vertical-slice

Vertical slice architecture organizes .NET applications by feature folders, colocating endpoints, requests, responses, validation, and handlers together. This keeps each use case self-contained, reducing the need to bounce across technical layers when implementing an API endpoint.

To restructure a .NET API into feature folders, group each use case into a vertical slice like `Features/Orders/CreateOrder.cs`. Assign one handler per unit of work, minimize cross-feature coupling, and move shared logic to a `Common/` or `Shared/` directory.

Vertical slice architecture works with the mediator pattern, Wolverine convention-based handlers, and raw handler classes. It supports wiring mediator-style pipelines or relying on Wolverine conventions to connect handlers to their corresponding API endpoints.

Vertical slices reduce friction by keeping each feature's endpoint, handler, and validation localized in one folder. Unlike traditional layered architecture, this prevents bouncing between multiple files and directories, allowing features to evolve independently with low cross-feature coupling.

To handle shared logic in vertical slices, place cross-cutting concerns and common utilities inside a `Common/` or `Shared/` directory. This prevents direct cross-feature references, keeping changes localized to the specific feature folder while maintaining low coupling.