What is Microservices?
An architectural pattern where an application is built as a collection of small, independent services that each handle one business capability and communicate via APIs.
In plain English
Microservices are like a food court instead of a single restaurant. Each stall specializes in one cuisine and operates independently. If the pizza stall has a problem, the sushi stall keeps serving. Each stall can scale, update, or change independently without affecting the others.
How it works
Instead of one large application (monolith) handling everything, microservices split functionality into separate services: user service, payment service, notification service, etc. Each runs independently, has its own database, and communicates with others through APIs or message queues. Each service can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently.
Why it matters for AI-built apps
Most AI-built apps start (and should start) as monoliths. Microservices add significant operational complexity — service discovery, distributed transactions, network reliability, monitoring, and deployment orchestration. However, understanding microservices patterns helps you design your monolith's internal boundaries well, making future extraction to services painless if you need to scale.
Common issues
Premature microservices adoption (splitting too early), distributed transaction management, network latency between services, complex debugging across service boundaries, data consistency challenges, service discovery and configuration management, and operational overhead of deploying and monitoring many services.
Best practices
Start with a well-structured monolith — premature microservices are a leading cause of startup failure. Extract services only when you have a clear scaling or team-boundary need. Define clear service boundaries around business capabilities, not technical layers. Use API contracts between services. Implement distributed tracing for debugging. Use message queues for async communication.
Frequently asked questions
Should my startup use microservices?
Almost certainly not yet. Start with a monolith. Microservices make sense when you have multiple teams that need to deploy independently, when specific parts of your app need to scale differently, or when one service's tech stack needs to differ. Premature microservices dramatically slow down small teams. Build a well-structured monolith and extract services later when you have specific reasons.
How do I know when to break up my monolith?
Consider extracting a service when: a component needs to scale independently, a team needs to deploy independently, a component has fundamentally different reliability requirements, or deployments have become risky because changes in one area break another. These are signals from real growth — don't anticipate them prematurely.
Check your app
Get a professional review of your app at a fixed price.
Security Scan
Black-box review of your public-facing app. No code access needed.
- OWASP Top 10 checks
- SSL/TLS analysis
- Security headers
- Expert review within 24h
Code Audit
In-depth review of your source code for security, quality, and best practices.
- Security vulnerabilities
- Code quality review
- Dependency audit
- AI pattern analysis
Complete Bundle
Both scans in one package with cross-referenced findings.
- Everything in both products
- Cross-referenced findings
- Unified action plan
100% credited toward any paid service. Start with an audit, then let us fix what we find.
Related terms
Worried about microservices in your app?
Get a professional code audit ($19) or book a free call to discuss your concerns.