Input Gears — Tech Gadget Store
E-commerce platform for mechanical keyboards and enthusiast desk gear. Browse products with instant filtering, manage persistent carts across sessions, and complete secure checkouts with automated order tracking.
Executive Summary
The Challenge
Cart state persistence across reloads and slow catalog retrieval during traffic spikes with complex product inventory.
The Solution
Next.js 15 App Router, Upstash Redis in-memory cache-aside layer (<50ms), and Prisma ACID transactions on PostgreSQL.
Measurable Impact
Fast catalog responses with Redis caching, role-based access control, and secure Stripe checkout flow.
Technologies
Key Decisions
Why Better-Auth over NextAuth or Clerk?
Better-Auth gave complete database ownership with zero third-party lock-in and seamless Prisma schema integration for multi-role accounts.
Why Upstash Redis for caching?
Serverless Redis handles spikes without cold-start penalties, keeping product catalog queries consistently under 50ms.
Why domain-driven module structure?
Separating features (cart, products, checkout) into isolated modules keeps the codebase maintainable as features expand.
Retrospective
Hardest Part
Role-based access control across storefront and admin — getting the middleware logic right for protected routes took significant planning.
Biggest Insight
Redis caching strategy matters more than raw database optimization for read-heavy e-commerce pages.
Do Differently
I would implement optimistic UI updates for the cart actions to make the user experience feel even more instantaneous.
Key Highlights
Multi-Role Admin & Storefront
Role-based views for customers and managers to streamline order processing.
Sub-50ms Catalog Caching
Upstash Redis cache-aside layer eliminates cold-start bottlenecks on high-traffic product listings.
Secure Stripe Fulfillment
Idempotent webhook signatures with transaction rollback protection against duplicate orders.
Admin Analytics & Inventory
Live revenue analytics, warehouse stock alerts, and coupon rule management in a unified console.
Open to opportunities