Feature Architecture (Clean Architecture OOP)

Layer Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Presentation Layer (src/features/, src/app/)                   │
│  Server Actions (thin adapters), Components, Pages              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Application Layer (src/backend/application/)                   │
│  Use Cases, DTOs, Application Services                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Infrastructure Layer (src/backend/infrastructure/)             │
│  Repository Implementations, External Services, DI Container    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Domain Layer (src/backend/domain/)                             │
│  Entities, Value Objects, Repository Interfaces, Domain Events  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The Dependency Rule

CRITICAL: Dependencies only point inward. Inner layers NEVER import from outer layers.

Domain ← Application ← Infrastructure ← Presentation

Implementation Order

Always implement from inside-out (Domain first):

1. Entity – Domain object with private constructor, validate(), factory methods
2. Repository Interface – Contract in Domain layer
3. Use Case – Business logic with constructor injection
4. DTO – Data transfer object with static fromEntity()
5. Repository Implementation – DynamoDB/external service in Infrastructure
6. DI Registration – Wire dependencies in Container
7. Action Adapter – Thin server action (3-5 lines)
8. Components – UI consuming DTOs

Directory Structure

src/
├── backend/
│   ├── domain/
│   │   └── <feature>/
│   │       ├── entities/
│   │       │   └── <Entity>.ts           # Entity class with validate()
│   │       ├── repositories/
│   │       │   └── I<Entity>Repository.ts # Interface only
│   │       ├── value-objects/
│   │       │   └── <ValueObject>.ts       # Immutable value types
│   │       └── exceptions/
│   │           └── <Feature>Exceptions.ts # Domain exceptions
│   │
│   ├── application/
│   │   └── <feature>/
│   │       ├── use-cases/
│   │       │   ├── Create<Entity>UseCase.ts
│   │       │   ├── Update<Entity>UseCase.ts
│   │       │   ├── Delete<Entity>UseCase.ts
│   │       │   └── Get<Entity>UseCase.ts
│   │       └── dtos/
│   │           └── <Entity>DTO.ts         # Static fromEntity()
│   │
│   ├── infrastructure/
│   │   ├── <feature>/
│   │   │   └── repositories/
│   │   │       └── DynamoDB<Entity>Repository.ts
│   │   └── di/
│   │       ├── container.ts              # DI Container
│   │       └── tokens.ts                 # Injection tokens
│   │
│   └── shared/
│       ├── exceptions/
│       │   └── BaseException.ts
│       └── types/
│           └── index.ts
│
├── features/
│   └── <feature>/
│       ├── actions/
│       │   ├── create-<entity>-action.ts  # Thin adapter
│       │   ├── update-<entity>-action.ts
│       │   └── index.ts
│       ├── components/
│       │   ├── <Component>.tsx
│       │   └── <Component>-client.tsx
│       └── index.ts                       # Public exports (DTOs, actions)
│
└── app/
    └── (dashboard)/
        └── <feature>/
            └── page.tsx

Layer Responsibilities

Domain Layer (Innermost)

• Entities: Business objects with behavior, private constructor, create(), fromPersistence(), validate(), toDTO()
• Repository Interfaces: Contracts for data access (e.g., ICategoryRepository)
• Value Objects: Immutable objects representing concepts (e.g., Money, Email)
• Domain Exceptions: Business rule violations
• NO external dependencies, NO frameworks

Application Layer

• Use Cases: Single-responsibility business operations with execute() method
• DTOs: Data structures for crossing boundaries, static fromEntity()
• Application Services: Orchestration when needed
• Uses constructor injection for dependencies
• NO direct database access, NO HTTP concerns

Infrastructure Layer

• Repository Implementations: DynamoDB, external APIs
• DI Container: Dependency injection setup
• External Service Adapters: Email, payment, etc.
• Throws exceptions on errors (no {success, data?, error?} pattern)

Presentation Layer

• Server Actions: Thin adapters (3-5 lines), resolve Use Case from DI, execute, return
• Components: React components receiving DTOs
• Pages: Route definitions
• Zod Schemas: Input shape validation only (not business rules)

Data Flow

User Action
    ↓
Component (client)
    ↓
Server Action (thin adapter)
    ↓
    ├── Resolve Use Case from DI Container
    ├── Execute Use Case
    └── Return DTO
    ↓
Use Case (Application Layer)
    ↓
    ├── Create/Load Entity
    ├── Entity.validate() (business rules)
    └── Repository.save(entity)
    ↓
Repository Implementation (Infrastructure)
    ↓
DynamoDB

Quick Reference

Naming Conventions

Import Restrictions (Dependency Rule)

// ❌ VIOLATION: Domain importing from Application
// src/backend/domain/category/entities/Category.ts
import { CategoryDTO } from '@/backend/application/category/dtos' // WRONG!

// ❌ VIOLATION: Domain importing from Infrastructure
// src/backend/domain/category/entities/Category.ts
import { getDynamoDbTable } from '@/backend/infrastructure/database' // WRONG!

// ❌ VIOLATION: Application importing from Infrastructure
// src/backend/application/category/use-cases/CreateCategoryUseCase.ts
import { DynamoDBCategoryRepository } from '@/backend/infrastructure' // WRONG!

// ✅ CORRECT: Application imports from Domain
// src/backend/application/category/use-cases/CreateCategoryUseCase.ts
import { Category } from '@/backend/domain/category/entities'
import type { ICategoryRepository } from '@/backend/domain/category/repositories'

// ✅ CORRECT: Infrastructure imports from Domain and Application
// src/backend/infrastructure/category/repositories/DynamoDBCategoryRepository.ts
import type { ICategoryRepository } from '@/backend/domain/category/repositories'
import { Category } from '@/backend/domain/category/entities'

// ✅ CORRECT: Presentation imports from all inner layers
// src/features/category/actions/create-category-action.ts
import { CreateCategoryUseCase } from '@/backend/application/category/use-cases'
import { DIContainer, TOKENS } from '@/backend/infrastructure/di'

Detection Commands

# Domain importing from outer layers (CRITICAL VIOLATION)
grep -rn "from '@/backend/application\|from '@/backend/infrastructure\|from '@/features/" src/backend/domain/

# Application importing from Infrastructure (VIOLATION)
grep -rn "from '@/backend/infrastructure" src/backend/application/

# Backend importing Next.js (VIOLATION)
grep -rn "from 'next/\|from 'react\|'use server'" src/backend/

# Fat server actions (direct DB access - VIOLATION)
grep -rn "getDynamoDbTable\|getModel" src/features/*/actions/

# Direct instantiation instead of DI (VIOLATION)
grep -rn "new.*UseCase(\|new.*Repository(" src/features/

# Entity without private constructor (VIOLATION)
grep -rn "export class" src/backend/domain/*/entities/ -A5 | grep -v "private constructor"

Related Skills

• create-domain-module – Generate complete feature with Clean Architecture
• zod-validation – Input shape validation in Presentation layer
• dynamodb-onetable – Repository implementation patterns
• nextjs-server-actions – Thin adapter action patterns
• nextjs-web-client – Component patterns with DTOs
• evaluate-domain-module – Assess Clean Architecture compliance