Strangler Fig
When to Use This Skill
Use when:
- Replacing critical production systems
- High risk of downtime
- Need gradual validation
- Rollback must be instant
Don't use when:
- Small, non-critical systems (just replace)
- No production traffic yet
- Resource cost of running both systems is prohibitive
Implementation
Traffic Routing Approach
- Implementation Strategies - Feature flags, parallel run validation, database migration strategies
- Traffic Routing - Percentage-based, user-based, and canary deployment patterns
- Monitoring and Rollback - Track both systems, compare metrics, instant rollback
Component Replacement Approach
- Platform Component Replacement - Build-replace-remove pattern for infrastructure, zero downtime component swaps
Migration Process
- Migration Guide - Eight-phase checklist, common pitfalls, real-world timeline
Techniques
Two Approaches to Strangler Fig
The strangler fig pattern has two distinct implementation approaches depending on what you're replacing:
Approach 1: Traffic Routing (User-Facing Systems)
Gradually shift user traffic from old to new system using percentage-based routing.
Use for:
- API migrations (REST v1 → v2)
- Feature rollouts (old checkout → new checkout)
- UI rewrites (legacy frontend → modern frontend)
- Application logic changes
How it works: Router/proxy directs percentage of traffic to new system. Start at 1%, increase gradually to 100%.
Approach 2: Component Replacement (Infrastructure)
Replace entire components without routing traffic, including databases, service meshes, operators, and storage.
Use for:
- Database migrations (single instance → HA cluster)
- Service mesh replacement (Linkerd → Istio)
- Operator upgrades (CRD v1alpha1 → v1)
- Storage backend changes (EBS → EFS)
How it works: Build new component, ensure compatibility, swap references, remove old component. No routing layer needed.
Key distinction: Traffic routing = gradual user migration. Component replacement = infrastructure swap with compatibility layer.
Examples
See examples.md for code examples.
Related Patterns
- Separation of Concerns
- Graceful Degradation
- Environment Progression