𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 (𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗔)

Just as India gained freedom from years of struggle, your microservices also deserve freedom — from messy, unhandled exceptions that can bring down your application like a tyrant!

🎯 Why Exception Handling is Your Service’s Independence

In microservices, failure in one small part can cascade and affect the whole system. Without proper exception handling, you’re risking:

Poor user experience
Confusing API responses
Difficult debugging and maintenance

1️⃣ Local Exception Handling – The First Line of Defense

Each service should handle exceptions at the code level where they occur.

try {
    userRepository.findById(id)
        .orElseThrow(() -> new UserNotFoundException("User not found with id: " + id));
} catch (UserNotFoundException ex) {
    log.error("Error: {}", ex.getMessage());
    throw ex; // Re-throw to be handled globally
}

2️⃣ Custom Exceptions – Speak Your Domain’s Language

Instead of generic `RuntimeException`, create meaningful exceptions.

public class UserNotFoundException extends RuntimeException {
    public UserNotFoundException(String message) {
        super(message);
    }
}

3️⃣ Global Exception Handler – True Freedom 🕊️

Spring Boot makes it easy with `@ControllerAdvice` to handle exceptions across the app.

@RestControllerAdvice
public class GlobalExceptionHandler {

    @ExceptionHandler(UserNotFoundException.class)
    public ResponseEntity<ApiError> handleUserNotFound(UserNotFoundException ex) {
        ApiError error = new ApiError(
            HttpStatus.NOT_FOUND.value(),
            ex.getMessage(),
            LocalDateTime.now()
        );
        return new ResponseEntity<>(error, HttpStatus.NOT_FOUND);
    }

    @ExceptionHandler(Exception.class)
    public ResponseEntity<ApiError> handleGeneric(Exception ex) {
        ApiError error = new ApiError(
            HttpStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR.value(),
            "Something went wrong. Please try again later.",
            LocalDateTime.now()
        );
        return new ResponseEntity<>(error, HttpStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR);
    }
}

`ApiError` can be a simple DTO

public record ApiError(int status, String message, LocalDateTime timestamp) {}

4️⃣ My MAGA Principles for Exception Handling

M : meaningful error messages
A : appropriate HTTP status codes
G : Global handling to avoid duplication
A : Auditable logs for debugging

💡 Pro Tips:
Just like independence gave us the freedom to build our nation, giving your microservices freedom from exception chaos will Make Your Application Great Again 🚀.