Skip to main content

System Architecture

Overall Architecture​

The 180workspace Platform utilizes a Modular Monolith pattern with clear separation of concerns between its layers. It employs a decoupled client-server model:

  1. Frontend (Client/SSR): Next.js 15+ application handling routing, presentation, and hydration.
  2. Backend (API Server): Node.js/Express.js application processing business logic, validation, and authentication.
  3. Database (Persistence): PostgreSQL Atlas handling storage with multicompany scaling.

Frontend-Backend Interaction​

The interaction relies on statless REST HTTP requests and stateful WebSocket channels:

  • HTTP REST: Standardized JSON over HTTPS. Axios is utilized on the frontend with request interceptors attaching Authorization: Bearer <token> and x-company-id headers.
  • WebSockets: Socket.IO namespaces connect the frontend client to the backend for real-time notification dispatches, instant messaging, and collaborative whiteboard/calendar events.

Data Flow Diagrams​

Textual Representation of Primary Data Flow:

[ User / Browser ] 
        │
    (Next.js App Router / Server Actions / Client Fetching)
        │
[ Reverse Proxy / Load Balancer (Vercel/Hostinger) ]
        │
[ Express.js API Gateway ]
        ├── 1. Rate Limiting (express-rate-limit)
        ├── 2. Security (Helmet, CORS)
        ├── 3. Header Validation & Authentication (JWT Decoder)
        ├── 4. Company Context resolution (company-db middleware)
        │
[ Route Handlers (src/routes) ] 
        │
[ Controllers (src/controllers) ] -> [ Services / BullMQ ]
        │
[ Models (Prisma ORM) ]
        │
[ PostgreSQL Atlas (Company-Specific Database) ]

Module-Level Architecture​

  • Auth Module: JWT generation, 2FA validation, password reset links.
  • Company Middleware: Dynamically switches mongoose.connection contexts per request to ensure data absolute isolation across companies.
  • HR & Operations Module: Automates tracking models (Leaves, Salaries, Employees).
  • Core Operations Module: Maps Inventories, Invoices, Projects, and CRM pipelines.

Third-Party Integrations​

  • Stripe / Razorpay: Payment gateway integrations for vendor bills and subscription cycles.
  • Google Auth / APIs: OAuth connections and Calendar sync.
  • Cloudinary / AWS S3: Media CDN and blob storage for uploaded documents and assets.
  • Sentry: Continuous error tracking and performance profiling injected into the Express pipeline.
  • OpenAI / Groq: AI-driven document insights and automated analytics aggregations.

Deployment Architecture​

Based on system configuration files, the architecture utilizes a hybrid cloud deployment strategy:

  • Frontend Edge Deployment: Next.js application designed to run on Vercel Edge networks utilizing caching, geographic routing, and Server-Side Rendering (SSR).
  • Backend Application Server: Dockerized Node.js API server typically deployed on AWS EC2, Render, or Hostinger VPS containers.
  • Background Worker Nodes: Standalone Node.js processes assigned purely to executing BullMQ tasks via Redis orchestration.