Backend Patterns

Backend Patterns Skill

Degree of freedom: MIXED. Which pattern to apply [HIGH freedom]; existing-architecture probes and the validation list [LOW freedom — run exactly].

How to reason

1. Observe — existing server/api/actions, ORM, queues, cache
2. Interpret — missing pattern vs duplicate vs wrong layer
3. Classify — reuse / add-queue / add-cache / add-rate-limit / edge-fn
4. Severity — unauthenticated mutation outranks a missing cache

Worked example

Observe: createOrder sends email inline; no Inngest/queue; checkout p95 4s. Interpret: confirmation is post-response work, not request-path. Classify: after() or an order/created job; keep the write transactional. Verify: order row commits; email/inventory run after response; retries do not double-charge.

Self-critique before reporting

• Existing first — searched server/api/actions before adding a second pattern
• Auth + validate — every mutation checks session and Zod
• Idempotent — retries on the new path do not double-apply
• Right owner — which architecture to pick → audit-backend-architecture

Design scalable, maintainable backend architectures using modern patterns and best practices.

Code examples lean on Next.js App Router + Supabase/Prisma. The patterns are stack-agnostic — adapt ORMs, client libraries, and deploy targets to your detected ecosystem.

Check existing first [LOW freedom — run exactly]

Before implementing ANY backend pattern, verify:

1. Check existing architecture:

ls -la src/server/ src/api/ app/api/ supabase/functions/ 2>/dev/null
cat package.json | grep -i "prisma\|drizzle\|supabase\|trpc"

2. Check existing patterns:

rg "createTRPCRouter|publicProcedure" --type ts -l
rg "'use server'" --type ts -l
ls -la supabase/migrations/*.sql 2>/dev/null | tail -5

3. Check database setup:

cat prisma/schema.prisma 2>/dev/null | head -50
cat supabase/config.toml 2>/dev/null

Why: Backend changes have wide impact. Understand existing architecture first.

Server Actions (Next.js 16+) [HIGH freedom]

Next.js 16: Turbopack default; 'use cache' + cacheComponents; reactCompiler: true; middleware.ts → proxy.ts (grep both). Instant navigations → enhance-web-instant-nav.

Basic Pattern

// app/actions/users.ts
'use server'

import { z } from 'zod'
import { revalidatePath } from 'next/cache'
import { auth } from '@/lib/auth'
import { db } from '@/lib/db'

const CreateUserSchema = z.object({
 email: z.string().email(),
 name: z.string().min(1).max(100),
})

type ActionResult<T> =
 | { success: true; data: T }
 | { success: false; error: string; fieldErrors?: Record<string, string[]> }

export async function createUser(
 prevState: ActionResult<User> | null,
 formData: FormData
): Promise<ActionResult<User>> {
 // 1. Auth check
 const session = await auth()
 if (!session?.user) {
 return { success: false, error: 'Unauthorized' }
 }

 // 2. Validate input
 const result = CreateUserSchema.safeParse({
 email: formData.get('email'),
 name: formData.get('name'),
 })

 if (!result.success) {
 return {
 success: false,
 error: 'Invalid input',
 fieldErrors: result.error.flatten().fieldErrors,
 }
 }

 // 3. Execute
 try {
 const user = await db.user.create({
 data: result.data,
 })

 revalidatePath('/users')
 return { success: true, data: user }
 } catch (error) {
 if (isPrismaError(error, 'P2002')) {
 return { success: false, error: 'Email already exists' }
 }
 console.error('createUser error:', error)
 return { success: false, error: 'Failed to create user' }
 }
}

With Background Tasks

'use server'

import { after } from 'next/server'

export async function createOrder(formData: FormData) {
 const order = await db.order.create({ data: { ... } })

 // Run after response sent (Next.js 16)
 after(async () => {
 await sendOrderConfirmation(order.id)
 await updateInventory(order.items)
 await notifyWarehouse(order.id)
 })

 revalidatePath('/orders')
 return { success: true, data: order }
}

tRPC Setup [HIGH freedom]

Router Definition

// server/api/routers/users.ts
import { z } from 'zod'
import { createTRPCRouter, protectedProcedure, publicProcedure } from '../trpc'

export const usersRouter = createTRPCRouter({
 getById: publicProcedure
 .input(z.object({ id: z.string() }))
 .query(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
 return ctx.db.user.findUnique({
 where: { id: input.id },
 })
 }),

 create: protectedProcedure
 .input(z.object({
 email: z.string().email(),
 name: z.string().min(1),
 }))
 .mutation(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
 return ctx.db.user.create({
 data: {
 ...input,
 createdById: ctx.session.user.id,
 },
 })
 }),

 list: protectedProcedure
 .input(z.object({
 limit: z.number().min(1).max(100).default(10),
 cursor: z.string().optional(),
 }))
 .query(async ({ ctx, input }) => {
 const items = await ctx.db.user.findMany({
 take: input.limit + 1,
 cursor: input.cursor ? { id: input.cursor } : undefined,
 orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' },
 })

 let nextCursor: string | undefined
 if (items.length > input.limit) {
 const nextItem = items.pop()
 nextCursor = nextItem?.id
 }

 return { items, nextCursor }
 }),
})

Supabase Edge Functions [HIGH freedom]

Basic Function

// supabase/functions/process-webhook/index.ts
import { createClient } from 'https://esm.sh/@supabase/supabase-js@2'

const corsHeaders = {
 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin': '*',
 'Access-Control-Allow-Headers': 'authorization, x-client-info, apikey, content-type',
}

Deno.serve(async (req) => {
 // Handle CORS preflight
 if (req.method === 'OPTIONS') {
 return new Response('ok', { headers: corsHeaders })
 }

 try {
 // Verify webhook signature
 const signature = req.headers.get('x-webhook-signature')
 if (!verifySignature(signature, await req.text())) {
 return new Response('Invalid signature', { status: 401 })
 }

 const payload = await req.json()

 // Create admin client (bypasses RLS)
 const supabase = createClient(
 Deno.env.get('SUPABASE_URL')!,
 Deno.env.get('SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY')!
 )

 // Process webhook
 await supabase.from('events').insert({
 type: payload.type,
 data: payload.data,
 })

 return new Response(
 JSON.stringify({ success: true }),
 { headers: { ...corsHeaders, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' } }
 )
 } catch (error) {
 console.error('Webhook error:', error)
 return new Response(
 JSON.stringify({ error: 'Internal error' }),
 { status: 500, headers: { ...corsHeaders, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' } }
 )
 }
})

Database Patterns [HIGH freedom]

Optimistic Locking

-- Add version column
ALTER TABLE orders ADD COLUMN version INT DEFAULT 1;

-- Update with version check
UPDATE orders
SET
 status = 'shipped',
 version = version + 1
WHERE id = $1 AND version = $2;
-- Returns 0 rows if version mismatch (concurrent update)

Soft Deletes

model Post {
 id String @id @default(cuid())
 title String
 deletedAt DateTime?

 @@index([deletedAt])
}

// Query active records
const posts = await db.post.findMany({
 where: { deletedAt: null }
})

// Soft delete
await db.post.update({
 where: { id },
 data: { deletedAt: new Date() }
})

Audit Logging

-- Audit table
CREATE TABLE audit_logs (
 id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
 table_name TEXT NOT NULL,
 record_id UUID NOT NULL,
 action TEXT NOT NULL, -- INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE
 old_data JSONB,
 new_data JSONB,
 user_id UUID REFERENCES auth.users(id),
 created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT now()
);

-- Trigger function
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION audit_trigger()
RETURNS TRIGGER AS $$
BEGIN
 INSERT INTO audit_logs (table_name, record_id, action, old_data, new_data, user_id)
 VALUES (
 TG_TABLE_NAME,
 COALESCE(NEW.id, OLD.id),
 TG_OP,
 CASE WHEN TG_OP IN ('UPDATE', 'DELETE') THEN row_to_json(OLD) END,
 CASE WHEN TG_OP IN ('INSERT', 'UPDATE') THEN row_to_json(NEW) END,
 auth.uid()
 );
 RETURN COALESCE(NEW, OLD);
END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql SECURITY DEFINER;

-- Apply to table
CREATE TRIGGER orders_audit
AFTER INSERT OR UPDATE OR DELETE ON orders
FOR EACH ROW EXECUTE FUNCTION audit_trigger();

Caching Patterns [HIGH freedom]

Next.js Cache

// Cached fetch
const data = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data', {
 next: {
 revalidate: 3600, // 1 hour
 tags: ['data']
 }
})

// Revalidate on demand
import { revalidateTag } from 'next/cache'
revalidateTag('data')

// unstable_cache for database queries
import { unstable_cache } from 'next/cache'

const getCachedUser = unstable_cache(
 async (id: string) => db.user.findUnique({ where: { id } }),
 ['user'],
 { revalidate: 3600, tags: ['users'] }
)

Redis Caching

import { Redis } from '@upstash/redis'

const redis = Redis.fromEnv()

async function getCachedData<T>(
 key: string,
 fetcher: () => Promise<T>,
 ttl = 3600
): Promise<T> {
 // Try cache
 const cached = await redis.get<T>(key)
 if (cached) return cached

 // Fetch and cache
 const data = await fetcher()
 await redis.set(key, data, { ex: ttl })
 return data
}

// Usage
const user = await getCachedData(
 `user:${id}`,
 () => db.user.findUnique({ where: { id } }),
 600 // 10 minutes
)

Background Jobs [HIGH freedom]

Inngest

// inngest/functions.ts
import { inngest } from './client'

export const processOrder = inngest.createFunction(
 { id: 'process-order' },
 { event: 'order/created' },
 async ({ event, step }) => {
 // Step 1: Validate inventory
 const inventory = await step.run('check-inventory', async () => {
 return await checkInventory(event.data.items)
 })

 if (!inventory.available) {
 await step.run('notify-out-of-stock', async () => {
 await notifyCustomer(event.data.userId, 'out-of-stock')
 })
 return { status: 'cancelled' }
 }

 // Step 2: Charge payment
 const payment = await step.run('charge-payment', async () => {
 return await chargeCustomer(event.data.paymentMethod)
 })

 // Step 3: Send confirmation
 await step.run('send-confirmation', async () => {
 await sendOrderConfirmation(event.data.orderId)
 })

 return { status: 'completed', paymentId: payment.id }
 }
)

// Trigger from server action
await inngest.send({
 name: 'order/created',
 data: { orderId, userId, items, paymentMethod }
})

Trigger.dev

// trigger/jobs.ts
import { client } from './client'

export const syncJob = client.defineJob({
 id: 'sync-data',
 name: 'Sync External Data',
 version: '1.0.0',
 trigger: intervalTrigger({ seconds: 3600 }), // Every hour
 run: async (payload, io, ctx) => {
 const data = await io.runTask('fetch-external', async () => {
 return await fetchExternalAPI()
 })

 await io.runTask('update-database', async () => {
 await db.externalData.upsert({
 where: { externalId: data.id },
 create: data,
 update: data,
 })
 })

 return { synced: data.length }
 },
})

Rate Limiting [HIGH freedom]

import { Ratelimit } from '@upstash/ratelimit'
import { Redis } from '@upstash/redis'

const ratelimit = new Ratelimit({
 redis: Redis.fromEnv(),
 limiter: Ratelimit.slidingWindow(10, '10 s'), // 10 requests per 10 seconds
 analytics: true,
})

export async function rateLimitedAction(userId: string) {
 const { success, limit, remaining, reset } = await ratelimit.limit(userId)

 if (!success) {
 return {
 success: false,
 error: 'Too many requests',
 retryAfter: Math.ceil((reset - Date.now()) / 1000),
 }
 }

 // Proceed with action...
}

Architecture patterns (distributed systems) [HIGH freedom]

Gateway, BFF, bulkhead, circuit breaker, outbox+CDC, saga, hexagonal, ACL, and strangler-fig → references/architecture-patterns.md. Pick the pattern for the topology (no mesh on a monolith; no CQRS unless reads/writes diverge). Timeouts/retries/idempotency → audit-resilience; structural gap report → audit-backend-architecture.

Validation [LOW freedom — do not skip]

After implementing backend patterns:

1. Error handling → All errors caught, logged, safe response returned
2. Auth checks → Every mutation verifies authentication
3. Input validation → Zod schema on all inputs
4. Rate limiting → Sensitive endpoints protected
5. Idempotency → Critical operations handle retries
6. Logging → Structured logs without sensitive data
7. Testing → Unit tests for business logic, integration for APIs