Architecture

Archipel is a modular monolith built on NestJS. Each platform library is a self-contained NestJS module that can be composed into any application independently. The libraries enforce strict boundaries between business logic and infrastructure through well-defined contracts.

Key Patterns

Ports & Adapters

The central pattern is Ports & Adapters (Hexagonal Architecture). Platform libraries define abstract ports — contracts you implement — and your application provides concrete adapters — implementations backed by your specific data source, API, or logic.

Abstract classes serve as both the type contract and the NestJS DI token. This eliminates the need for separate Symbol() or string tokens while preserving full type safety.

For implementation details, code examples, and the complete port reference table, see the Implementing Ports guide.

Dynamic Module Registration

Every library exposes a static register() method that returns a DynamicModule. This is where your application provides port implementations and configuration. No module uses global state or hidden defaults — everything is explicit at registration time.

AuthModule.register({
    authSubject: PrismaAuthSubjectAdapter,
    mfaSubject: PrismaMfaSubjectAdapter,
    sessionPersistence: PrismaSessionAdapter,
    verificationSubject: PrismaVerificationAdapter,
});

Application Bootstrap

platform-bootstrap composes app-level startup concerns as ordered PlatformBootstrapStep functions. The consuming app still creates the Nest application with NestFactory and the selected HTTP adapter, then applies reusable use* helpers for API defaults, middleware, security, sessions, and OpenAPI.

For the reusable rules and examples, see the Bootstrap Pattern and Application Bootstrap guide.

Strategy Pattern

Several libraries support pluggable strategies for different provider implementations:

• platform-mailing supports SMTP, Postmark, Resend, Plunk, and Log delivery strategies behind a common DeliveryStrategyBase.
• platform-blob-storage supports Vercel Blob, Azure Blob Storage, AWS S3, and local filesystem out of the box, plus custom strategies via BlobStorageStrategyBase.
• platform-documents supports pluggable renderers for DOCX, PDF, and image processing.
• platform-authentication supports JWT, Local, Anonymous, and OAuth strategies (GitHub, Google, Microsoft, Apple).
• platform-payments supports Stripe, LemonSqueezy, Paddle, and Mollie behind a common PaymentClientPort.
• platform-esigning supports DocuSign, Adobe Sign, Dropbox Sign, and a built-in internal provider behind a common EsigningClientPort.
• platform-analytics supports Sentry, Azure Application Insights, and Datadog behind a common AnalyticsClientPort.
• platform-queue supports MemoryQueue, BullMQ (Redis), Azure Service Bus, and Vercel Queues behind a common IQueue interface.
• platform-intelligence exposes provider-neutral language, embedding, media, reranking, realtime, agent, file, and skill facades. Injectable adapters for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI/Grok, Xiaomi MiMo, and Vercel AI Gateway live behind independent tree-shakable package subpaths and a common provider port.

You select the strategy at module registration time. Each package's documentation page lists the available options.

Mapping Service

platform-mapping provides a centralized MappingService for transforming domain entities into response DTOs. Mapping logic lives in dedicated MappingProfileBase subclasses — not in services or controllers. Mapping keys are branded constants for type-safe, collision-free lookups.

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Dependency Graph

flowchart TB
  Core[platform-core\nFoundation]
  PlatformBootstrap[platform-bootstrap\nApplication Bootstrap]

  Configuration[platform-configuration]
  Mapping[platform-mapping]
  Resources[platform-resources]
  Health[platform-health]
  Caching[platform-caching\nRedis]
  Cryptography[platform-cryptography]
  Logging[platform-logging\nSentry]
  Telemetry[platform-telemetry\nOTel + numeric measurements]

  OpenApi[platform-openapi\nSwagger]
  Database[platform-database\nPrisma]
  BlobStorage[platform-blob-storage]
  Queue[platform-queue]

  Authentication[platform-authentication]
  Payments[platform-payments]
  Mailing[platform-mailing]

  Documents[platform-documents\nStandalone]
  Reporting[platform-reporting\nStandalone]
  Mcp[platform-mcp\nStandalone]
  Esigning[platform-esigning\nStandalone]
  Intelligence[platform-intelligence\nStandalone]
  Analytics[platform-analytics\nStandalone]

  PlatformBootstrap --> Configuration
  PlatformBootstrap --> Core
  PlatformBootstrap --> Database
  PlatformBootstrap --> OpenApi
  PlatformBootstrap --> Resources

  Core --> Configuration
  Core --> Mapping
  Core --> Resources
  Core --> Health
  Core --> Caching
  Core --> Cryptography
  Core --> Logging
  Core --> Telemetry
  Core --> OpenApi
  Core --> Database
  Core --> BlobStorage
  Core --> Queue

  Database --> Authentication
  Database --> Payments
  Database --> Mailing
  BlobStorage --> Mailing

  Core --> Documents
  Core --> Reporting
  Core --> Mcp
  Core --> Esigning
  Core --> Intelligence
  Core --> Analytics

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Design Rules

1. platform-core has no Archipel dependencies — it is the foundation that everything else builds on.
2. Tier 1 libraries (platform-mapping, platform-resources, platform-health) depend only on platform-core and external packages.
3. No horizontal dependencies — libraries at the same layer never depend on each other.
4. Dependencies flow downward — higher-layer libraries depend only on lower layers and core.
5. No circular dependencies — enforced structurally, not by convention.
6. Ports are abstract classes — serving as both type contract and DI token.
7. Adapters live in your application — never inside platform libraries.
8. No global state — every module is explicitly configured at registration time.
9. No leaking internals — only symbols exported from the package barrel are considered public API.
10. Bounded collections — every in-memory collection has a static upper limit to prevent unbounded memory growth.
11. Graceful lifecycle — modules implement OnModuleInit for eager setup and OnModuleDestroy with timeouts for clean teardown.
12. Platform errors — each library owns typed errors; HTTP-facing errors can carry their status directly, while infrastructure errors use a dedicated filter where needed.

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Error Handling

Platform libraries define errors for their own capabilities. Some extend Error or a library base class, while HTTP-facing errors may extend ProblemDetailException. A consuming application owns its business-domain errors. Notable platform error hierarchies:

Library	Error Classes
platform-mapping	MappingError, MappingNotRegisteredError, TypeMappingNotRegisteredError
platform-resources	ResourceNotFoundError
platform-mailing	MailDeliveryError
platform-payments	PaymentError
platform-intelligence	IntelligenceProviderError, IntelligenceConfigurationError, IntelligenceValidationError, IntelligenceRealtimeError
platform-cryptography	CryptoValidationError
platform-documents	DocumentError, TemplateError, RenderError, ExportError
platform-esigning	EsigningError, EsigningWebhookError
platform-reporting	ReportingDatasetNotFoundError

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Lifecycle Management

Libraries implement NestJS lifecycle hooks for deterministic startup and teardown:

Phase	Hook	Examples
Eager init	OnModuleInit	MetricsService creates instruments, McpDiscoveryService scans providers
Teardown	OnModuleDestroy	AnalyticsClientPort.flush(), OtelSdkHolder.shutdown(), McpServerService closes transports, IntelligenceRealtimeSessionFactory closes sessions and flushes metering

Teardown operations use timeout guards (typically 5 seconds) to prevent processes from hanging when external services are unreachable.

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Resource Bounds

All in-memory collections enforce static upper limits:

Library	Component	Limit	Behavior when exceeded
platform-core	SseHub event subjects	10,000	Throws error
platform-health	HealthOrchestrator indicators	100	Logs warning, skips registration
platform-reporting	ContributorRegistry	200	Logs warning, skips registration
platform-mcp	McpServerService transports	1,000	Bounded tracking
platform-esigning	InternalEsigningProvider	10,000	Throws error
platform-intelligence	IntelligenceToolRegistry tools	128	Throws IntelligenceValidationError
platform-intelligence	Realtime sessions per instance	1,000	Rejects session creation
platform-intelligence	Realtime queues per session	512	Applies backpressure or closes