Front-End Micro Apps

Is your frontend monolith slowing down development? Discover how micro apps let teams ship features independently, using Webpack 5's Module Federation.

#1about 4 minutes

Understanding the evolution of monolithic front-end applications

As products like Spotify grow, their monolithic codebases become increasingly complex, slowing down developer onboarding and feature delivery.

#2about 2 minutes

Tracing the architectural shift to micro frontends

The industry has moved from large monoliths to separating front-end and back-end, then to microservices, and now to micro frontends to align with team structures.

#3about 5 minutes

Using Webpack 5 Module Federation for micro frontends

Webpack 5's Module Federation provides a native, widely adopted solution for creating and consuming parts of separate applications at runtime.

#4about 3 minutes

Live demo of a shell app consuming a micro app

A shell application dynamically imports and renders a component from a separate micro app, which can be running locally or deployed to a remote URL.

#5about 4 minutes

Defining micro apps and exploring key use cases

A micro app is a focused application that combines microservice and micro frontend principles, with use cases like authentication, design systems, and component libraries.

#6about 5 minutes

Organizing teams and migrating applications with micro apps

Micro apps enable autonomous teams with separate repositories and deployments, simplifying onboarding and allowing for gradual, piece-by-piece application migrations.

#7about 2 minutes

Managing shared dependencies and versioning across teams

A central platform team should define and enforce exact versions for core dependencies like React to ensure consistency and prevent runtime conflicts.

#8about 3 minutes

Avoiding common pitfalls like CORS and security risks

Address common issues by configuring CORS, never using third-party micro apps due to security risks, and implementing error boundaries to isolate failures.

#9about 2 minutes

Coordinating global UI providers and communication patterns

Prevent duplicate UI elements like notifications by having micro apps communicate with a single global provider in the shell application.

#10about 1 minute

Deciding when to use micro apps versus components

Use micro apps for transactional features or functionality that requires separate delivery cadences, but prefer standard components for simpler, faster development.

#11about 2 minutes

Key takeaways for successfully adopting micro frontends

Successful adoption relies on using modern tools like Webpack 5, ensuring an organizational fit, and establishing strong coordination for shared dependencies.