Or-by

Early in the project, image uploads passed through the backend. That approach increased coupling and made the application server process file transfers outside the core business flow.

The current flow uses presigned URLs: the client requests an authorized URL and uploads directly to Cloudflare R2 with PUT. File type, extension and a 5 MB size limit are validated across the client and server boundaries, keeping the file transfer separate from the API.

The next iteration should add retry strategies, clearer upload state tracking, and stronger failure recovery.

As the backend grew to approximately 110 REST endpoints, consistent module and request-handling patterns became more important.

I use shared conventions for validation, services, controllers, errors, and persistence so that the API remains easier to follow as its scope grows.

Or-by gave me practical experience with application security through concrete safeguards: Zod schemas for body and query validation, authentication and authorization rules, Helmet headers, a CORS allowlist, targeted rate limiting, and request payload limits.

These controls reduce common risks but do not make the application absolutely secure. I treat this work as part of the architecture rather than something to add after development.