no-${key}`);
+  } else if (Array.isArray(value)) {
+    value.forEach((item) => unparseOption(key, item, unparsed));
+  } else if (Object.prototype.toString.call(value) === '[object Object]') {
+    const flattened = flatten(value, { safe: true });
+    for (const flattenedKey in flattened) {
+      unparseOption(
+        `${key}.${flattenedKey}`,
+        flattened[flattenedKey],
+        unparsed
+      );
+    }
+  } else if (typeof value === 'string' && value.includes(' ')) {
+    unparsed.push(`--${key}="${value}"`);
+  } else if (value != null) {
+    unparsed.push(`--${key}=${value}`);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/create-nx-workspace/package.json b/packages/create-nx-workspace/package.json
index 2a0bc0c38a..b1b054c973 100644
--- a/packages/create-nx-workspace/package.json
+++ b/packages/create-nx-workspace/package.json
@@ -27,11 +27,10 @@
   },
   "homepage": "https://nx.dev",
   "dependencies": {
-    "@nrwl/workspace": "*",
     "tmp": "0.0.33",
     "yargs-parser": "20.0.0",
-    "tslib": "^2.0.0",
     "inquirer": "^6.3.1",
-    "typescript": "~4.0.3"
+    "flat": "^5.0.2",
+    "chalk": "4.1.0"
   }
 }
diff --git a/scripts/build-angular.js b/scripts/build-angular.js
index da90f5f8a5..8935c06798 100644
--- a/scripts/build-angular.js
+++ b/scripts/build-angular.js
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 const childProcess = require('child_process');
 const fs = require('fs-extra');
 
-childProcess.execSync(`npx ng-packagr -p packages/angular/ng-package.json`);
+childProcess.execSync(`npx ng-packagr -p packages/angular/ng-package.json`, {
+  stdio: [0, 1, 2],
+});
 fs.removeSync('packages/angular/dist/src');
 fs.copySync('packages/angular/dist/', 'build/packages/angular/');
 fs.removeSync('packages/angular/dist/');