hardSystem Design

How do you implement microservices communication in Node.js?

Q: How do you implement microservices communication in Node.js?

**TL;DR.** Services talk **synchronously** (request/response: REST, gRPC) or **asynchronously** (events/messages: Kafka, RabbitMQ, NATS). Sync is simple but **couples** caller to callee availability; async **decouples** and buffers load but is eventually consistent. Most systems use **both**: sync for queries, async for events. synchronous REST / gRPC request → response simple, tightly coupled <text class='d-text' x='340' y='54' text-anchor='middl

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Event publish (async) alongside a REST call (sync)

// Synchronous query to another service (guard it!)
const res = await fetch('http://inventory/stock/' + sku, {
  signal: AbortSignal.timeout(2000),
});

// Asynchronous event — fire and forget, consumers react independently
await broker.publish('order.placed', { orderId, sku, qty });

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