Microservices

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

microservices#

This repository contains a backend system for a social media platform, built using a microservices architecture. The project demonstrates the principles of breaking down a monolithic application into smaller, independently deployable services that communicate with each other over the network. The system is designed to be scalable, maintainable, and resilient.

Architecture Overview#

The system is composed of five main services, each with a distinct responsibility. An API Gateway acts as the single entry point for all client requests, routing them to the appropriate downstream service. Communication between services is handled asynchronously using a RabbitMQ message broker, promoting loose coupling and enabling an event-driven architecture.

API Gateway: The client-facing entry point. It handles request routing, authentication (JWT validation), rate limiting, and basic security.
Identity Service: Manages all aspects of user identity, including registration, login, and token management (access and refresh tokens).
Post Service: Responsible for creating, reading, and deleting user posts. It publishes events to RabbitMQ when posts are created or deleted.
Media Service: Handles the upload and management of media files. It integrates with Cloudinary for storage and listens for post.deleted events to perform media cleanup.
Search Service: Provides full-text search capabilities for posts. It consumes post.created and post.deleted events to keep its search index synchronized.

Technology Stack#

Backend: Node.js, Express.js
Database: MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
Caching: Redis
Message Broker: RabbitMQ
Media Storage: Cloudinary
Authentication: JSON Web Tokens (JWT), Argon2 for password hashing
Containerization: Docker

Services#

1. API Gateway#

Responsibility: Acts as a reverse proxy, routing incoming requests to the correct microservice. It is the sole entry point for the frontend.
Features:
- JWT validation for protecting routes.
- Rate limiting using Redis to prevent abuse.
- Request logging and error handling.
- Proxies requests to identity-service, post-service, media-service, and search-service.

2. Identity Service#

Responsibility: Manages user accounts and authentication.
Features:
- User registration with username, email, and hashed password (Argon2).
- User login and generation of JWT access and refresh tokens.
- Refresh token rotation and secure storage.
- User logout, which invalidates the refresh token.

3. Post Service#

Responsibility: Manages the lifecycle of user posts.
Features:
- CRUD operations for posts (Create, Read, Delete).
- Caches post data in Redis to reduce database load.
- Publishes post.created and post.deleted events to RabbitMQ.

4. Media Service#

Responsibility: Handles media file uploads and storage.
Features:
- Uploads files (images, videos) to Cloudinary.
- Uses multer for handling multipart/form-data.
- Subscribes to post.deleted events to delete associated media from Cloudinary, preventing orphaned files.

5. Search Service#

Responsibility: Provides search functionality across all posts.
Features:
- Subscribes to post.created and post.deleted events to maintain a consistent search index.
- Uses MongoDB’s native text search capabilities to index and query post content.

Event-Driven Communication#

The services communicate asynchronously through a facebook_events exchange in RabbitMQ.

post.created: Published by the Post Service when a new post is created. It is consumed by the Search Service to add the new post to its search index.
post.deleted: Published by the Post Service when a post is deleted. It is consumed by:
- The Search Service to remove the post from its index.
- The Media Service to delete any associated media files from Cloudinary.

Setup and Running the Project#

Each service is containerized using Docker. To run the entire application, you will need Docker, Node.js, and npm installed.

Environment Variables#

Before running, create a .env file in the root directory of each service (api-gateway, identity-service, etc.). Populate them with the necessary configuration.

Common Variables#

MONGO_URI: Your MongoDB connection string.
RABBITMQ_URL: Your RabbitMQ connection string.
REDIS_URL: Your Redis connection URL.
PORT: The port for the service to run on (e.g., 3001, 3002).

Service-Specific Variables#

api-gateway/.env:
- JWT_SECRET: Secret key for JWT signing.
- IDENTITY_SERVICE_URL=http://localhost:3001
- POST_SERVICE_URL=http://localhost:3002
- MEDIA_SERVICE_URL=http://localhost:3003
- SEARCH_SERVICE_URL=http://localhost:3004
identity-service/.env:
- JWT_SECRET: Secret key for JWT signing (must match the gateway’s).
media-service/.env:
- CLOUDNAME: Your Cloudinary cloud name.
- API_KEY: Your Cloudinary API key.
- API_SECRET: Your Cloudinary API secret.

Running with Docker#

For each service, navigate to its directory and run the following commands:

Terminal window

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# Example for api-gateway
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cd api-gateway
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# Build the Docker image
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docker build -t api-gateway .
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# Run the Docker container
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# Replace 3000 with the port you want to expose
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docker run -p 3000:3000 --env-file .env api-gateway

Repeat this process for all other services (identity-service, post-service, media-service, search-service), ensuring you map the correct ports as defined in your environment files.

Running Locally (without Docker)#

For each service, navigate to its directory and run:

Terminal window

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# Example for api-gateway
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cd api-gateway
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# Install dependencies
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npm install
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# Run in development mode (with nodemon)
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npm run dev
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# Or run in production mode
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npm start

API Endpoints#

All endpoints are accessed through the API Gateway and are prefixed with /v1.

Identity Service (`/v1/auth`)#

POST /register: Register a new user.
POST /login: Log in a user and receive access/refresh tokens.
POST /refresh-token: Obtain a new access token using a refresh token.
POST /logout: Log out a user.

Post Service (`/v1/posts`)#

All routes require authentication.

POST /create-post: Create a new post.
GET /all-posts: Get a paginated list of all posts.
GET /:id: Get a single post by its ID.
DELETE /:id: Delete a post.

Media Service (`/v1/media`)#

All routes require authentication.

POST /upload: Upload a media file. Expects multipart/form-data with a field named file.

Search Service (`/v1/search`)#

All routes require authentication.

GET /posts?query=<search_term>: Search for posts matching the query term.

License#

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

himashu

Microservices

microservices#

Architecture Overview#

Technology Stack#

Services#

1. API Gateway#

2. Identity Service#

3. Post Service#

4. Media Service#

5. Search Service#

Event-Driven Communication#

Setup and Running the Project#

Environment Variables#

Common Variables#

Service-Specific Variables#

Running with Docker#

Running Locally (without Docker)#

API Endpoints#

Identity Service (/v1/auth)#

Post Service (/v1/posts)#

Media Service (/v1/media)#

Search Service (/v1/search)#

License#

Identity Service (`/v1/auth`)#

Post Service (`/v1/posts`)#

Media Service (`/v1/media`)#

Search Service (`/v1/search`)#