Jul 1, 2024
Where I Draw the Line Between Next.js APIs and a Spring Boot Backend
nextjsspring-bootarchitectureapi-designbackend
A practical guide on deciding what stays in Next.js Route Handlers and what belongs in a separate Spring Boot backend, feature by feature.
1Use Next.js APIs as thin edge layers for UI-specific logic
2Move heavy domain rules and multi-client APIs into Spring Boot
3Auth split: Next.js controls what users see, Spring Boot controls what they can do
4Keep small apps fully in Next.js, but be ready to extract a backend as the domain grows
5Let architecture evolve with real complexity instead of forcing one stack to do everything