Migrating monoliths to microservices is risky. The strangler fig pattern reduces risk:
How it works: Route new features to new microservices Gradually move existing features out of monolith Old system shrinks until nothing remains
Implementation: Put a facade in front of the monolith. Route requests based on feature. New service handles some URLs, old system handles others.
Benefits: No big bang migration. Rollback is easy. Test in production gradually.
Named after: Strangler fig trees that grow around host trees, eventually replacing them.