MedusaJS - Headless Commerce Platform

Overview

MedusaJS is an open-source headless commerce engine that powers our e-commerce solutions. It provides a flexible and extensible foundation for building custom commerce experiences.

Why MedusaJS?

  • 🛒 Headless Architecture: API-first approach for omnichannel commerce
  • 🔧 Highly Extensible: Plugin system and customizable modules
  • 📦 Feature-Rich: Complete e-commerce functionality out of the box
  • 🌍 Multi-regional: Built-in support for multiple regions and currencies
  • 🔌 Integration-Ready: Easy integration with payment, shipping, and other services

Core Features

Commerce Functionality

  • Product management with variants
  • Cart and checkout flows
  • Order management
  • Customer accounts
  • Inventory tracking
  • Discounts and gift cards

B2B Features (Custom Extensions)

  • Company management
  • Approval workflows
  • Quote system
  • Spending limits
  • Custom pricing

Admin Dashboard

  • Product management
  • Order processing
  • Customer management
  • Analytics and reporting

Architecture

medusa-project/
├── src/
│   ├── api/          # Custom endpoints
│   ├── models/       # Extended data models
│   ├── services/     # Business logic
│   ├── subscribers/  # Event handlers
│   └── workflows/    # Complex business flows
├── medusa-config.js  # Configuration
└── package.json

Getting Started

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 16+
  • PostgreSQL
  • Redis (optional but recommended)

Installation

# Create new Medusa project
npx create-medusa-app@latest

# Or clone our starter
git clone <our-medusa-starter>

Development Setup

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run migrations
npx medusa migrations run

# Seed demo data
npx medusa seed

# Start development server
npm run dev

Customization Guide

Extending Models

import { Entity, Column } from "typeorm"
import { Product as MedusaProduct } from "@medusajs/medusa"

@Entity()
export class Product extends MedusaProduct {
  @Column({ type: "text", nullable: true })
  custom_field: string
}

Custom Services

import { TransactionBaseService } from "@medusajs/medusa"

class CustomService extends TransactionBaseService {
  async performCustomLogic(data: any) {
    // Your business logic here
  }
}

export default CustomService

API Endpoints

import { Router } from "express"

export default () => {
  const router = Router()

  router.get("/custom-endpoint", async (req, res) => {
    // Your endpoint logic
    res.json({ success: true })
  })

  return router
}

Integration Patterns

Payment Providers

  • Stripe integration
  • PayPal setup
  • Custom payment methods

Shipping

  • Multiple carrier support
  • Real-time rate calculation
  • Custom fulfillment logic

Notifications

  • Email templates
  • SMS notifications
  • Push notifications

B2B Customizations

Company Module

  • Multi-company support
  • Employee management
  • Company-specific pricing

Approval Workflows

  • Configurable approval chains
  • Spending limit enforcement
  • Audit trails

Quote System

  • Quote request handling
  • Quote management
  • Quote-to-order conversion

Performance Optimization

Caching Strategies

  • Redis for session management
  • API response caching
  • Database query optimization

Scaling Considerations

  • Horizontal scaling setup
  • Load balancing
  • Database replication

Deployment

Docker Deployment

FROM node:16-alpine

WORKDIR /app

COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production

COPY . .

RUN npm run build

EXPOSE 9000

CMD ["npm", "start"]

Environment Variables

DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@localhost:5432/medusa
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379
JWT_SECRET=your-secret
COOKIE_SECRET=your-cookie-secret

Best Practices

Code Organization

  • Separate concerns clearly
  • Use TypeScript for type safety
  • Follow Medusa conventions
  • Document custom functionality

Testing

  • Unit tests for services
  • Integration tests for APIs
  • End-to-end testing

Security

  • API authentication
  • Data validation
  • Rate limiting
  • Regular updates

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  • Database connection problems
  • Plugin conflicts
  • Migration errors
  • Performance bottlenecks

Debugging Tips

  • Enable debug logging
  • Use Medusa CLI tools
  • Check error logs
  • Database query analysis

Resources

Team Support

For MedusaJS questions:

  • E-commerce Team Lead
  • Backend Development Team
  • DevOps (for deployment issues)

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