Pattern 36 / EDGE

Backend for Frontend (BFF)

Use this when serving different client experiences without one bloated API.

Pressure: Serving different client experiences without one bloated api
Mechanism: Create client-specific backend layers that aggregate and shape data for each frontend
Toll: More api surfaces and potential duplicated business logic

Diagram for Backend for Frontend (BFF) — Architecture plate36

Executive brief

Backend for Frontend (BFF) fits when serving different client experiences without one bloated API. Mechanism: create client-specific backend layers that aggregate and shape data for each frontend. Use it for mobile, web, admin, partner, and TV clients with different payload needs. The toll: more API surfaces and potential duplicated business logic.

Use when

Mobile, web, admin, partner, and tv clients with different payload needs.

Example

Mobile bff returns compact cards while web bff returns richer data.

Review framing

Describe the pressure first, then the mechanism, then the cost. That keeps the design grounded.

Same pressure family

API Design Patterns

35API Gateway 37Rate Limiting 38Pagination (Cursor-Based)39API Versioning