domains / software-engineering / microservices-architecture / microservices-patterns

microservices-patterns

Skill card

combined

The first two copies are nearly identical, providing a high-level 4-step procedure (Identify boundaries, Define contracts, Plan resilience, Provide migration). The third copy (LeoYeAI) contains the same high-level structure but expands it with specific 'Core Concepts' (Service Decomposition Strategies, Communication Patterns, Data Management, Resilience Patterns) and detailed Python code examples for an API Gateway and service interactions. Because the third copy contains material steps and constraints (specific patterns like Strangler Fig, Saga, Circuit Breaker, and code implementation details) that the others lack, crowning one would hide a real alternative level of detail.

Repositories

Other copies

Combined skill

---
name: microservices-patterns
description: Design microservices architectures with service boundaries, event-driven communication, and resilience patterns. Use when building distributed systems, decomposing monoliths, or implementing microservices.
---

# Microservices Patterns

Master microservices architecture patterns including service boundaries, inter-service communication, data management, and resilience patterns for building distributed systems.

## Use this skill when

- Decomposing monoliths into microservices
- Designing service boundaries and contracts
- Implementing inter-service communication
- Managing distributed data and transactions
- Building resilient distributed systems
- Implementing service discovery and load balancing
- Designing event-driven architectures

## Do not use this skill when

- The system is small enough for a modular monolith
- You need a quick prototype without distributed complexity
- There is no operational support for distributed systems

## Instructions

1. Identify domain boundaries and ownership for each service.
2. Define contracts, data ownership, and communication patterns.
3. Plan resilience, observability, and deployment strategy.
4. Provide migration steps and operational guardrails.

## Core Concepts

### 1. Service Decomposition Strategies

**By Business Capability**
- Organize services around business functions
- Each service owns its domain
- Example: OrderService, PaymentService, InventoryService

**By Subdomain (DDD)**
- Core domain, supporting subdomains
- Bounded contexts map to services
- Clear ownership and responsibility

**Strangler Fig Pattern**
- Gradually extract from monolith
- New functionality as microservices
- Proxy routes to old/new systems

### 2. Communication Patterns

**Synchronous (Request/Response)**
- REST APIs
- gRPC
- GraphQL

**Asynchronous (Events/Messages)**
- Event streaming (Kafka)
- Message queues (RabbitMQ, SQS)
- Pub/Sub patterns

### 3. Data Management

**Database Per Service**
- Each service owns its data
- No shared databases
- Loose coupling

**Saga Pattern**
- Distributed transactions
- Compensating actions
- Eventual consistency

### 4. Resilience Patterns

**Circuit Breaker**
- Fail fast on repeated errors
- Prevent cascade failures

**Retry with Backoff**
- Transient fault handling
- Exponential backoff

**Bulkhead**
- Isolate resources
- Limit impact of failures

## Resources

- `resources/implementation-playbook.md` for detailed patterns and examples.

## Limitations
- Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
- Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
- Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.