Vertical Slice Architecture

ELI5 — The Vibe Check

Vertical slice architecture organizes code by feature, not by layer. Instead of all controllers in one folder and all services in another, each feature (like 'CreateOrder') has its own slice with everything it needs. It's like organizing by project, not by skill.

Real Talk

An architectural approach where code is organized around features/use cases rather than technical layers. Each 'slice' contains all the code needed for a specific operation — from the API endpoint through business logic to data access. This minimizes coupling between features while maximizing cohesion within each slice.

Show Me The Code

// Vertical slice: everything for one feature together
// features/create-order/
//   create-order.controller.ts
//   create-order.handler.ts
//   create-order.validator.ts
//   create-order.repository.ts
//   create-order.test.ts

When You'll Hear This

"Vertical slice architecture means you can add a new feature without touching any existing code." / "Organizing by feature slice makes it easy to understand and modify one feature in isolation."