SKILL.md
Backend Development Patterns
Backend architecture patterns and best practices for scalable server-side applications.
When to Activate
- Designing REST or GraphQL API endpoints
- Implementing repository, service, or controller layers
- Optimizing database queries (N+1, indexing, connection pooling)
- Adding caching (Redis, in-memory, HTTP cache headers)
- Setting up background jobs or async processing
- Structuring error handling and validation for APIs
- Building middleware (auth, logging, rate limiting)
API Design Patterns
RESTful API Structure
// PASS: Resource-based URLs
GET /api/markets # List resources
GET /api/markets/:id # Get single resource
POST /api/markets # Create resource
PUT /api/markets/:id # Replace resource
PATCH /api/markets/:id # Update resource
DELETE /api/markets/:id # Delete resource
// PASS: Query parameters for filtering, sorting, pagination
GET /api/markets?status=active&sort=volume&limit=20&offset=0Repository Pattern
// Abstract data access logic
interface MarketRepository {
findAll(filters?: MarketFilters): Promise<Market[]>
findById(id: string): Promise<Market | null>
create(data: CreateMarketDto): Promise<Market>
update(id: string, data: UpdateMarketDto): Promise<Market>
delete(id: string): Promise<void>
}
class SupabaseMarketRepository implements MarketRepository {
async findAll(filters?: MarketFilters): Promise<Market[]> {
let query = supabase.from('markets').select('*')
if (filters?.status) {
query = query.eq('status', filters.status)
}
if (filters?.limit) {
query = query.limit(filters.limit)
}
const { data, error } = await query
if (error) throw new Error(error.message)
return data
}
// Other methods...
}Service Layer Pattern
// Business logic separated from data access
class MarketService {
constructor(private marketRepo: MarketRepository) {}
async searchMarkets(query: string, limit: number = 10): Promise<Market[]> {
// Business logic
const embedding = await generateEmbedding(query)
const results = await this.vectorSearch(embedding, limit)
// Fetch full data
const markets = await this.marketRepo.findByIds(results.map(r => r.id))
// Sort by similarity
return markets.sort((a, b) => {
const scoreA = results.find(r => r.id === a.id)?.score || 0
const scoreB = results.find(r => r.id === b.id)?.score || 0
return scoreA - scoreB
})
}
private async vectorSearch(embedding: number[], limit: number) {
// Vector search implementation
}
}Middleware Pattern
// Request/response processing pipeline
export function withAuth(handler: NextApiHandler): NextApiHandler {
return async (req, res) => {
const token = req.headers.authorization?.replace('Bearer ', '')
if (!token) {
return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Unauthorized' })
}
try {
const user = await verifyToken(token)
req.user = user
return handler(req, res)
} catch (error) {
return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid token' })
}
}
}
// Usage
export default withAuth(async (req, res) => {
// Handler has access to req.user
})Database Patterns
Query Optimization
// PASS: GOOD: Select only needed columns
const { data } = await supabase
.from('markets')
.select('id, name, status, volume')
.eq('status', 'active')
.order('volume', { ascending: false })
.limit(10)
// FAIL: BAD: Select everything
const { data } = await supabase
.from('markets')
.select('*')N+1 Query Prevention
// FAIL: BAD: N+1 query problem
const markets = await getMarkets()
for (const market of markets) {
market.creator = await getUser(market.creator_id) // N queries
}
// PASS: GOOD: Batch fetch
const markets = await getMarkets()
const creatorIds = markets.map(m => m.creator_id)
const creators = await getUsers(creatorIds) // 1 query
const creatorMap = new Map(creators.map(c => [c.id, c]))
markets.forEach(market => {
market.creator = creatorMap.get(market.creator_id)
})Transaction Pattern
async function createMarketWithPosition(
marketData: CreateMarketDto,
positionData: CreatePositionDto
) {
// Use Supabase transaction
const { data, error } = await supabase.rpc('create_market_with_position', {
market_data: marketData,
position_data: positionData
})
if (error) throw new Error('Transaction failed')
return data
}
// SQL function in Supabase
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION create_market_with_position(
market_data jsonb,
position_data jsonb
)
RETURNS jsonb
LANGUAGE plpgsql
AS $$
BEGIN
-- Start transaction automatically
INSERT INTO markets VALUES (market_data);
INSERT INTO positions VALUES (position_data);
RETURN jsonb_build_object('success', true);
EXCEPTION
WHEN OTHERS THEN
-- Rollback happens automatically
RETURN jsonb_build_object('success', false, 'error', SQLERRM);
END;
$$;Caching Strategies
Redis Caching Layer
class CachedMarketRepository implements MarketRepository {
constructor(
private baseRepo: MarketRepository,
private redis: RedisClient
) {}
async findById(id: string): Promise<Market | null> {
// Check cache first
const cached = await this.redis.get(`market:${id}`)
if (cached) {
return JSON.parse(cached)
}
// Cache miss - fetch from database
const market = await this.baseRepo.findById(id)
if (market) {
// Cache for 5 minutes
await this.redis.setex(`market:${id}`, 300, JSON.stringify(market))
}
return market
}
async invalidateCache(id: string): Promise<void> {
await this.redis.del(`market:${id}`)
}
}Cache-Aside Pattern
async function getMarketWithCache(id: string): Promise<Market> {
const cacheKey = `market:${id}`
// Try cache
const cached = await redis.get(cacheKey)
if (cached) return JSON.parse(cached)
// Cache miss - fetch from DB
const market = await db.markets.findUnique({ where: { id } })
if (!market) throw new Error('Market not found')
// Update cache
await redis.setex(cacheKey, 300, JSON.stringify(market))
return market
}Error Handling Patterns
Centralized Error Handler
class ApiError extends Error {
constructor(
public statusCode: number,
public message: string,
public isOperational = true
) {
super(message)
Object.setPrototypeOf(this, ApiError.prototype)
}
}
export function errorHandler(error: unknown, req: Request): Response {
if (error instanceof ApiError) {
return NextResponse.json({
success: false,
error: error.message
}, { status: error.statusCode })
}
if (error instanceof z.ZodError) {
return NextResponse.json({
success: false,
error: 'Validation failed',
details: error.errors
}, { status: 400 })
}
// Log unexpected errors
console.error('Unexpected error:', error)
return NextResponse.json({
success: false,
error: 'Internal server error'
}, { status: 500 })
}
// Usage
export async function GET(request: Request) {
try {
const data = await fetchData()
return NextResponse.json({ success: true, data })
} catch (error) {
return errorHandler(error, request)
}
}Retry with Exponential Backoff
async function fetchWithRetry<T>(
fn: () => Promise<T>,
maxRetries = 3
): Promise<T> {
let lastError: Error
for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) {
try {
return await fn()
} catch (error) {
lastError = error as Error
if (i < maxRetries - 1) {
// Exponential backoff: 1s, 2s, 4s
const delay = Math.pow(2, i) * 1000
await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, delay))
}
}
}
throw lastError!
}
// Usage
const data = await fetchWithRetry(() => fetchFromAPI())Authentication & Authorization
JWT Token Validation
import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken'
interface JWTPayload {
userId: string
email: string
role: 'admin' | 'user'
}
export function verifyToken(token: string): JWTPayload {
try {
const payload = jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET!) as JWTPayload
return payload
} catch (error) {
throw new ApiError(401, 'Invalid token')
}
}
export async function requireAuth(request: Request) {
const token = request.headers.get('authorization')?.replace('Bearer ', '')
if (!token) {
throw new ApiError(401, 'Missing authorization token')
}
return verifyToken(token)
}
// Usage in API route
export async function GET(request: Request) {
const user = await requireAuth(request)
const data = await getDataForUser(user.userId)
return NextResponse.json({ success: true, data })
}Role-Based Access Control
type Permission = 'read' | 'write' | 'delete' | 'admin'
interface User {
id: string
role: 'admin' | 'moderator' | 'user'
}
const rolePermissions: Record<User['role'], Permission[]> = {
admin: ['read', 'write', 'delete', 'admin'],
moderator: ['read', 'write', 'delete'],
user: ['read', 'write']
}
export function hasPermission(user: User, permission: Permission): boolean {
return rolePermissions[user.role].includes(permission)
}
export function requirePermission(permission: Permission) {
return (handler: (request: Request, user: User) => Promise<Response>) => {
return async (request: Request) => {
const user = await requireAuth(request)
if (!hasPermission(user, permission)) {
throw new ApiError(403, 'Insufficient permissions')
}
return handler(request, user)
}
}
}
// Usage - HOF wraps the handler
export const DELETE = requirePermission('delete')(
async (request: Request, user: User) => {
// Handler receives authenticated user with verified permission
return new Response('Deleted', { status: 200 })
}
)Rate Limiting
Rate limiting must use a shared store such as Redis, a gateway, or the
platform's native limiter. Do not use per-process in-memory counters for
production APIs: they reset on deploy, split across replicas, and fail open in
serverless or multi-instance environments.
Keep the backend layer responsible for choosing the integration point and error
shape; use api-design for the HTTP contract and security-review for abuse
case review.
Background Jobs & Queues
Simple Queue Pattern
class JobQueue<T> {
private queue: T[] = []
private processing = false
async add(job: T): Promise<void> {
this.queue.push(job)
if (!this.processing) {
this.process()
}
}
private async process(): Promise<void> {
this.processing = true
while (this.queue.length > 0) {
const job = this.queue.shift()!
try {
await this.execute(job)
} catch (error) {
console.error('Job failed:', error)
}
}
this.processing = false
}
private async execute(job: T): Promise<void> {
// Job execution logic
}
}
// Usage for indexing markets
interface IndexJob {
marketId: string
}
const indexQueue = new JobQueue<IndexJob>()
export async function POST(request: Request) {
const { marketId } = await request.json()
// Add to queue instead of blocking
await indexQueue.add({ marketId })
return NextResponse.json({ success: true, message: 'Job queued' })
}Logging & Monitoring
Structured Logging
interface LogContext {
userId?: string
requestId?: string
method?: string
path?: string
[key: string]: unknown
}
class Logger {
log(level: 'info' | 'warn' | 'error', message: string, context?: LogContext) {
const entry = {
timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
level,
message,
...context
}
console.log(JSON.stringify(entry))
}
info(message: string, context?: LogContext) {
this.log('info', message, context)
}
warn(message: string, context?: LogContext) {
this.log('warn', message, context)
}
error(message: string, error: Error, context?: LogContext) {
this.log('error', message, {
...context,
error: error.message,
stack: error.stack
})
}
}
const logger = new Logger()
// Usage
export async function GET(request: Request) {
const requestId = crypto.randomUUID()
logger.info('Fetching markets', {
requestId,
method: 'GET',
path: '/api/markets'
})
try {
const markets = await fetchMarkets()
return NextResponse.json({ success: true, data: markets })
} catch (error) {
logger.error('Failed to fetch markets', error as Error, { requestId })
return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Internal error' }, { status: 500 })
}
}Remember: Backend patterns enable scalable, maintainable server-side applications. Choose patterns that fit your complexity level.