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2 min read

Production Node.js on Kubernetes — Lessons from Cluster Node

Building a portfolio-grade Node.js e-commerce API with JWT auth, idempotency, circuit breakers, OpenAPI docs, and real Docker/Kubernetes/Terraform deployment.

Node.jsKubernetesDockerTerraformOpenAPIPostgreSQL

Backend interviews expect production-grade proof — not a tutorial CRUD app. Cluster Node is a full e-commerce backend built to show senior Node.js and platform engineering patterns.

What employers actually look for

Login with refresh tokens, role-based access, orders that correctly restore stock on cancel, health checks, metrics, and API documentation. Plus real deployment — Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, GitHub Actions — not just npm run dev.

Senior patterns in the codebase

  • Idempotency keys on order creation so retries do not double-charge
  • Pessimistic locking on inventory updates
  • Circuit breaker around external payment calls
  • Correlation IDs across request logs
  • Domain events for order lifecycle notifications
  • OpenAPI/Swagger docs generated from the route definitions

The product catalog includes fast search. A React/Vite dashboard demonstrates the API in use.

Infrastructure stack

textGitHub Actions → Docker image → Kubernetes cluster
Terraform manages cluster + networking
ArgoCD (or equivalent) for GitOps deploys
PostgreSQL + Redis as stateful backing services

Health endpoints expose liveness and readiness for orchestrator probes. Metrics endpoints support observability in production.

Why this matters for your portfolio

CRUD alone does not differentiate senior candidates. Showing you can design for failure, document APIs, and operate the service closes the gap between "I know Node" and "I can own a production service."

If you are preparing for senior backend interviews, pick one domain (e-commerce works well), go deep on correctness under concurrency, and deploy it for real.