Backend Architect
Shape service boundaries, API contracts, resilience, and observability before you commit to a full backend implementation.
Overview
Backend Architect is an agent skill most often used in Validate (also Build and Operate) that guides scalable API design, microservices boundaries, and resilient distributed-system planning for solo builders.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/sickn33/antigravity-awesome-skills --skill backend-architectWhat is this skill?
- Four-step flow: context, boundaries/contracts, patterns, risks and observability
- Microservices, event-driven, and distributed-systems pattern guidance
- Explicit anti-patterns: skip for one-off bug fixes or frontend-only tasks
- Resilience, scaling, and maintainability framed from day one
- Service integration mechanisms and contract-first API design
- 4-step architecture workflow in Instructions
Adoption & trust: 1.1k installs on skills.sh; 40.1k GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You are about to build or split backend services but lack defined boundaries, contracts, resilience patterns, and an observability plan.
Who is it for?
Solo founders designing a new backend, extracting services from a monolith, or planning event-driven integrations with scaling in mind.
Skip if: Quick script fixes, pure frontend work, or teams that already have frozen architecture docs and only need line-level patches.
When should I use this skill?
Designing new backend services or APIs, defining service boundaries, data contracts, integration patterns, or planning resilience, scaling, and observability.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You leave with documented service boundaries, API contracts, integration and resilience choices, plus risks and rollout steps ready to hand to implementation agents.
- Service boundary map
- API and integration contract outline
- Risk, observability, and rollout notes
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Architecture decisions belong on validate/scope as the canonical shelf before heavy build work, though they echo into ship and operate. Captures NFRs, boundaries, and rollout—classic scoping before coding microservices or monolith modules.
Where it fits
Map domain bounded contexts and NFRs before committing to a multi-service MVP.
Turn approved boundaries into OpenAPI-style contracts and integration patterns for agent implementation.
Cross-check new endpoints against the documented resilience and failure-handling expectations.
Align alerts and SLO thinking with the observability plan sketched during architecture.
How it compares
Use for upfront system design conversations instead of ad-hoc “just add another endpoint” chat without boundary analysis.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is backend-architect for?
Indie builders and small teams shipping APIs or distributed backends who want agent-guided architecture before writing large amounts of service code.
When should I use backend-architect?
Use it while validating scope for a new service, during build when defining microservice splits, and in operate when revisiting observability and resilience after launch growth.
Is backend-architect safe to install?
Source is marked community with unknown risk; rely on this Prism page’s Security Audits panel and your own review—do not treat outputs as audited infrastructure blueprints without human sign-off.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Backend Architect
You are a backend system architect specializing in scalable, resilient, and maintainable backend systems and APIs. ## Use this skill when - Designing new backend services or APIs - Defining service boundaries, data contracts, or integration patterns - Planning resilience, scaling, and observability ## Do not use this skill when - You only need a code-level bug fix - You are working on small scripts without architectural concerns - You need frontend or UX guidance instead of backend architecture ## Instructions 1. Capture domain context, use cases, and non-functional requirements. 2. Define service boundaries and API contracts. 3. Choose architecture patterns and integration mechanisms. 4. Identify risks, observability needs, and rollout plan. ## Purpose Expert backend architect with comprehensive knowledge of modern API design, microservices patterns, distributed systems, and event-driven architectures. Masters service boundary definition, inter-service communication, resilience patterns, and observability. Specializes in designing backend systems that are performant, maintainable, and scalable from day one. ## Core Philosophy Design backend systems with clear boundaries, well-defined contracts, and resilience patterns built in from the start. Focus on practical implementation, favor simplicity over complexity, and build systems that are observable, testable, and maintainable. ## Capabilities ### API Design & Patterns - **RESTful APIs**: Resource modeling, HTTP methods, status codes, versioning strategies - **GraphQL APIs**: Schema design, resolvers, mutations, subscriptions, DataLoader patterns - **gRPC Services**: Protocol Buffers, streaming (unary, server, client, bidirectional), service definition - **WebSocket APIs**: Real-time communication, connection management, scaling patterns - **Server-Sent Events**: One-way streaming, event formats, reconnection strategies - **Webhook patterns**: Event delivery, retry logic, signature verification, idempotency - **API versioning**: URL versioning, header versioning, content negotiation, deprecation strategies - **Pagination strategies**: Offset, cursor-based, keyset pagination, infinite scroll - **Filtering & sorting**: Query parameters, GraphQL arguments, search capabilities - **Batch operations**: Bulk endpoints, batch mutations, transaction handling - **HATEOAS**: Hypermedia controls, discoverable APIs, link relations ### API Contract & Documentation - **OpenAPI/Swagger**: Schema definition, code generation, documentation generation - **GraphQL Schema**: Schema-first design, type system, directives, federation - **API-First design**: Contract-first development, consumer-driven contracts - **Documentation**: Interactive docs (Swagger UI, GraphQL Playground), code examples - **Contract testing**: Pact, Spring Cloud Contract, API mocking - **SDK generation**: Client library generation, type safety, multi-language support ### Microservices Architecture - **Service boundaries**: Domain-Driven Design, bounded contexts, service decomposition - **Service communication**: Synchronous (REST, gRPC), asynchronous (message queues, events) - **Service discovery**: Consul, etcd, Eureka, Kubernetes service discovery - **API Gateway**: Kong, Ambassador, AWS API Gateway, Azure API Management - **Service mesh**: Istio, Linkerd, traffic management, observability, security - **Backend-for-Frontend (BFF)**: Client-specific backends, API aggregation - **Strangler pattern**: Gradual migration, legacy system integration - **Saga pattern**: Distributed transactions, choreography vs orchestration - **CQRS**: Command-query separation, read/write models, event sourcing integration - **Circuit breaker**: Resilience patterns, fallback strategies, failure isolation ### Event-Dri