What is Clean Architecture and how to implement it in a Java project?
Jul 17, 2025 am 01:28 AMClean Architecture's application in Java projects improves maintainability and scalability through hierarchical decoupling. Its core is to separate business logic from external dependencies, which are divided into four layers: the Domain layer includes Entities, Use Cases and Ports, which exist independently as the architecture core; the Application layer coordinates the execution of Use Cases and communicates with the outside through the interface; the Infrastructure layer implements interfaces to process specific technical details such as databases and third-party services; the Controller layer receives requests and calls the Application layer lightly. When implementing, it is recommended to build modularly, rely on inversion, centrally test Domain and Application layers, and gradually evolve the architecture.
Clean Architecture is a software design pattern, and its core idea is to separate business logic from external dependencies (such as databases, frameworks, UIs, etc.) . The benefit of doing this is to improve the maintainability, testability and flexibility of the code. Applying Clean Architecture in Java projects can help you build a system with clear structure, easy to scale and replace components.

Core layer: Domain layer
The Domain layer is the core of the entire architecture, which includes entities, use cases, and interface definitions (Ports). This layer does not rely on any other layer , and only focuses on business rules and logic.
- Entities : Represents core business objects, such as User and Order.
- Use Cases : Describe the behavior of the system, that is, "what can the user do", such as registering a user, placing an order, etc.
- Ports : Defines an interface as a "gate" to interact with other layers.
In practice, you can use the Domain layer as a separate module (Maven module or Gradle project) to ensure that it is completely independent of technical details such as Spring and JPA.
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Application layer: Application layer (or Interactors)
This layer is responsible for coordinating the execution of Use Cases. It calls the business logic of the Domain layer and communicates with the external layer through the Ports interface.
For example:

- The user initiates an order request
- The Application layer calls OrderUseCase to handle order creation
- UseCase may require access to the Repository interface (Port)
- Specific implementation provided by Infrastructure
You can add transaction control, logging and other functions at this level, but don’t put too much business logic.
Peripheral layer: Infrastructure layer
The Infrastructure layer is responsible for implementing port-defined interfaces, such as database access, external API calls, etc. It will rely on specific frameworks, such as Spring Data JPA, Hibernate, Redis client, etc.
Common responsibilities include:
- Database Mapping (Entity to DB Table)
- Third-party service integration
- Message Queue Send/Receive
- Configuration Management
This layer is usually injected into the Application layer for use, but be careful not to reliably rely on Domain.
Interface layer: Controller or API layer
This is the outermost layer, which is responsible for receiving external requests (such as HTTP requests) and then calling the Application layer to handle it. It should be as lightweight as possible without complex logic.
In Java, this part can be:
- Spring MVC Controller class
- REST API Interface
- CLI command line entry
- WebSocket Processor
It is recommended that you only do parameter analysis, permission verification, call UseCase, and then return the result.
Implementation Tips
If you are trying to implement Clean Architecture in a Java project, the following points may help you:
- Use Maven or Gradle to build multiple modules, one module per layer
- Use interfaces to isolate dependencies between different layers
- When enabling dependency injection in the configuration file, try to let the outer layer implement injection into the inner layer interface as much as possible
- Unit tests are focused on the Domain and Application layers, simulating external dependencies
- Don't rush to disassemble all layers, you can gradually evolve from simple subcontracting.
Basically that's it. This architecture looks a bit "involved", but it has obvious advantages in long-term maintenance and team collaboration.
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