diff --git a/lib/workers/package-file/index.js b/lib/workers/package-file/index.js
index 08090c14bdf640fb77f7671d7d57466af15c640f..df2edd564f679498508baa92a1daf35609e9a290 100644
--- a/lib/workers/package-file/index.js
+++ b/lib/workers/package-file/index.js
@@ -31,6 +31,12 @@ async function renovatePackageFile(packageFileConfig) {
 
   if (packageContent.workspaces) {
     logger.warn('Found workspaces');
+    const warn = { ...config };
+    warn.depName = 'workspaces';
+    warn.type = 'warning';
+    warn.message =
+      'workspaces configuration detected in `package.json` but this is currently unsupported. Please see https://github.com/singapore/renovate/issues/473 for details.';
+    upgrades.push(warn);
   }
 
   // Check for renovate config inside the package.json
diff --git a/test/workers/package-file/index.spec.js b/test/workers/package-file/index.spec.js
index 2282b53507a9f73166ebd9b01dcf02023856bf0e..acacd4630dd298ab49e40fcfc60f4dc0644bde0c 100644
--- a/test/workers/package-file/index.spec.js
+++ b/test/workers/package-file/index.spec.js
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ describe('packageFileWorker', () => {
       depTypeWorker.renovateDepType.mockReturnValueOnce([]);
       depTypeWorker.renovateDepType.mockReturnValueOnce([]);
       const res = await packageFileWorker.renovatePackageFile(config);
-      expect(res).toHaveLength(3);
+      expect(res).toHaveLength(4);
     });
     it('maintains lock files', async () => {
       config.api.getFileJson.mockReturnValueOnce({});