Migration Strategies: Strangler Fig Pattern

CTO Handbook · 4:27

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Lyrics

[Verse 1]
There's a monolith that's grown too big to handle
Every feature change becomes a major scramble
Teams are stepping on each other's toes
Technical debt just grows and grows
But there's a pattern from nature we can borrow
A gentle way to build a bright tomorrow

[Chorus]
Strangler fig, strangler fig
Wrap around the old and grow
Start small, then expand your reach
Let the new system slowly grow
Strangler fig, strangler fig
Migrate safe, don't let it break
Piece by piece, you'll take control
While the old system stays awake

[Verse 2]
Like a fig that climbs an ancient tree
We'll build new services gradually
Route some traffic to the shiny code
While the monolith bears the heavy load
Each sprint we'll claim another domain
Old and new work hand in hand again

[Chorus]
Strangler fig, strangler fig
Wrap around the old and grow
Start small, then expand your reach
Let the new system slowly grow
Strangler fig, strangler fig
Migrate safe, don't let it break
Piece by piece, you'll take control
While the old system stays awake

[Bridge]
Start with edges, not the core
Low risk features, nothing more
Proxy requests, split the flow
Watch the new services grow
When you're confident and sure
Remove the old, keep what's pure

[Verse 3]
Authentication service first to go
User profiles next to show
Shopping cart and payment too
Microservices coming through
The monolith gets smaller every day
Until it finally fades away

[Chorus]
Strangler fig, strangler fig
Wrap around the old and grow
Start small, then expand your reach
Let the new system slowly grow
Strangler fig, strangler fig
Migrate safe, don't let it break
Piece by piece, you'll take control
While the old system stays awake

[Outro]
Like nature's way of taking space
Migration with a gentle grace
Strangler fig shows us the path
Avoid the big rewrite's wrath

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