feat: add notification microservices and transactional outbox

2026-08-05 14:46:12 +03:00
parent 2fd5322ef7
commit 8147f3b191
62 changed files with 2212 additions and 126 deletions
@@ -15,3 +15,6 @@ npm-debug.log*
 .idea
 postman
 docs
+oudelaa_dashboard
+stream_0
+stream_1
@@ -81,6 +81,43 @@ QUEUE_DEFAULT_BACKOFF_MS=1000
 QUEUE_REMOVE_ON_COMPLETE=true
 QUEUE_WORKER_CONCURRENCY=5

+# Phase 1 microservice routing (false keeps the current in-process path)
+NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED=false
+# The polling dispatcher is independently disabled for the current production monolith.
+OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED=false
+OUTBOX_POLL_INTERVAL_MS=1000
+OUTBOX_BATCH_SIZE=25
+OUTBOX_MAX_ATTEMPTS=8
+OUTBOX_LEASE_TIMEOUT_MS=60000
+OUTBOX_RETRY_BASE_MS=1000
+OUTBOX_RETRY_MAX_MS=60000
+# Local development only. Production must inject non-guest credentials and TLS/amqps.
+RABBITMQ_URL=amqp://guest:guest@127.0.0.1:5672
+RABBITMQ_HOST=127.0.0.1
+RABBITMQ_PORT=5672
+RABBITMQ_USERNAME=
+RABBITMQ_PASSWORD=
+RABBITMQ_VHOST=/
+RABBITMQ_TLS_ENABLED=false
+RABBITMQ_TLS_REQUIRED=true
+RABBITMQ_CA_CERT_BASE64=
+RABBITMQ_CA_CERT_PATH=
+RABBITMQ_CLIENT_CERT_BASE64=
+RABBITMQ_CLIENT_CERT_PATH=
+RABBITMQ_CLIENT_KEY_BASE64=
+RABBITMQ_CLIENT_KEY_PATH=
+RABBITMQ_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=true
+RABBITMQ_SERVERNAME=
+RABBITMQ_HEARTBEAT_SECONDS=10
+RABBITMQ_RECONNECT_SECONDS=5
+RABBITMQ_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS=10000
+NOTIFICATION_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS=3000
+NOTIFICATION_RPC_RETRIES=1
+NOTIFICATION_CIRCUIT_FAILURE_THRESHOLD=3
+NOTIFICATION_CIRCUIT_RESET_MS=15000
+NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_PORT=4001
+NOTIFICATION_RMQ_PREFETCH=10
+
 STORAGE_PROVIDER=local
 MEDIA_ACCESS_MODE=direct
 STORAGE_BASE_PATH=uploads
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+FROM node:22-alpine AS dependencies
+WORKDIR /app
+COPY package*.json ./
+RUN npm ci
+
+FROM dependencies AS build
+COPY . .
+RUN npm run build
+
+FROM node:22-alpine AS api-gateway
+WORKDIR /app
+ENV NODE_ENV=production
+COPY --from=dependencies /app/node_modules ./node_modules
+COPY --from=build /app/dist ./dist
+COPY package.json ./
+EXPOSE 4000
+CMD ["node", "dist/main.js"]
+
+FROM node:22-alpine AS notification-service
+WORKDIR /app
+ENV NODE_ENV=production
+COPY --from=dependencies /app/node_modules ./node_modules
+COPY --from=build /app/dist ./dist
+COPY package.json ./
+EXPOSE 4001
+CMD ["node", "dist/apps/notification-service/main.js"]
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+import { bootstrap } from '../../../src/main';
+
+void bootstrap();
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "declaration": false,
+    "outDir": "../../dist/apps/api-gateway"
+  },
+  "include": ["src/**/*.ts", "../../src/**/*.ts", "../../libs/**/*.ts"],
+  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist", "test", "**/*.spec.ts"]
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import { Schema } from 'mongoose';
+
+// A deliberately small read model. Notifications only populate these public actor fields.
+export const ActorSchema = new Schema(
+  {
+    name: String,
+    username: String,
+    stageName: String,
+    avatar: Schema.Types.Mixed,
+    isVerified: Boolean,
+    isDisabled: Boolean,
+  },
+  { collection: 'users', strict: false, versionKey: false },
+);
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE } from '@app/contracts';
+import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { ConfigModule, ConfigService } from '@nestjs/config';
+import { MongooseModule } from '@nestjs/mongoose';
+import { NotificationRealtimeSink } from './notification-realtime.sink';
+import { NotificationConsumer } from './notification.consumer';
+import { HealthController } from './health.controller';
+import { NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_STATE, NotificationServiceState } from './service-state';
+import { ActorSchema } from './actor.schema';
+import { NotificationsGateway } from '../../../src/modules/notifications/notifications.gateway';
+import { NotificationsRepository } from '../../../src/modules/notifications/notifications.repository';
+import { NotificationsService } from '../../../src/modules/notifications/notifications.service';
+import { Notification, NotificationSchema } from '../../../src/modules/notifications/schemas/notification.schema';
+
+export const notificationServiceState: NotificationServiceState = {
+  rabbitmqReady: false,
+  draining: false,
+};
+
+@Module({
+  imports: [
+    ConfigModule.forRoot({ isGlobal: true }),
+    MongooseModule.forRootAsync({
+      inject: [ConfigService],
+      useFactory: (config: ConfigService) => ({
+        uri: config.get<string>('NOTIFICATION_MONGODB_URI')
+          ?? config.get<string>('MONGODB_URI')
+          ?? 'mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/oudelaa',
+        autoIndex: config.get<string>('MONGODB_AUTO_INDEX', 'true') === 'true',
+      }),
+    }),
+    MongooseModule.forFeature([
+      { name: Notification.name, schema: NotificationSchema, collection: 'notifications' },
+      { name: 'User', schema: ActorSchema, collection: 'users' },
+    ]),
+  ],
+  controllers: [HealthController, NotificationConsumer],
+  providers: [
+    NotificationsRepository,
+    NotificationsService,
+    NotificationRealtimeSink,
+    { provide: NotificationsGateway, useExisting: NotificationRealtimeSink },
+    { provide: NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_STATE, useValue: notificationServiceState },
+    { provide: 'NOTIFICATION_QUEUE_NAME', useValue: NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE },
+  ],
+})
+export class NotificationServiceModule {}
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+import { Controller, Get, Inject, ServiceUnavailableException } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { InjectConnection } from '@nestjs/mongoose';
+import { Connection } from 'mongoose';
+import { NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_STATE, NotificationServiceState } from './service-state';
+
+@Controller('health')
+export class HealthController {
+  constructor(
+    @InjectConnection() private readonly connection: Connection,
+    @Inject(NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_STATE) private readonly state: NotificationServiceState,
+  ) {}
+
+  @Get()
+  @Get('live')
+  live() {
+    return { status: this.state.draining ? 'draining' : 'ok', service: 'notification-service' };
+  }
+
+  @Get('ready')
+  async ready() {
+    const mongodbReady = this.connection.readyState === 1;
+    const ready = !this.state.draining && mongodbReady && this.state.rabbitmqReady;
+    const response = {
+      status: ready ? 'ready' : 'not-ready',
+      service: 'notification-service',
+      checks: { mongodb: mongodbReady, rabbitmq: this.state.rabbitmqReady },
+    };
+    if (!ready) throw new ServiceUnavailableException(response);
+    return response;
+  }
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import { NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE } from '@app/contracts';
+import { processEnvSource, resolveRabbitMqConfig } from '@app/common';
+import { Logger, ShutdownSignal, ValidationPipe } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { NestFactory } from '@nestjs/core';
+import { MicroserviceOptions, Transport } from '@nestjs/microservices';
+import { NotificationServiceModule, notificationServiceState } from './app.module';
+import { assertNotificationTopology, notificationQueueArguments } from './rabbitmq-topology';
+
+export async function bootstrapNotificationService(): Promise<void> {
+  const app = await NestFactory.create(NotificationServiceModule, { bufferLogs: true });
+  const logger = new Logger('NotificationServiceBootstrap');
+  const rabbit = resolveRabbitMqConfig(processEnvSource(), 'notification-service', true);
+  const port = Number(process.env.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_PORT ?? 4001);
+
+  app.enableShutdownHooks([ShutdownSignal.SIGINT, ShutdownSignal.SIGTERM]);
+  app.useGlobalPipes(new ValidationPipe({ whitelist: true, transform: true }));
+  const microservice = app.connectMicroservice<MicroserviceOptions>({
+    transport: Transport.RMQ,
+    options: {
+      urls: [rabbit.url],
+      socketOptions: rabbit.socketOptions,
+      queue: NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE,
+      noAck: false,
+      prefetchCount: Number(process.env.NOTIFICATION_RMQ_PREFETCH ?? 10),
+      queueOptions: { durable: true, autoDelete: false, exclusive: false, arguments: notificationQueueArguments },
+    },
+  });
+  const status = (microservice as unknown as { status: { subscribe: (callback: (value: string) => void) => void } }).status;
+  status.subscribe((value) => {
+    notificationServiceState.rabbitmqReady = value === 'connected' || value === 'unblocked';
+  });
+
+  const markDraining = () => { notificationServiceState.draining = true; };
+  process.once('SIGTERM', markDraining);
+  process.once('SIGINT', markDraining);
+
+  await assertNotificationTopology(rabbit);
+  await app.startAllMicroservices();
+  notificationServiceState.rabbitmqReady = true;
+  await app.listen(port, process.env.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_HOST ?? '0.0.0.0');
+  logger.log(`HTTP health endpoint listening on ${port}; consuming ${NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE}; broker=${rabbit.sanitizedEndpoint}`);
+}
+
+if (require.main === module) void bootstrapNotificationService();
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
+
+// Socket.IO remains owned by the gateway. The RMQ response carries realtime data back to it.
+@Injectable()
+export class NotificationRealtimeSink {
+  emitCreated(): void {}
+  emitUnreadCount(): void {}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+import { FOLLOW_REQUEST_APPROVED_EVENT, FollowRequestApprovedEvent } from '@app/events';
+import { NotificationConsumer } from './notification.consumer';
+
+const event: FollowRequestApprovedEvent = {
+  eventId: 'event-1',
+  eventType: FOLLOW_REQUEST_APPROVED_EVENT,
+  occurredAt: '2026-08-03T10:00:00.000Z',
+  payload: { requestId: 'request-1', actorId: 'actor-1', recipientId: 'recipient-1' },
+};
+
+function rmqContext() {
+  const channel = { ack: jest.fn(), nack: jest.fn() };
+  const message = {
+    properties: { headers: { correlationId: 'correlation-1', requestId: 'request-1' } },
+  };
+  return {
+    channel,
+    message,
+    context: {
+      getChannelRef: () => channel,
+      getMessage: () => message,
+    } as never,
+  };
+}
+
+describe('NotificationConsumer', () => {
+  const notification = { toJSON: () => ({ _id: 'notification-1' }) };
+  let notifications: Record<string, jest.Mock>;
+  let consumer: NotificationConsumer;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    notifications = {
+      createFollowRequestApprovedNotification: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(notification),
+      getUnreadCounts: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ total: 1, follows: 0, followRequests: 1 }),
+    };
+    consumer = new NotificationConsumer(notifications as never);
+    jest.spyOn(console, 'log').mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+    jest.spyOn(console, 'error').mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => jest.restoreAllMocks());
+
+  it('consumes follow.request.approved and acknowledges only after persistence', async () => {
+    const rmq = rmqContext();
+    const result = await consumer.followRequestApproved(event, rmq.context);
+    expect(notifications.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      ...event.payload,
+      eventId: event.eventId,
+    });
+    expect(result).toEqual(expect.objectContaining({
+      result: notification,
+      realtime: expect.objectContaining({ recipientId: 'recipient-1', unreadCount: 1 }),
+    }));
+    expect(rmq.channel.ack).toHaveBeenCalledWith(rmq.message);
+    expect(rmq.channel.nack).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('retries transient failures with a finite limit', async () => {
+    notifications.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('temporary-1'))
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('temporary-2'))
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(notification);
+    const rmq = rmqContext();
+    await consumer.followRequestApproved(event, rmq.context);
+    expect(notifications.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+    expect(rmq.channel.ack).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects to the DLQ after retry exhaustion', async () => {
+    notifications.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification.mockRejectedValue(new Error('mongo down'));
+    const rmq = rmqContext();
+    await expect(consumer.followRequestApproved(event, rmq.context)).rejects.toThrow('mongo down');
+    expect(notifications.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+    expect(rmq.channel.nack).toHaveBeenCalledWith(rmq.message, false, false);
+    expect(rmq.channel.ack).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('rejects an invalid contract without persistence', async () => {
+    const rmq = rmqContext();
+    await expect(consumer.followRequestApproved({ ...event, eventId: '' }, rmq.context)).rejects.toThrow(
+      'Invalid follow.request.approved contract',
+    );
+    expect(notifications.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(rmq.channel.nack).toHaveBeenCalledWith(rmq.message, false, false);
+  });
+
+  it('requires non-empty string IDs and a canonical ISO occurredAt value', async () => {
+    for (const invalid of [
+      { ...event, occurredAt: 'August 3, 2026' },
+      { ...event, payload: { ...event.payload, actorId: '' } },
+    ]) {
+      const rmq = rmqContext();
+      await expect(consumer.followRequestApproved(invalid, rmq.context)).rejects.toThrow(
+        'Invalid follow.request.approved contract',
+      );
+      expect(rmq.channel.nack).toHaveBeenCalledWith(rmq.message, false, false);
+    }
+    expect(notifications.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+import { withLimitedRetry } from '@app/common';
+import {
+  MessageContext,
+  NOTIFICATION_RPC,
+  NotificationListRequest,
+  NotificationMarkAllReadRequest,
+  NotificationMarkReadRequest,
+  NotificationRpcResponse,
+  NotificationUnreadCountRequest,
+} from '@app/contracts';
+import {
+  FOLLOW_REQUEST_APPROVED_EVENT,
+  FollowRequestApprovedEvent,
+  isFollowRequestApprovedEvent,
+} from '@app/events';
+import { Controller } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { Ctx, MessagePattern, Payload, RmqContext, RpcException } from '@nestjs/microservices';
+import { NotificationCategory, NotificationQueryDto } from '../../../src/modules/notifications/dto/notification-query.dto';
+import { NotificationsService } from '../../../src/modules/notifications/notifications.service';
+
+@Controller()
+export class NotificationConsumer {
+  constructor(private readonly notifications: NotificationsService) {}
+
+  @MessagePattern(NOTIFICATION_RPC.list)
+  async list(@Payload() input: NotificationListRequest, @Ctx() context: RmqContext) {
+    return this.rpc(context, () => this.notifications.getMine(
+      input.recipientId,
+      input.query as unknown as NotificationQueryDto,
+    ));
+  }
+
+  @MessagePattern(NOTIFICATION_RPC.unreadCount)
+  async unreadCount(@Payload() input: NotificationUnreadCountRequest, @Ctx() context: RmqContext) {
+    return this.rpc(context, () => this.notifications.getUnreadCountByCategory(
+      input.recipientId,
+      input.category as NotificationCategory | undefined,
+    ));
+  }
+
+  @MessagePattern(NOTIFICATION_RPC.markRead)
+  async markRead(@Payload() input: NotificationMarkReadRequest, @Ctx() context: RmqContext) {
+    return this.rpc(context, async () => {
+      const result = await this.notifications.markRead(input.recipientId, input.notificationId);
+      const unreadCounts = await this.notifications.getUnreadCounts(input.recipientId);
+      return { result, realtime: {
+        recipientId: input.recipientId,
+        unreadCount: unreadCounts.total,
+        unreadCounts,
+      } };
+    }, true);
+  }
+
+  @MessagePattern(NOTIFICATION_RPC.markAllRead)
+  async markAllRead(@Payload() input: NotificationMarkAllReadRequest, @Ctx() context: RmqContext) {
+    return this.rpc(context, async () => {
+      const result = await this.notifications.markAllRead(input.recipientId);
+      const unreadCounts = await this.notifications.getUnreadCounts(input.recipientId);
+      return { result, realtime: {
+        recipientId: input.recipientId,
+        unreadCount: unreadCounts.total,
+        unreadCounts,
+      } };
+    }, true);
+  }
+
+  @MessagePattern(FOLLOW_REQUEST_APPROVED_EVENT)
+  async followRequestApproved(
+    @Payload() event: FollowRequestApprovedEvent,
+    @Ctx() context: RmqContext,
+  ) {
+    if (!isFollowRequestApprovedEvent(event)) {
+      return this.reject(context, new Error('Invalid follow.request.approved contract'));
+    }
+
+    const metadata = this.metadata(context);
+    try {
+      const notification = await withLimitedRetry(
+        () => this.notifications.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification({
+          ...event.payload,
+          eventId: event.eventId,
+        }),
+        3,
+        25,
+      );
+      const unreadCounts = await this.notifications.getUnreadCounts(event.payload.recipientId);
+      this.ack(context);
+      this.log('info', 'follow.request.approved consumed', metadata, { eventId: event.eventId });
+      return {
+        result: notification,
+        realtime: {
+          recipientId: event.payload.recipientId,
+          notification,
+          unreadCount: unreadCounts.total,
+          unreadCounts,
+        },
+      };
+    } catch (error) {
+      return this.reject(context, error, metadata, event.eventId);
+    }
+  }
+
+  private async rpc<T>(
+    context: RmqContext,
+    operation: () => Promise<T | NotificationRpcResponse<T>>,
+    alreadyWrapped = false,
+  ): Promise<NotificationRpcResponse<T>> {
+    try {
+      const value = await operation();
+      this.ack(context);
+      return (alreadyWrapped ? value : { result: value }) as NotificationRpcResponse<T>;
+    } catch (error) {
+      this.ack(context);
+      throw new RpcException(error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Notification operation failed');
+    }
+  }
+
+  private ack(context: RmqContext): void {
+    context.getChannelRef().ack(context.getMessage());
+  }
+
+  private reject(
+    context: RmqContext,
+    error: unknown,
+    metadata = this.metadata(context),
+    eventId?: string,
+  ): never {
+    context.getChannelRef().nack(context.getMessage(), false, false);
+    const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Notification event failed';
+    this.log('error', message, metadata, { eventId });
+    throw new RpcException(message);
+  }
+
+  private metadata(context: RmqContext): MessageContext {
+    const message = context.getMessage() as { properties?: { headers?: Record<string, unknown>; correlationId?: string } };
+    const headers = message.properties?.headers ?? {};
+    return {
+      correlationId: String(headers.correlationId ?? message.properties?.correlationId ?? ''),
+      requestId: String(headers.requestId ?? ''),
+    };
+  }
+
+  private log(
+    level: 'info' | 'error',
+    message: string,
+    context: MessageContext,
+    extra: Record<string, unknown>,
+  ): void {
+    const entry = JSON.stringify({
+      timestamp: new Date().toISOString(), level, service: 'notification-service', message, ...context, ...extra,
+    });
+    if (level === 'error') console.error(entry);
+    else console.log(entry);
+  }
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import { NOTIFICATION_RMQ_DLQ, NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE } from '@app/contracts';
+import { assertNotificationTopology, notificationQueueArguments } from './rabbitmq-topology';
+
+describe('RabbitMQ notification adapter', () => {
+  it('asserts durable main and dead-letter queues', async () => {
+    const channel = {
+      assertQueue: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({}),
+      close: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+    };
+    const connection = {
+      createChannel: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(channel),
+      close: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+    };
+
+    await assertNotificationTopology('amqp://rabbit', jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(connection) as never);
+
+    expect(channel.assertQueue).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(1, NOTIFICATION_RMQ_DLQ, {
+      durable: true, autoDelete: false, exclusive: false,
+    });
+    expect(channel.assertQueue).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(2, NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE, {
+      durable: true,
+      autoDelete: false,
+      exclusive: false,
+      arguments: notificationQueueArguments,
+    });
+    expect(channel.close).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(connection.close).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+import { NOTIFICATION_RMQ_DLQ, NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE } from '@app/contracts';
+import { ChannelModel, connect } from 'amqplib';
+import { ResolvedRabbitMqConfig } from '@app/common';
+
+type Connect = (url: string, options?: Record<string, unknown>) => Promise<ChannelModel>;
+
+export const notificationQueueArguments = {
+  'x-dead-letter-exchange': '',
+  'x-dead-letter-routing-key': NOTIFICATION_RMQ_DLQ,
+};
+
+export async function assertNotificationTopology(
+  config: string | ResolvedRabbitMqConfig,
+  connectToRabbit: Connect = connect as unknown as Connect,
+): Promise<void> {
+  const url = typeof config === 'string' ? config : config.url;
+  const options = typeof config === 'string' ? undefined : config.socketOptions.connectionOptions;
+  const connection = await connectToRabbit(url, options);
+  try {
+    const channel = await connection.createChannel();
+    try {
+      await channel.assertQueue(NOTIFICATION_RMQ_DLQ, { durable: true, autoDelete: false, exclusive: false });
+      await channel.assertQueue(NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE, {
+        durable: true,
+        autoDelete: false,
+        exclusive: false,
+        arguments: notificationQueueArguments,
+      });
+    } finally {
+      await channel.close();
+    }
+  } finally {
+    await connection.close();
+  }
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+export const NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_STATE = Symbol('NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_STATE');
+
+export interface NotificationServiceState {
+  rabbitmqReady: boolean;
+  draining: boolean;
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "declaration": false,
+    "outDir": "../../dist/apps/notification-service"
+  },
+  "include": ["src/**/*.ts", "../../src/modules/notifications/**/*.ts", "../../src/common/**/*.ts", "../../libs/**/*.ts"],
+  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist", "test", "**/*.spec.ts"]
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+# Local phase-1 stack only. Never reuse guest/guest or this topology as production deployment configuration.
+services:
+  api-gateway:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile.microservices
+      target: api-gateway
+    ports:
+      - "4000:4000"
+    environment:
+      NODE_ENV: development
+      PORT: 4000
+      HOST: 0.0.0.0
+      MONGODB_URI: mongodb://mongodb:27017/oudelaa?replicaSet=rs0
+      REDIS_ENABLED: "true"
+      REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379
+      REDIS_SOCKET_ADAPTER_ENABLED: "true"
+      QUEUE_ENABLED: "true"
+      RABBITMQ_URL: amqp://guest:guest@rabbitmq:5672
+      NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED: "true"
+      OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED: "true"
+      JWT_ACCESS_SECRET: ${JWT_ACCESS_SECRET:?Set JWT_ACCESS_SECRET in the selected local env file}
+      JWT_REFRESH_SECRET: ${JWT_REFRESH_SECRET:?Set JWT_REFRESH_SECRET in the selected local env file}
+      REFRESH_TOKEN_HASH_SECRET: ${REFRESH_TOKEN_HASH_SECRET:-}
+      SUPERADMIN_EMAIL: ${SUPERADMIN_EMAIL:?Set SUPERADMIN_EMAIL in the selected local env file}
+      SUPERADMIN_ACCESS_SECRET: ${SUPERADMIN_ACCESS_SECRET:?Set SUPERADMIN_ACCESS_SECRET in the selected local env file}
+      SUPERADMIN_REFRESH_SECRET: ${SUPERADMIN_REFRESH_SECRET:?Set SUPERADMIN_REFRESH_SECRET in the selected local env file}
+      STORAGE_PROVIDER: local
+      STORAGE_BASE_PATH: uploads
+    depends_on:
+      mongodb:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      redis:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      rabbitmq:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      notification-service:
+        condition: service_healthy
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "wget", "-q", "--spider", "http://127.0.0.1:4000/api/v1/health/ready"]
+      interval: 10s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 12
+    volumes:
+      - gateway_uploads:/app/uploads
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+  notification-service:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile.microservices
+      target: notification-service
+    ports:
+      - "127.0.0.1:4001:4001"
+    environment:
+      NODE_ENV: development
+      NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_PORT: 4001
+      NOTIFICATION_MONGODB_URI: mongodb://mongodb:27017/oudelaa?replicaSet=rs0
+      RABBITMQ_URL: amqp://guest:guest@rabbitmq:5672
+      NOTIFICATION_RMQ_PREFETCH: 10
+      MONGODB_AUTO_INDEX: "true"
+    depends_on:
+      mongodb:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      rabbitmq:
+        condition: service_healthy
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "wget", "-q", "--spider", "http://127.0.0.1:4001/health/ready"]
+      interval: 10s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 12
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+  rabbitmq:
+    image: rabbitmq:3.13-management-alpine
+    ports:
+      - "127.0.0.1:15672:15672"
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "rabbitmq-diagnostics -q check_running && rabbitmq-diagnostics -q check_port_connectivity"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 12
+    volumes:
+      - rabbitmq_data:/var/lib/rabbitmq
+
+  redis:
+    image: redis:7-alpine
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 3s
+      retries: 12
+    volumes:
+      - redis_data:/data
+
+  mongodb:
+    image: mongo:8
+    command: ["mongod", "--replSet", "rs0", "--bind_ip_all"]
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "mongosh", "--quiet", "--eval", "try { if (rs.status().ok === 1) quit(0); quit(1) } catch (e) { rs.initiate({_id:'rs0',members:[{_id:0,host:'mongodb:27017'}]}); quit(0) }"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 12
+    volumes:
+      - mongodb_data:/data/db
+
+volumes:
+  gateway_uploads:
+  rabbitmq_data:
+  redis_data:
+  mongodb_data:
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+# Oudelaa microservices migration
+
+## Current architecture
+
+The backend is a NestJS modular monolith backed by MongoDB. Redis is used for cache,
+BullMQ jobs, and the optional Socket.IO adapter. Domain modules call the in-process
+`NotificationsService`. Public HTTP routes use the global `/api/v1` prefix and the
+notifications Socket.IO namespace is owned by the same application.
+
+## Phase 1 boundary
+
+- `apps/api-gateway` is the new monorepo entry point. It deliberately bootstraps the
+  existing `src/AppModule`, so the application remains runnable while modules are moved
+  incrementally.
+- `apps/notification-service` owns notification persistence, queries, unread counts,
+  read mutations, and the `follow.request.approved` consumer.
+- The four existing Flutter notification endpoints remain on the gateway. The gateway
+  delegates them over Nest RMQ only when `NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED=true`; otherwise
+  it uses the original in-process service.
+- Socket.IO authentication, namespace, rooms, and public event names remain in the
+  gateway. Internal RMQ responses include realtime data which the gateway emits.
+- Other notification producers stay in-process in phase 1. They can migrate one event
+  at a time in later phases.
+
+## Reliability and topology
+
+The main durable queue is `oudelaa.notifications`. Rejected messages are dead-lettered
+to the durable `oudelaa.notifications.dlq` queue through the default exchange. Consumers
+use manual acknowledgement and a prefetch limit. Event handling retries three times
+inside one delivery, then rejects without requeue. Gateway calls have a bounded timeout,
+one configurable retry, and a small circuit breaker. Rabbit message headers carry
+`correlationId` and `requestId`; logs are JSON records containing both.
+
+Follow-request approval is the first true transactional-outbox flow. The request state,
+follow relationship, user counters, and deterministic outbox event are committed in one
+MongoDB transaction. No BullMQ or RabbitMQ call occurs inside that transaction. When both
+phase-1 flags are enabled, a polling dispatcher atomically leases pending/failed events,
+waits for the Notification Service RPC response, and only then marks the event processed.
+Timeouts use bounded exponential backoff and eventually move the event to `dead`; expired
+`processing` leases are recovered after restart. `OutboxService.listByStatuses()` and
+`retryEvent()` are the intentionally non-public administrative surface in this phase.
+
+`eventId` is stored on notifications under a unique partial index. The consumer checks
+it before insert and also handles Mongo duplicate-key races. The existing unique index on
+recipient/type/reference remains as an additional guard for follow approval records.
+
+## Planned migration
+
+1. Phase 1: monorepo shell, contracts/events/common libraries, gateway compatibility
+   facade, and Notification Service.
+2. Phase 2: move Auth and Users behind versioned internal contracts; centralize JWT
+   verification primitives in `libs/auth`; add tracing/metrics in `libs/observability`.
+3. Phase 3: extract Posts and Media; replace direct notification calls with outbox events.
+4. Phase 4: extract Feed and Search read models, consuming post/user events.
+5. Phase 5: extract Moderation, then stabilize cross-service workflows and data ownership.
+6. Phase 6: remove transitional imports and local fallbacks after traffic comparison,
+   replay tests, and a controlled cutover.
+
+At every phase the gateway retains public paths and response envelopes. Internal event
+contracts evolve additively and are versioned before any breaking change.
+
+## Configuration and operating modes
+
+`NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED=false` and `OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED=false` remain the
+safe defaults. In that mode the gateway does not instantiate or connect an RMQ client;
+the in-process notification path and public Flutter contracts remain unchanged. The
+standalone-Mongo fallback exists only for this disabled legacy transition mode.
+
+The reliable phase-1 path requires both flags to be `true`. Dispatcher interval, batch,
+lease, attempt limit, and bounded backoff are configured by `OUTBOX_*`. RabbitMQ accepts
+an injected `RABBITMQ_URL` or separate host, port, username, password, and vhost values.
+TLS supports `amqps://`, CA/client material injected as base64 or mounted paths, peer
+verification, and SNI. Passwords and URL userinfo are never logged.
+
+`docker-compose.microservices.yml` is local-only. It deliberately uses guest/guest inside
+the private Compose network, exposes management only on loopback, and runs a single-node
+Mongo replica set so transactions are exercised locally. It is not a production template.
+Queue names remain `oudelaa.notifications` and `oudelaa.notifications.dlq` to avoid an
+undeclared migration; both are durable, non-exclusive, and non-auto-delete. RPC messages
+are persistent, and consumers use manual acknowledgement with a prefetch limit.
+
+## Production prerequisites
+
+- Managed RabbitMQ (or an operated HA cluster), a dedicated vhost, non-guest
+  least-privilege credentials, and TLS/amqps. Inject credentials and certificates from
+  the deployment secret store; never copy local Compose values.
+- A transaction-capable MongoDB replica set or sharded cluster. Gateway startup rejects
+  dispatcher activation against standalone MongoDB.
+- Production Redis, service-specific secrets, persistent storage where applicable, and
+  network policy that permits RMQ/Mongo/Redis access only from the services.
+- Liveness probes at `/api/v1/health` and `/health/live`; readiness probes at
+  `/api/v1/health/ready` and `/health/ready`. A temporary RMQ outage fails readiness but
+  does not fail liveness. RabbitMQ management must not be publicly exposed.
+- Alerts for pending/failed/dead outbox counts, oldest event age, dispatcher failures,
+  notification DLQ depth, RMQ connectivity, and duplicate-key activity.
+
+### Controlled activation and rollback
+
+1. Provision production RabbitMQ with TLS, a dedicated vhost, and least-privilege user.
+2. Confirm MongoDB is a replica set/mongos and Redis is production-ready.
+3. Deploy Notification Service with injected secrets and verify liveness/readiness.
+4. Deploy Gateway with both phase-1 flags still `false`; verify the monolith path.
+5. Inject the same RMQ endpoint/trust settings into Gateway without logging them.
+6. Enable both flags on one canary Gateway replica.
+7. Approve a controlled private follow and observe outbox
+   `pending -> processing -> processed`, one notification, and one Socket emission.
+8. Monitor retries, dead events, DLQ, readiness, latency, and duplicate-key metrics.
+9. Expand the flags gradually; atomic leases make multiple Gateway replicas safe.
+10. Roll back by setting both flags to `false`. Do not delete pending events or queues;
+    diagnose or retry them before the next canary, then drain Notification Service.
+
+Notification Service still uses the same Mongo database and the same `notifications`
+collection as Gateway. This is a transitional shared-database model, not independent data
+ownership; physical separation belongs to a later migration phase.
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@ module.exports = {
  transform: {
    '^.+\\.(t|j)s$': 'ts-jest',
  },
+  moduleNameMapper: {
+    '^@app/contracts$': '<rootDir>/libs/contracts/src',
+    '^@app/events$': '<rootDir>/libs/events/src',
+    '^@app/common$': '<rootDir>/libs/common/src',
+  },
  collectCoverageFrom: ['src/**/*.(t|j)s'],
  coverageDirectory: './coverage',
  coverageReporters: ['text', 'json-summary', 'lcov'],
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+export * from './retry';
+export * from './rabbitmq';
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import { resolveRabbitMqConfig } from './rabbitmq';
+
+const source = (values: Record<string, string>) => ({ get: (key: string) => values[key] });
+
+describe('RabbitMQ production configuration', () => {
+  it('rejects guest credentials and plaintext in production microservices', () => {
+    expect(() => resolveRabbitMqConfig(source({ NODE_ENV: 'production', RABBITMQ_URL: 'amqps://guest:guest@broker/vhost' }), 'gateway', true)).toThrow('non-guest');
+    expect(() => resolveRabbitMqConfig(source({ NODE_ENV: 'production', RABBITMQ_URL: 'amqp://service:strong-password@broker/vhost' }), 'gateway', true)).toThrow('TLS/amqps');
+  });
+
+  it('supports secure URLs and separate TLS credentials without exposing userinfo', () => {
+    const direct = resolveRabbitMqConfig(source({
+      NODE_ENV: 'production', RABBITMQ_URL: 'amqps://service:strong-password@broker.example/vhost',
+      RABBITMQ_SERVERNAME: 'broker.example', RABBITMQ_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED: 'true',
+    }), 'notification-service', true);
+    expect(direct.sanitizedEndpoint).toBe('amqps://broker.example:5671/vhost');
+    expect(direct.sanitizedEndpoint).not.toContain('strong-password');
+    expect(direct.socketOptions.connectionOptions).toEqual(expect.objectContaining({ rejectUnauthorized: true, servername: 'broker.example' }));
+
+    const split = resolveRabbitMqConfig(source({
+      RABBITMQ_HOST: 'rabbit', RABBITMQ_PORT: '5671', RABBITMQ_USERNAME: 'service',
+      RABBITMQ_PASSWORD: 'password', RABBITMQ_VHOST: 'oudelaa', RABBITMQ_TLS_ENABLED: 'true',
+    }), 'gateway', false);
+    expect(split.url).toBe('amqps://service:password@rabbit:5671/oudelaa');
+
+    const urlWithSeparateCredentials = resolveRabbitMqConfig(source({
+      RABBITMQ_URL: 'amqps://rabbit:5671/oudelaa', RABBITMQ_USERNAME: 'service',
+      RABBITMQ_PASSWORD: 'password',
+    }), 'gateway', false);
+    expect(urlWithSeparateCredentials.url).toBe('amqps://service:password@rabbit:5671/oudelaa');
+  });
+
+  it('requires client certificate and key as a pair', () => {
+    expect(() => resolveRabbitMqConfig(source({
+      RABBITMQ_URL: 'amqps://service:password@rabbit/vhost',
+      RABBITMQ_CLIENT_CERT_BASE64: Buffer.from('cert').toString('base64'),
+    }), 'gateway', false)).toThrow('configured together');
+  });
+});
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+import { readFileSync } from 'fs';
+
+export interface RabbitConfigSource {
+  get(key: string): string | undefined;
+}
+
+export interface ResolvedRabbitMqConfig {
+  url: string;
+  sanitizedEndpoint: string;
+  socketOptions: {
+    heartbeatIntervalInSeconds: number;
+    reconnectTimeInSeconds: number;
+    connectionOptions: Record<string, unknown>;
+  };
+  tlsEnabled: boolean;
+}
+
+const bool = (value: string | undefined, fallback = false) => value === undefined ? fallback : value === 'true';
+
+function material(source: RabbitConfigSource, base64Key: string, pathKey: string): Buffer | undefined {
+  const encoded = source.get(base64Key);
+  if (encoded) return Buffer.from(encoded, 'base64');
+  const path = source.get(pathKey);
+  return path ? readFileSync(path) : undefined;
+}
+
+export function resolveRabbitMqConfig(
+  source: RabbitConfigSource,
+  serviceName: string,
+  requireProductionSafety: boolean,
+): ResolvedRabbitMqConfig {
+  const explicitUrl = source.get('RABBITMQ_URL');
+  const tlsEnabled = bool(source.get('RABBITMQ_TLS_ENABLED'), explicitUrl?.startsWith('amqps://'));
+  const protocol = tlsEnabled ? 'amqps' : 'amqp';
+  const host = source.get('RABBITMQ_HOST') || '127.0.0.1';
+  const port = source.get('RABBITMQ_PORT') || (tlsEnabled ? '5671' : '5672');
+  const username = source.get('RABBITMQ_USERNAME') || 'guest';
+  const password = source.get('RABBITMQ_PASSWORD') || 'guest';
+  const vhost = source.get('RABBITMQ_VHOST') || '/';
+  let url = explicitUrl
+    ? (tlsEnabled ? explicitUrl.replace(/^amqp:\/\//, 'amqps://') : explicitUrl)
+    : `${protocol}://${encodeURIComponent(username)}:${encodeURIComponent(password)}@${host}:${port}/${vhost === '/' ? '' : encodeURIComponent(vhost.replace(/^\//, ''))}`;
+  let parsed: URL;
+  try { parsed = new URL(url); }
+  catch { throw new Error('RabbitMQ configuration contains an invalid URL'); }
+  if (explicitUrl && !parsed.username && source.get('RABBITMQ_USERNAME')) {
+    parsed.username = username;
+    parsed.password = password;
+    url = parsed.toString();
+  }
+  const configuredUser = decodeURIComponent(parsed.username || username);
+  const configuredPassword = decodeURIComponent(parsed.password || password);
+  const production = source.get('NODE_ENV') === 'production';
+  const tlsRequired = bool(source.get('RABBITMQ_TLS_REQUIRED'), true);
+  if (production && requireProductionSafety) {
+    if (!configuredUser || !configuredPassword || configuredUser === 'guest' || configuredPassword === 'guest') {
+      throw new Error('RabbitMQ production credentials must be non-guest and non-empty');
+    }
+    if (tlsRequired && parsed.protocol !== 'amqps:' && !tlsEnabled) {
+      throw new Error('RabbitMQ TLS/amqps is required for production microservices');
+    }
+  }
+
+  const connectionOptions: Record<string, unknown> = {
+    timeout: Number(source.get('RABBITMQ_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS') || 10_000),
+    clientProperties: { connection_name: `${serviceName}:${source.get('HOSTNAME') || process.pid}` },
+  };
+  if (tlsEnabled || parsed.protocol === 'amqps:') {
+    connectionOptions.rejectUnauthorized = bool(source.get('RABBITMQ_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED'), true);
+    const servername = source.get('RABBITMQ_SERVERNAME');
+    if (servername) connectionOptions.servername = servername;
+    const ca = material(source, 'RABBITMQ_CA_CERT_BASE64', 'RABBITMQ_CA_CERT_PATH');
+    const cert = material(source, 'RABBITMQ_CLIENT_CERT_BASE64', 'RABBITMQ_CLIENT_CERT_PATH');
+    const key = material(source, 'RABBITMQ_CLIENT_KEY_BASE64', 'RABBITMQ_CLIENT_KEY_PATH');
+    if (ca) connectionOptions.ca = [ca];
+    if (cert) connectionOptions.cert = cert;
+    if (key) connectionOptions.key = key;
+    if ((cert && !key) || (!cert && key)) throw new Error('RabbitMQ client certificate and key must be configured together');
+  }
+
+  return {
+    url,
+    sanitizedEndpoint: `${parsed.protocol}//${parsed.hostname}:${parsed.port || (parsed.protocol === 'amqps:' ? '5671' : '5672')}${parsed.pathname}`,
+    tlsEnabled: tlsEnabled || parsed.protocol === 'amqps:',
+    socketOptions: {
+      heartbeatIntervalInSeconds: Number(source.get('RABBITMQ_HEARTBEAT_SECONDS') || 10),
+      reconnectTimeInSeconds: Number(source.get('RABBITMQ_RECONNECT_SECONDS') || 5),
+      connectionOptions,
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+export function processEnvSource(): RabbitConfigSource {
+  return { get: (key) => process.env[key] };
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+export async function withLimitedRetry<T>(
+  operation: () => Promise<T>,
+  maxAttempts: number,
+  backoffMs = 25,
+): Promise<T> {
+  let lastError: unknown;
+  for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= maxAttempts; attempt += 1) {
+    try {
+      return await operation();
+    } catch (error) {
+      lastError = error;
+      if (attempt < maxAttempts) {
+        await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, backoffMs * attempt));
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  throw lastError;
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+  "compilerOptions": { "declaration": true, "outDir": "../../dist/libs/common" },
+  "include": ["src/**/*.ts"]
+}
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export * from './notifications.contract';
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+export const NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE = 'oudelaa.notifications';
+export const NOTIFICATION_RMQ_DLQ = 'oudelaa.notifications.dlq';
+
+export const NOTIFICATION_RPC = {
+  list: 'notifications.list',
+  unreadCount: 'notifications.unread-count',
+  markRead: 'notifications.mark-read',
+  markAllRead: 'notifications.mark-all-read',
+} as const;
+
+export interface MessageContext {
+  correlationId: string;
+  requestId: string;
+}
+
+export interface NotificationListRequest {
+  recipientId: string;
+  query: Record<string, unknown>;
+}
+
+export interface NotificationUnreadCountRequest {
+  recipientId: string;
+  category?: string;
+}
+
+export interface NotificationMarkReadRequest {
+  recipientId: string;
+  notificationId: string;
+}
+
+export interface NotificationMarkAllReadRequest {
+  recipientId: string;
+}
+
+export interface NotificationRealtimeUpdate {
+  recipientId: string;
+  notification?: unknown;
+  unreadCount: number;
+  unreadCounts?: Record<string, number>;
+}
+
+export interface NotificationRpcResponse<T> {
+  result: T;
+  realtime?: NotificationRealtimeUpdate;
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+  "compilerOptions": { "declaration": true, "outDir": "../../dist/libs/contracts" },
+  "include": ["src/**/*.ts"]
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+export const FOLLOW_REQUEST_APPROVED_EVENT = 'follow.request.approved' as const;
+
+export interface FollowRequestApprovedEvent {
+  eventId: string;
+  eventType: typeof FOLLOW_REQUEST_APPROVED_EVENT;
+  occurredAt: string;
+  payload: {
+    requestId: string;
+    actorId: string;
+    recipientId: string;
+  };
+}
+
+export function isFollowRequestApprovedEvent(value: unknown): value is FollowRequestApprovedEvent {
+  if (!value || typeof value !== 'object') return false;
+  const event = value as Partial<FollowRequestApprovedEvent>;
+  const payload = event.payload as Partial<FollowRequestApprovedEvent['payload']> | undefined;
+  return event.eventType === FOLLOW_REQUEST_APPROVED_EVENT
+    && isNonEmptyString(event.eventId)
+    && isIsoDateString(event.occurredAt)
+    && isNonEmptyString(payload?.requestId)
+    && isNonEmptyString(payload.actorId)
+    && isNonEmptyString(payload.recipientId);
+}
+
+const isNonEmptyString = (value: unknown): value is string =>
+  typeof value === 'string' && value.trim().length > 0;
+
+const isIsoDateString = (value: unknown): value is string => {
+  if (typeof value !== 'string') return false;
+  const timestamp = Date.parse(value);
+  if (Number.isNaN(timestamp)) return false;
+  return new Date(timestamp).toISOString() === value;
+};
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export * from './follow-request-approved.event';
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
+  "compilerOptions": { "declaration": true, "outDir": "../../dist/libs/events" },
+  "include": ["src/**/*.ts"]
+}
@@ -1,8 +1,59 @@
 {
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/nest-cli",
  "collection": "@nestjs/schematics",
-  "sourceRoot": "src",
+  "monorepo": true,
+  "root": "apps/api-gateway",
+  "sourceRoot": "apps/api-gateway/src",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "deleteOutDir": true
+  },
+  "projects": {
+    "api-gateway": {
+      "type": "application",
+      "root": "apps/api-gateway",
+      "entryFile": "main",
+      "sourceRoot": "apps/api-gateway/src",
+      "compilerOptions": {
+        "webpack": false,
+        "tsConfigPath": "apps/api-gateway/tsconfig.app.json"
+      }
+    },
+    "notification-service": {
+      "type": "application",
+      "root": "apps/notification-service",
+      "entryFile": "main",
+      "sourceRoot": "apps/notification-service/src",
+      "compilerOptions": {
+        "webpack": true,
+        "tsConfigPath": "apps/notification-service/tsconfig.app.json"
+      }
+    },
+    "contracts": {
+      "type": "library",
+      "root": "libs/contracts",
+      "entryFile": "index",
+      "sourceRoot": "libs/contracts/src",
+      "compilerOptions": {
+        "tsConfigPath": "libs/contracts/tsconfig.lib.json"
+      }
+    },
+    "events": {
+      "type": "library",
+      "root": "libs/events",
+      "entryFile": "index",
+      "sourceRoot": "libs/events/src",
+      "compilerOptions": {
+        "tsConfigPath": "libs/events/tsconfig.lib.json"
+      }
+    },
+    "common": {
+      "type": "library",
+      "root": "libs/common",
+      "entryFile": "index",
+      "sourceRoot": "libs/common/src",
+      "compilerOptions": {
+        "tsConfigPath": "libs/common/tsconfig.lib.json"
+      }
+    }
  }
 }
@@ -8,9 +8,6 @@
      "name": "oudelaa-backend",
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "license": "UNLICENSED",
-      "engines": {
-        "node": ">=20 <25"
-      },
      "dependencies": {
        "@aws-sdk/client-s3": "^3.1041.0",
        "@aws-sdk/lib-storage": "^3.1041.0",
@@ -19,6 +16,7 @@
        "@nestjs/config": "^4.0.4",
        "@nestjs/core": "^11.1.28",
        "@nestjs/jwt": "^11.0.2",
+        "@nestjs/microservices": "^11.1.28",
        "@nestjs/mongoose": "^11.0.4",
        "@nestjs/passport": "^11.0.5",
        "@nestjs/platform-express": "^11.1.28",
@@ -27,6 +25,8 @@
        "@nestjs/websockets": "^11.1.28",
        "@socket.io/redis-adapter": "^8.3.0",
        "@types/passport-google-oauth20": "^2.0.17",
+        "amqp-connection-manager": "^4.1.14",
+        "amqplib": "^0.10.8",
        "bcrypt": "^6.0.0",
        "bullmq": "^5.76.5",
        "class-transformer": "^0.5.1",
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@
        "@nestjs/cli": "^11.0.24",
        "@nestjs/schematics": "^11.1.0",
        "@nestjs/testing": "^11.1.28",
+        "@types/amqplib": "^0.10.7",
        "@types/bcrypt": "^5.0.2",
        "@types/compression": "^1.8.1",
        "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
@@ -73,6 +74,9 @@
        "tsconfig-paths": "^4.2.0",
        "typescript": "^5.6.2",
        "typescript-eslint": "^8.64.0"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=20 <25"
      }
    },
    "node_modules/@angular-devkit/core": {
@@ -3080,6 +3084,64 @@
        }
      }
    },
+    "node_modules/@nestjs/microservices": {
+      "version": "11.1.28",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@nestjs/microservices/-/microservices-11.1.28.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-8uRs6/UrhXvd8YCrYKcNUwWA7b8jcbYH03WBKWJ2A3bc6+WcHA6yXq7Px30yemAGBtIIMXkHeL88dO2usVI5zg==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "iterare": "1.2.1",
+        "tslib": "2.8.1"
+      },
+      "funding": {
+        "type": "opencollective",
+        "url": "https://opencollective.com/nest"
+      },
+      "peerDependencies": {
+        "@grpc/grpc-js": "*",
+        "@nestjs/common": "^11.0.0",
+        "@nestjs/core": "^11.0.0",
+        "@nestjs/websockets": "^11.0.0",
+        "amqp-connection-manager": "*",
+        "amqplib": "*",
+        "cache-manager": "*",
+        "ioredis": "*",
+        "kafkajs": "*",
+        "mqtt": "*",
+        "nats": "*",
+        "reflect-metadata": "^0.1.12 || ^0.2.0",
+        "rxjs": "^7.1.0"
+      },
+      "peerDependenciesMeta": {
+        "@grpc/grpc-js": {
+          "optional": true
+        },
+        "@nestjs/websockets": {
+          "optional": true
+        },
+        "amqp-connection-manager": {
+          "optional": true
+        },
+        "amqplib": {
+          "optional": true
+        },
+        "cache-manager": {
+          "optional": true
+        },
+        "ioredis": {
+          "optional": true
+        },
+        "kafkajs": {
+          "optional": true
+        },
+        "mqtt": {
+          "optional": true
+        },
+        "nats": {
+          "optional": true
+        }
+      }
+    },
    "node_modules/@nestjs/mongoose": {
      "version": "11.0.4",
      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@nestjs/mongoose/-/mongoose-11.0.4.tgz",
@@ -4222,6 +4284,16 @@
      "dev": true,
      "license": "MIT"
    },
+    "node_modules/@types/amqplib": {
+      "version": "0.10.7",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/amqplib/-/amqplib-0.10.7.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-IVj3avf9AQd2nXCx0PGk/OYq7VmHiyNxWFSb5HhU9ATh+i+gHWvVcljFTcTWQ/dyHJCTrzCixde+r/asL2ErDA==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "@types/node": "*"
+      }
+    },
    "node_modules/@types/babel__core": {
      "version": "7.20.5",
      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/babel__core/-/babel__core-7.20.5.tgz",
@@ -5234,6 +5306,35 @@
        "ajv": "^8.8.2"
      }
    },
+    "node_modules/amqp-connection-manager": {
+      "version": "4.1.14",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/amqp-connection-manager/-/amqp-connection-manager-4.1.14.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-1km47dIvEr0HhMUazqovSvNwIlSvDX2APdUpULaINtHpiki1O+cLRaTeXb/jav4OLtH+k6GBXx5gsKOT9kcGKQ==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "promise-breaker": "^6.0.0"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=10.0.0",
+        "npm": ">5.0.0"
+      },
+      "peerDependencies": {
+        "amqplib": "*"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/amqplib": {
+      "version": "0.10.8",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/amqplib/-/amqplib-0.10.8.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-Tfn1O9sFgAP8DqeMEpt2IacsVTENBpblB3SqLdn0jK2AeX8iyCvbptBc8lyATT9bQ31MsjVwUSQ1g8f4jHOUfw==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "buffer-more-ints": "~1.0.0",
+        "url-parse": "~1.5.10"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=10"
+      }
+    },
    "node_modules/ansi-colors": {
      "version": "4.1.3",
      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/ansi-colors/-/ansi-colors-4.1.3.tgz",
@@ -5752,6 +5853,12 @@
      "integrity": "sha512-E+XQCRwSbaaiChtv6k6Dwgc+bx+Bs6vuKJHHl5kox/BaKbhiXzqQOwK4cO22yElGp2OCmjwVhT3HmxgyPGnJfQ==",
      "license": "MIT"
    },
+    "node_modules/buffer-more-ints": {
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/buffer-more-ints/-/buffer-more-ints-1.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-EMetuGFz5SLsT0QTnXzINh4Ksr+oo4i+UGTXEshiGCQWnsgSs7ZhJ8fzlwQ+OzEMs0MpDAMr1hxnblp5a4vcHg==",
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
    "node_modules/bullmq": {
      "version": "5.76.5",
      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/bullmq/-/bullmq-5.76.5.tgz",
@@ -10439,6 +10546,12 @@
        "url": "https://github.com/chalk/ansi-styles?sponsor=1"
      }
    },
+    "node_modules/promise-breaker": {
+      "version": "6.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/promise-breaker/-/promise-breaker-6.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-BthzO9yTPswGf7etOBiHCVuugs2N01/Q/94dIPls48z2zCmrnDptUUZzfIb+41xq0MnYZ/BzmOd6ikDR4ibNZA==",
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
    "node_modules/prompts": {
      "version": "2.4.2",
      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/prompts/-/prompts-2.4.2.tgz",
@@ -10508,6 +10621,12 @@
        "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/ljharb"
      }
    },
+    "node_modules/querystringify": {
+      "version": "2.2.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/querystringify/-/querystringify-2.2.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-FIqgj2EUvTa7R50u0rGsyTftzjYmv/a3hO345bZNrqabNqjtgiDMgmo4mkUjd+nzU5oF3dClKqFIPUKybUyqoQ==",
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
    "node_modules/range-parser": {
      "version": "1.3.0",
      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/range-parser/-/range-parser-1.3.0.tgz",
@@ -10618,6 +10737,12 @@
        "node": ">=0.10.0"
      }
    },
+    "node_modules/requires-port": {
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/requires-port/-/requires-port-1.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-KigOCHcocU3XODJxsu8i/j8T9tzT4adHiecwORRQ0ZZFcp7ahwXuRU1m+yuO90C5ZUyGeGfocHDI14M3L3yDAQ==",
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
    "node_modules/resolve": {
      "version": "1.22.11",
      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/resolve/-/resolve-1.22.11.tgz",
@@ -12102,6 +12227,16 @@
        "punycode": "^2.1.0"
      }
    },
+    "node_modules/url-parse": {
+      "version": "1.5.10",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/url-parse/-/url-parse-1.5.10.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-WypcfiRhfeUP9vvF0j6rw0J3hrWrw6iZv3+22h6iRMJ/8z1Tj6XfLP4DsUix5MhMPnXpiHDoKyoZ/bdCkwBCiQ==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "querystringify": "^2.1.1",
+        "requires-port": "^1.0.0"
+      }
+    },
    "node_modules/util-deprecate": {
      "version": "1.0.2",
      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/util-deprecate/-/util-deprecate-1.0.2.tgz",
@@ -8,12 +8,17 @@
    "node": ">=20 <25"
  },
  "scripts": {
-    "build": "nest build",
-    "start": "nest start",
-    "start:dev": "nest start --watch",
-    "start:prod": "node dist/main",
-    "lint": "eslint \"src/**/*.ts\"",
-    "lint:fix": "eslint \"src/**/*.ts\" --fix",
+    "build": "nest build api-gateway && nest build notification-service && tsc -p tsconfig.legacy.json && node scripts/copy-legacy-entry.js",
+    "build:gateway": "nest build api-gateway",
+    "build:notifications": "nest build notification-service",
+    "start": "nest start api-gateway",
+    "start:dev": "nest start api-gateway --watch",
+    "start:notification-service": "nest start notification-service",
+    "start:notification-service:dev": "nest start notification-service --watch",
+    "start:prod": "node dist/main.js",
+    "start:notification-service:prod": "node dist/apps/notification-service/main",
+    "lint": "eslint \"{src,apps,libs}/**/*.ts\"",
+    "lint:fix": "eslint \"{src,apps,libs}/**/*.ts\" --fix",
    "test": "jest",
    "test:coverage": "jest --runInBand --coverage && node scripts/check-coverage.js",
    "test:watch": "jest --watch",
@@ -33,6 +38,7 @@
    "@nestjs/config": "^4.0.4",
    "@nestjs/core": "^11.1.28",
    "@nestjs/jwt": "^11.0.2",
+    "@nestjs/microservices": "^11.1.28",
    "@nestjs/mongoose": "^11.0.4",
    "@nestjs/passport": "^11.0.5",
    "@nestjs/platform-express": "^11.1.28",
@@ -41,6 +47,8 @@
    "@nestjs/websockets": "^11.1.28",
    "@socket.io/redis-adapter": "^8.3.0",
    "@types/passport-google-oauth20": "^2.0.17",
+    "amqp-connection-manager": "^4.1.14",
+    "amqplib": "^0.10.8",
    "bcrypt": "^6.0.0",
    "bullmq": "^5.76.5",
    "class-transformer": "^0.5.1",
@@ -64,6 +72,7 @@
    "@nestjs/cli": "^11.0.24",
    "@nestjs/schematics": "^11.1.0",
    "@nestjs/testing": "^11.1.28",
+    "@types/amqplib": "^0.10.7",
    "@types/bcrypt": "^5.0.2",
    "@types/compression": "^1.8.1",
    "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+const { copyFileSync, existsSync } = require('node:fs');
+const { join } = require('node:path');
+
+const projectRoot = join(__dirname, '..');
+const legacyBundle = join(projectRoot, 'dist', 'legacy', 'src', 'main.js');
+const legacyShim = join(projectRoot, 'scripts', 'legacy-main.js');
+const legacyEntry = join(projectRoot, 'dist', 'main.js');
+
+if (!existsSync(legacyBundle)) {
+  throw new Error(`Legacy monolith bundle not found: ${legacyBundle}`);
+}
+
+copyFileSync(legacyShim, legacyEntry);
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+const { bootstrap } = require('./legacy/src/main');
+
+void bootstrap();
@@ -353,6 +353,11 @@ describe('controller and repository contracts', () => {
            expect(operations).toHaveLength(before);
            continue;
          }
+          if (`${Repository.name}.${method}` === 'FollowsRepository.runInTransaction') {
+            // Session lifecycle and fallback semantics need a session-aware model mock and
+            // are covered in follows.repository.spec.ts.
+            continue;
+          }
          try {
            await instance[method](...args);
          } catch (error) {
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import { MarketplaceModule } from './modules/marketplace/marketplace.module';
 import { MusicWorldModule } from './modules/music-world/music-world.module';
 import { NotificationsModule } from './modules/notifications/notifications.module';
 import { OutboxModule } from './modules/outbox/outbox.module';
+import { OrdersModule } from './modules/orders/orders.module';
 import { PostsModule } from './modules/posts/posts.module';
 import { ReportsModule } from './modules/reports/reports.module';
 import { SavesModule } from './modules/saves/saves.module';
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ describe('AppService readiness', () => {
      getActiveRequests: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(0),
    };
    return {
-      service: new AppService(connection as any, redis as any, storage as any, shutdown as any),
+      service: new AppService(connection as any, redis as any, storage as any, shutdown as any, { isReady: () => true } as any),
      shutdown,
    };
  };
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { Connection } from 'mongoose';
 import { ManagedStorageService } from './infrastructure/storage/managed-storage.service';
 import { RedisService } from './infrastructure/redis/redis.service';
 import { ShutdownCoordinatorService } from './infrastructure/reliability/shutdown-coordinator.service';
+import { NotificationServiceClient } from './modules/notifications/notification-service.client';

@Injectable()
 export class AppService {
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ export class AppService {
    private readonly redis: RedisService,
    private readonly storage: ManagedStorageService,
    private readonly shutdownCoordinator: ShutdownCoordinatorService,
+    private readonly notificationClient: NotificationServiceClient,
  ) {}

  getHealth(): { status: string; service: string } {
@@ -51,6 +53,10 @@ export class AppService {
      checks.redis = { status: 'up' };
    }

+    checks.rabbitmq = this.notificationClient.isReady()
+      ? { status: 'up' }
+      : { status: 'down', error: 'RabbitMQ connection is unavailable' };
+
    try {
      const health = await this.withTimeout(this.storage.getHealth(), 5000, 'Storage check timeout');
      const local = health.local as { readable?: boolean; writable?: boolean } | undefined;
@@ -86,6 +86,37 @@ export const validationSchema = Joi.object({
  QUEUE_DEFAULT_BACKOFF_MS: Joi.number().min(100).max(600000).default(1000),
  QUEUE_REMOVE_ON_COMPLETE: Joi.boolean().truthy('true').falsy('false').default(true),
  QUEUE_WORKER_CONCURRENCY: Joi.number().min(1).max(100).default(5),
+  NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED: Joi.boolean().truthy('true').falsy('false').default(false),
+  OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED: Joi.boolean().truthy('true').falsy('false').default(false),
+  OUTBOX_POLL_INTERVAL_MS: Joi.number().integer().min(100).max(60000).default(1000),
+  OUTBOX_BATCH_SIZE: Joi.number().integer().min(1).max(500).default(25),
+  OUTBOX_MAX_ATTEMPTS: Joi.number().integer().min(1).max(100).default(8),
+  OUTBOX_LEASE_TIMEOUT_MS: Joi.number().integer().min(1000).max(3600000).default(60000),
+  OUTBOX_RETRY_BASE_MS: Joi.number().integer().min(100).max(600000).default(1000),
+  OUTBOX_RETRY_MAX_MS: Joi.number().integer().min(100).max(3600000).default(60000),
+  RABBITMQ_URL: Joi.string().uri().allow('').optional(),
+  RABBITMQ_HOST: Joi.string().default('127.0.0.1'),
+  RABBITMQ_PORT: Joi.number().integer().min(1).max(65535).default(5672),
+  RABBITMQ_USERNAME: Joi.string().allow('').optional(),
+  RABBITMQ_PASSWORD: Joi.string().allow('').optional(),
+  RABBITMQ_VHOST: Joi.string().default('/'),
+  RABBITMQ_TLS_ENABLED: Joi.boolean().truthy('true').falsy('false').default(false),
+  RABBITMQ_TLS_REQUIRED: Joi.boolean().truthy('true').falsy('false').default(true),
+  RABBITMQ_CA_CERT_BASE64: Joi.string().allow('').optional(),
+  RABBITMQ_CA_CERT_PATH: Joi.string().allow('').optional(),
+  RABBITMQ_CLIENT_CERT_BASE64: Joi.string().allow('').optional(),
+  RABBITMQ_CLIENT_CERT_PATH: Joi.string().allow('').optional(),
+  RABBITMQ_CLIENT_KEY_BASE64: Joi.string().allow('').optional(),
+  RABBITMQ_CLIENT_KEY_PATH: Joi.string().allow('').optional(),
+  RABBITMQ_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED: Joi.boolean().truthy('true').falsy('false').default(true),
+  RABBITMQ_SERVERNAME: Joi.string().allow('').optional(),
+  RABBITMQ_HEARTBEAT_SECONDS: Joi.number().integer().min(1).max(120).default(10),
+  RABBITMQ_RECONNECT_SECONDS: Joi.number().integer().min(1).max(300).default(5),
+  RABBITMQ_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS: Joi.number().integer().min(100).max(120000).default(10000),
+  NOTIFICATION_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS: Joi.number().integer().min(100).max(30000).default(3000),
+  NOTIFICATION_RPC_RETRIES: Joi.number().integer().min(0).max(5).default(1),
+  NOTIFICATION_CIRCUIT_FAILURE_THRESHOLD: Joi.number().integer().min(1).max(20).default(3),
+  NOTIFICATION_CIRCUIT_RESET_MS: Joi.number().integer().min(1000).max(300000).default(15000),
  STORAGE_PROVIDER: Joi.string().valid('local', 's3').default('local'),
  MEDIA_ACCESS_MODE: Joi.string().valid('direct', 'signed').default('direct'),
  SIGNED_URL_EXPIRES_SECONDS: Joi.number().integer().min(1).max(604800).default(86400),
@@ -156,5 +187,26 @@ export const validationSchema = Joi.object({
      custom: 'HTTP_SERVER_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS must be at least HTTP_HEADERS_TIMEOUT_MS',
    });
  }
+  if (Number(value.OUTBOX_RETRY_MAX_MS) < Number(value.OUTBOX_RETRY_BASE_MS)) {
+    return helpers.message({ custom: 'OUTBOX_RETRY_MAX_MS must be at least OUTBOX_RETRY_BASE_MS' });
+  }
+  if (value.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED !== value.OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED) {
+    return helpers.message({
+      custom: 'Phase-1 Gateway activation requires NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED and OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED to have the same value',
+    });
+  }
+  if (value.NODE_ENV === 'production' && value.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED === true) {
+    const rawUrl = String(value.RABBITMQ_URL ?? '');
+    let url: URL | undefined;
+    try { if (rawUrl) url = new URL(rawUrl); } catch { return helpers.message({ custom: 'RABBITMQ_URL is invalid' }); }
+    const username = url?.username ? decodeURIComponent(url.username) : String(value.RABBITMQ_USERNAME ?? '');
+    const password = url?.password ? decodeURIComponent(url.password) : String(value.RABBITMQ_PASSWORD ?? '');
+    if (!username || !password || username === 'guest' || password === 'guest') {
+      return helpers.message({ custom: 'Production notification routing requires non-guest RabbitMQ credentials' });
+    }
+    if (value.RABBITMQ_TLS_REQUIRED === true && url?.protocol !== 'amqps:' && value.RABBITMQ_TLS_ENABLED !== true) {
+      return helpers.message({ custom: 'Production notification routing requires RabbitMQ TLS/amqps' });
+    }
+  }
  return value;
-}, 'storage access mode validation');
+}, 'cross-field configuration validation');
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import { FollowsRepository } from './follows.repository';
+
+describe('FollowsRepository transaction boundary', () => {
+  function setup(withTransaction: jest.Mock) {
+    const session = { withTransaction, endSession: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined) };
+    const followModel = { db: { startSession: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(session) } };
+    const repository = new FollowsRepository(followModel as never, {} as never);
+    return { repository, session };
+  }
+
+  it('returns only after the transaction callback commits and always closes the session', async () => {
+    const ctx = setup(jest.fn(async (callback: () => Promise<void>) => callback()));
+    const operation = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue('committed');
+    await expect(ctx.repository.runInTransaction(operation, true)).resolves.toBe('committed');
+    expect(operation).toHaveBeenCalledWith(ctx.session);
+    expect(ctx.session.endSession).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('propagates transaction failures in microservices mode without an unsafe fallback', async () => {
+    const ctx = setup(jest.fn(async (callback: () => Promise<void>) => callback()));
+    const operation = jest.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('outbox insert failed'));
+    await expect(ctx.repository.runInTransaction(operation, true)).rejects.toThrow('outbox insert failed');
+    expect(operation).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(ctx.session.endSession).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('allows only the documented legacy fallback when standalone Mongo rejects transactions', async () => {
+    const ctx = setup(jest.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('Transaction numbers are only allowed on a replica set member or mongos')));
+    const operation = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue('legacy');
+    await expect(ctx.repository.runInTransaction(operation, false)).resolves.toBe('legacy');
+    expect(operation).toHaveBeenCalledWith(undefined);
+  });
+});
@@ -12,12 +12,17 @@ export class FollowsRepository {
    private readonly followRequestModel: Model<FollowRequestDocument>,
  ) {}

-  async findOne(followerId: string, followingId: string): Promise<FollowDocument | null> {
+  async findOne(
+    followerId: string,
+    followingId: string,
+    session?: ClientSession,
+  ): Promise<FollowDocument | null> {
    return this.followModel
      .findOne({
        followerId: new Types.ObjectId(followerId),
        followingId: new Types.ObjectId(followingId),
      })
+      .session(session ?? null)
      .exec();
  }

@@ -109,6 +114,27 @@ export class FollowsRepository {
      .exec();
  }

+  async runInTransaction<T>(
+    operation: (session?: ClientSession) => Promise<T>,
+    required: boolean,
+  ): Promise<T> {
+    const session = await this.followModel.db.startSession();
+    try {
+      let result: T | undefined;
+      try {
+        await session.withTransaction(async () => {
+          result = await operation(session);
+        });
+        return result as T;
+      } catch (error) {
+        if (required || !this.isTransactionUnsupported(error)) throw error;
+        return operation(undefined);
+      }
+    } finally {
+      await session.endSession();
+    }
+  }
+
  async deletePendingRequest(requesterId: string, targetUserId: string): Promise<void> {
    await this.followRequestModel
      .deleteOne({
@@ -162,16 +188,33 @@ export class FollowsRepository {
    requestId: string,
    targetUserId: string,
    status: 'approved' | 'rejected',
+    session?: ClientSession,
  ): Promise<FollowRequestDocument | null> {
    return this.followRequestModel
      .findOneAndUpdate(
        { _id: new Types.ObjectId(requestId), targetUserId: new Types.ObjectId(targetUserId), status: 'pending' },
        { status },
-        { new: true },
+        { new: true, session },
      )
      .exec();
  }

+  async findRequestByIdForTarget(
+    requestId: string,
+    targetUserId: string,
+    session?: ClientSession,
+  ): Promise<FollowRequestDocument | null> {
+    return this.followRequestModel
+      .findOne({ _id: new Types.ObjectId(requestId), targetUserId: new Types.ObjectId(targetUserId) })
+      .session(session ?? null)
+      .exec();
+  }
+
+  private isTransactionUnsupported(error: unknown): boolean {
+    const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+    return /Transaction numbers are only allowed|replica set member or mongos/i.test(message);
+  }
+
  async findPendingRequestsForTarget(
    targetUserId: string,
    skip: number,
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ describe('FollowsService', () => {
      findPendingRequestsForTarget: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([]),
      countPendingRequestsForTarget: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(0),
      updateRequestStatus: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
+      findRequestByIdForTarget: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
+      runInTransaction: jest.fn().mockImplementation(async (operation: (session?: unknown) => Promise<unknown>) => operation(undefined)),
      ...overrides.followsRepository,
    };
    const usersRepository = {
@@ -38,6 +40,8 @@ describe('FollowsService', () => {
      })),
      setFollowingCount: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
      setFollowersCount: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      incrementFollowingCount: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      incrementFollowersCount: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
      findManyByIds: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([]),
      findSuggestionCandidates: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([]),
      ...overrides.usersRepository,
@@ -45,6 +49,8 @@ describe('FollowsService', () => {
    const outboxService = {
      enqueueFollowNotification: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
      enqueueFollowRequestApprovedNotification: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      createFollowRequestApprovedEvent: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(`follow.request.approved:${requestId}`),
+      enqueuePersistedEvent: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
      ...overrides.outboxService,
    };
    const feedVersionService = {
@@ -413,12 +419,13 @@ describe('FollowsService', () => {
      following: true,
      requesterId: targetUserId,
    });
-    expect(ctx.followsRepository.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith(targetUserId, currentUserId);
+    expect(ctx.followsRepository.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith(targetUserId, currentUserId, undefined);
    expect(ctx.feedVersionService.bumpUserVersion).toHaveBeenCalledWith(targetUserId);
-    expect(ctx.outboxService.enqueueFollowRequestApprovedNotification).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+    expect(ctx.outboxService.createFollowRequestApprovedEvent).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
      currentUserId,
      targetUserId,
      requestId,
+      undefined,
    );

    const existing = setup({
@@ -429,7 +436,7 @@ describe('FollowsService', () => {
    });
    await existing.service.approveRequest(currentUserId, requestId);
    expect(existing.followsRepository.create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
-    expect(existing.outboxService.enqueueFollowRequestApprovedNotification).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(existing.outboxService.createFollowRequestApprovedEvent).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
  });

  it('validates approve and reject requests and handles missing records', async () => {
@@ -439,7 +446,7 @@ describe('FollowsService', () => {
    await expect(setup().service.approveRequest(currentUserId, requestId)).rejects.toThrow(
      'Follow request not found',
    );
-    expect(setup().outboxService.enqueueFollowRequestApprovedNotification).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(setup().outboxService.createFollowRequestApprovedEvent).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
    await expect(setup().service.rejectRequest(currentUserId, 'bad')).rejects.toThrow(
      'Invalid follow request id',
    );
@@ -458,6 +465,29 @@ describe('FollowsService', () => {
    });
  });

+  it('keeps duplicate approvals idempotent and propagates an outbox transaction failure', async () => {
+    const duplicate = setup({
+      followsRepository: {
+        updateRequestStatus: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
+        findRequestByIdForTarget: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+          status: 'approved', requesterId: { toString: () => targetUserId },
+        }),
+      },
+    });
+    await expect(duplicate.service.approveRequest(currentUserId, requestId)).resolves.toEqual({
+      approved: true, following: true, requesterId: targetUserId,
+    });
+    expect(duplicate.followsRepository.create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(duplicate.outboxService.createFollowRequestApprovedEvent).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+    const failed = setup({
+      followsRepository: { updateRequestStatus: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ requesterId: { toString: () => targetUserId } }) },
+      outboxService: { createFollowRequestApprovedEvent: jest.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('outbox insert failed')) },
+    });
+    await expect(failed.service.approveRequest(currentUserId, requestId)).rejects.toThrow('outbox insert failed');
+    expect(failed.feedVersionService.bumpUserVersion).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
  it('ranks and explains personalized suggestions with stable pagination', async () => {
    jest.spyOn(Math, 'random').mockReturnValue(0.25);
    const current = {
@@ -251,24 +251,61 @@ export class FollowsService {
      throw new BadRequestException('Invalid follow request id');
    }

-    const request = await this.followsRepository.updateRequestStatus(requestId, currentUserId, 'approved');
-    if (!request) {
-      throw new NotFoundException('Follow request not found');
+    const microservicesEnabled = process.env.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED === 'true'
+      || process.env.OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED === 'true';
+    const transaction = await this.followsRepository.runInTransaction(async (session) => {
+      const request = await this.followsRepository.updateRequestStatus(
+        requestId,
+        currentUserId,
+        'approved',
+        session,
+      );
+      if (!request) {
+        const existingRequest = await this.followsRepository.findRequestByIdForTarget(
+          requestId,
+          currentUserId,
+          session,
+        );
+        if (existingRequest?.status === 'approved') {
+          return {
+            requesterId: existingRequest.requesterId.toString(),
+            followCreated: false,
+            eventId: null,
+          };
+        }
+        throw new NotFoundException('Follow request not found');
+      }
+
+      const requesterId = request.requesterId.toString();
+      const existing = await this.followsRepository.findOne(requesterId, currentUserId, session);
+      let followCreated = false;
+      if (!existing) {
+        await this.followsRepository.create(requesterId, currentUserId, session);
+        // MongoDB transactions do not support parallel operations on one session.
+        await this.usersRepository.incrementFollowingCount(requesterId, 1, session);
+        await this.usersRepository.incrementFollowersCount(currentUserId, 1, session);
+        followCreated = true;
+      }
+
+      const eventId = await this.outboxService.createFollowRequestApprovedEvent(
+        currentUserId,
+        requesterId,
+        requestId,
+        session,
+      );
+      return { requesterId, followCreated, eventId };
+    }, microservicesEnabled);
+
+    if (transaction.followCreated) await this.feedVersionService.bumpUserVersion(transaction.requesterId);
+    if (!microservicesEnabled && transaction.eventId) {
+      try {
+        await this.outboxService.enqueuePersistedEvent(transaction.eventId);
+      } catch (error) {
+        this.logger.warn(`Legacy outbox enqueue failed; event remains pending: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'unknown error'}`);
+      }
    }

-    const requesterId = request.requesterId.toString();
-    const existing = await this.followsRepository.findOne(requesterId, currentUserId);
-    if (!existing) {
-      await this.followsRepository.create(requesterId, currentUserId);
-      await this.syncFollowCounts(requesterId, currentUserId);
-      await this.feedVersionService.bumpUserVersion(requesterId);
-    }
-
-    await this.enqueueFollowRequestApprovedNotification(
-      currentUserId,
-      requesterId,
-      requestId,
-    );
+    const requesterId = transaction.requesterId;

    return { approved: true, following: true, requesterId };
  }
@@ -467,26 +504,6 @@ export class FollowsService {
    }
  }

-  private async enqueueFollowRequestApprovedNotification(
-    actorId: string,
-    recipientId: string,
-    requestId: string,
-  ): Promise<void> {
-    try {
-      await this.outboxService.enqueueFollowRequestApprovedNotification(
-        actorId,
-        recipientId,
-        requestId,
-      );
-    } catch (error) {
-      this.logger.warn(
-        `Follow request approval notification failed for actor=${actorId} recipient=${recipientId}: ${
-          error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'unknown error'
-        }`,
-      );
-    }
-  }
-
  private buildFollowActionResponse(
    message: string,
    isFollowing: boolean,
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@ import { IsEnum, IsMongoId, IsObject, IsOptional, IsString, MaxLength } from 'cl
 import { NOTIFICATION_TYPES, NotificationType } from '../schemas/notification.schema';

 export class CreateNotificationDto {
+  @IsOptional()
+  @IsString()
+  @MaxLength(128)
+  eventId?: string;
+
  @IsMongoId()
  recipientId!: string;

@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+import { NOTIFICATION_RPC } from '@app/contracts';
+import { FOLLOW_REQUEST_APPROVED_EVENT, FollowRequestApprovedEvent } from '@app/events';
+import { ConfigService } from '@nestjs/config';
+import { of } from 'rxjs';
+import { NotificationConsumer } from '../../../apps/notification-service/src/notification.consumer';
+import { NotificationServiceClient } from './notification-service.client';
+import { NotificationsGateway } from './notifications.gateway';
+
+const remoteConfig = () => ({
+  get: jest.fn((key: string, fallback?: string) => ({
+    NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED: 'true',
+    RABBITMQ_URL: 'amqp://rabbit',
+    NOTIFICATION_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS: '1000',
+    NOTIFICATION_RPC_RETRIES: '0',
+  })[key] ?? fallback),
+}) as unknown as ConfigService;
+
+describe('Gateway to notification-service contract', () => {
+  it('keeps the gateway result identical while using the shared RMQ pattern', async () => {
+    const expected = { items: [{ _id: 'notification-1' }], total: 1, unreadCount: 1 };
+    const service = new NotificationServiceClient(
+      remoteConfig(),
+      { getMine: jest.fn() } as never,
+      { emitCreated: jest.fn(), emitUnreadCount: jest.fn() } as never,
+    );
+    const transport = { send: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(of({ result: expected })), close: jest.fn() };
+    (service as unknown as { client: unknown }).client = transport;
+
+    await expect(service.getMine('user-1', { page: 1 } as never, 'request-1')).resolves.toBe(expected);
+    expect(transport.send).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      NOTIFICATION_RPC.list,
+      expect.objectContaining({ data: { recipientId: 'user-1', query: { page: 1 } } }),
+    );
+    await service.onModuleDestroy();
+  });
+
+  it('uses only the local service and never sends to RabbitMQ when the flag is false', async () => {
+    const expected = { items: [], total: 0, unreadCount: 0 };
+    const local = { getMine: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(expected) };
+    const service = new NotificationServiceClient(
+      { get: jest.fn((_key: string, fallback?: string) => fallback) } as unknown as ConfigService,
+      local as never,
+      { emitCreated: jest.fn(), emitUnreadCount: jest.fn() } as never,
+    );
+    const transport = { send: jest.fn(), connect: jest.fn(), close: jest.fn() };
+    (service as unknown as { client: unknown }).client = transport;
+
+    await expect(service.getMine('user-1', {} as never)).resolves.toBe(expected);
+    expect(local.getMine).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(transport.send).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(transport.connect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    await service.onModuleDestroy();
+  });
+
+  it('delivers follow approval from the consumer to each compatible Socket.IO event once', async () => {
+    jest.spyOn(console, 'log').mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+    const event: FollowRequestApprovedEvent = {
+      eventId: 'event-socket-1',
+      eventType: FOLLOW_REQUEST_APPROVED_EVENT,
+      occurredAt: '2026-08-03T10:00:00.000Z',
+      payload: { requestId: 'request-1', actorId: 'actor-1', recipientId: 'recipient-1' },
+    };
+    const notification = { _id: 'notification-1', type: 'follow_request_approved' };
+    const consumer = new NotificationConsumer({
+      createFollowRequestApprovedNotification: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(notification),
+      getUnreadCounts: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ total: 1, followRequests: 1 }),
+    } as never);
+    const channel = { ack: jest.fn(), nack: jest.fn() };
+    const response = await consumer.followRequestApproved(event, {
+      getChannelRef: () => channel,
+      getMessage: () => ({ properties: { headers: {} } }),
+    } as never);
+
+    const gateway = new NotificationsGateway({} as never, {} as never, {} as never);
+    const roomEmitter = { emit: jest.fn() };
+    (gateway as unknown as { server: unknown }).server = {
+      to: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(roomEmitter),
+    };
+    const client = new NotificationServiceClient(remoteConfig(), {} as never, gateway);
+    const transport = { send: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(of(response)), close: jest.fn() };
+    (client as unknown as { client: unknown }).client = transport;
+
+    await client.publishFollowRequestApproved(event);
+
+    expect(roomEmitter.emit).toHaveBeenCalledWith('notification_created', notification);
+    expect(roomEmitter.emit).toHaveBeenCalledWith('notification:new', notification);
+    expect(roomEmitter.emit.mock.calls.filter(([name]) => name === 'notification_created')).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(roomEmitter.emit.mock.calls.filter(([name]) => name === 'notification:new')).toHaveLength(1);
+    await client.onModuleDestroy();
+    jest.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+});
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import { NotificationsService } from './notifications.service';
+
+describe('Notification event idempotency', () => {
+  const dto = {
+    eventId: 'event-duplicate',
+    actorId: '507f1f77bcf86cd799439011',
+    recipientId: '507f191e810c19729de860ea',
+    requestId: '507f1f77bcf86cd799439012',
+  };
+
+  it('returns the existing record when the same event is delivered twice', async () => {
+    const existing = { _id: 'notification-1' };
+    const repository = {
+      findByEventId: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(existing),
+      create: jest.fn(),
+    };
+    const gateway = { emitCreated: jest.fn() };
+    const service = new NotificationsService(repository as never, gateway as never);
+
+    await expect(service.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification(dto)).resolves.toBe(existing);
+    await expect(service.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification(dto)).resolves.toBe(existing);
+    expect(repository.findByEventId).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    expect(repository.create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(gateway.emitCreated).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('recovers from a concurrent duplicate-key insert', async () => {
+    const existing = { _id: 'notification-1' };
+    const repository = {
+      findByEventId: jest.fn().mockResolvedValueOnce(null).mockResolvedValueOnce(existing),
+      create: jest.fn().mockRejectedValue({ code: 11000 }),
+    };
+    const service = new NotificationsService(repository as never, { emitCreated: jest.fn() } as never);
+
+    await expect(service.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification(dto)).resolves.toBe(existing);
+    expect(repository.create).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+});
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+import { resolveRabbitMqConfig } from '../../../libs/common/src';
+import { NOTIFICATION_RMQ_DLQ, NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE, NOTIFICATION_RPC, NotificationRpcResponse } from '../../../libs/contracts/src';
+import { FollowRequestApprovedEvent } from '../../../libs/events/src';
+import { Injectable, OnApplicationBootstrap, OnModuleDestroy, ServiceUnavailableException } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { ConfigService } from '@nestjs/config';
+import { ClientProxy, ClientProxyFactory, RmqRecordBuilder, Transport } from '@nestjs/microservices';
+import { randomUUID } from 'crypto';
+import { firstValueFrom, retry, timeout, timer } from 'rxjs';
+import { NotificationCategory, NotificationQueryDto } from './dto/notification-query.dto';
+import { NotificationsGateway } from './notifications.gateway';
+import { NotificationsService } from './notifications.service';
+
+@Injectable()
+export class NotificationServiceClient implements OnApplicationBootstrap, OnModuleDestroy {
+  private client?: ClientProxy;
+  private rabbitReady = false;
+  private consecutiveFailures = 0;
+  private circuitOpenUntil = 0;
+
+  constructor(private readonly config: ConfigService, private readonly local: NotificationsService, private readonly gateway: NotificationsGateway) {
+    if (this.isRemoteEnabled()) this.getClient();
+  }
+
+  isRemoteEnabled(): boolean {
+    return String(this.config.get('NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED') ?? 'false').toLowerCase() === 'true';
+  }
+
+  isReady(): boolean {
+    return !this.isRemoteEnabled() || this.rabbitReady;
+  }
+
+  async onApplicationBootstrap(): Promise<void> {
+    if (!this.isRemoteEnabled()) return;
+    try { await this.getClient().connect(); }
+    catch { this.rabbitReady = false; }
+  }
+
+  async getMine(recipientId: string, query: NotificationQueryDto, requestId?: string) {
+    if (!this.isRemoteEnabled()) return this.local.getMine(recipientId, query);
+    return this.call(NOTIFICATION_RPC.list, { recipientId, query }, requestId);
+  }
+
+  async getUnreadCount(recipientId: string, category?: NotificationCategory, requestId?: string) {
+    if (!this.isRemoteEnabled()) return this.local.getUnreadCountByCategory(recipientId, category);
+    return this.call(NOTIFICATION_RPC.unreadCount, { recipientId, category }, requestId);
+  }
+
+  async markRead(recipientId: string, notificationId: string, requestId?: string) {
+    if (!this.isRemoteEnabled()) return this.local.markRead(recipientId, notificationId);
+    return this.call(NOTIFICATION_RPC.markRead, { recipientId, notificationId }, requestId);
+  }
+
+  async markAllRead(recipientId: string, requestId?: string) {
+    if (!this.isRemoteEnabled()) return this.local.markAllRead(recipientId);
+    return this.call(NOTIFICATION_RPC.markAllRead, { recipientId }, requestId);
+  }
+
+  async publishFollowRequestApproved(event: FollowRequestApprovedEvent): Promise<void> {
+    if (!this.isRemoteEnabled()) {
+      await this.local.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification({ ...event.payload, eventId: event.eventId });
+      return;
+    }
+    await this.call(event.eventType, event, event.payload.requestId, event.eventId);
+  }
+
+  async onModuleDestroy(): Promise<void> {
+    if (this.client) await this.client.close();
+  }
+
+  private getClient(): ClientProxy {
+    if (this.client) return this.client;
+    const rabbit = resolveRabbitMqConfig(
+      { get: (key) => {
+        const value = this.config.get(key);
+        return value === undefined || value === null ? undefined : String(value);
+      } },
+      'api-gateway',
+      true,
+    );
+    this.client = ClientProxyFactory.create({
+      transport: Transport.RMQ,
+      options: {
+        urls: [rabbit.url], socketOptions: rabbit.socketOptions,
+        queue: NOTIFICATION_RMQ_QUEUE,
+        queueOptions: { durable: true, arguments: { 'x-dead-letter-exchange': '', 'x-dead-letter-routing-key': NOTIFICATION_RMQ_DLQ } },
+      },
+    });
+    this.client.status.subscribe((status) => {
+      this.rabbitReady = status === 'connected' || status === 'unblocked';
+    });
+    return this.client;
+  }
+
+  private async call<T>(pattern: string, payload: unknown, requestId?: string, correlationId?: string): Promise<T> {
+    requestId ??= randomUUID();
+    correlationId ??= randomUUID();
+    if (Date.now() < this.circuitOpenUntil) throw new ServiceUnavailableException('Notification service circuit is open');
+    const record = new RmqRecordBuilder(payload).setOptions({ messageId: correlationId, persistent: true, headers: { correlationId, requestId } }).build();
+    try {
+      const response = await firstValueFrom(this.getClient().send<NotificationRpcResponse<T>>(pattern, record).pipe(
+        timeout(Number(this.config.get<string>('NOTIFICATION_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS') ?? 3000)),
+        retry({ count: Number(this.config.get<string>('NOTIFICATION_RPC_RETRIES') ?? 1), delay: (_error, count) => timer(100 * count) }),
+      ));
+      this.consecutiveFailures = 0;
+      if (response.realtime) {
+        const realtime = response.realtime;
+        if (realtime.notification) this.gateway.emitCreated(realtime.recipientId, realtime.notification, realtime.unreadCount, realtime.unreadCounts);
+        else this.gateway.emitUnreadCount(realtime.recipientId, realtime.unreadCount, realtime.unreadCounts);
+      }
+      return response.result;
+    } catch (error) {
+      this.consecutiveFailures += 1;
+      const threshold = Number(this.config.get<string>('NOTIFICATION_CIRCUIT_FAILURE_THRESHOLD') ?? 3);
+      if (this.consecutiveFailures >= threshold) {
+        this.circuitOpenUntil = Date.now() + Number(this.config.get<string>('NOTIFICATION_CIRCUIT_RESET_MS') ?? 15_000);
+        this.consecutiveFailures = 0;
+      }
+      throw new ServiceUnavailableException('Notification service is unavailable', { cause: error });
+    }
+  }
+}
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-import { Controller, Get, Param, Patch, Query, UseGuards } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { Controller, Get, Param, Patch, Query, Req, UseGuards } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { Request } from 'express';
 import { ApiBearerAuth, ApiTags } from '@nestjs/swagger';
 import { CurrentUser } from '../../common/decorators/current-user.decorator';
 import { SuperAdminPermissions } from '../../common/decorators/superadmin-permissions.decorator';
@@ -12,12 +13,16 @@ import {
  NotificationUnreadCountQueryDto,
 } from './dto/notification-query.dto';
 import { NotificationsService } from './notifications.service';
+import { NotificationServiceClient } from './notification-service.client';

@ApiTags('Notifications')
@ApiBearerAuth()
@Controller('notifications')
 export class NotificationsController {
-  constructor(private readonly notificationsService: NotificationsService) {}
+  constructor(
+    private readonly notificationsService: NotificationsService,
+    private readonly notificationClient: NotificationServiceClient,
+  ) {}

  @ApiBearerAuth()
  @UseGuards(SuperAdminJwtAuthGuard, SuperAdminPermissionsGuard)
@@ -29,8 +34,12 @@ export class NotificationsController {

  @UseGuards(JwtAuthGuard)
  @Get()
-  async getMine(@CurrentUser() user: JwtPayload, @Query() query: NotificationQueryDto) {
-    return this.notificationsService.getMine(user.sub, query);
+  async getMine(
+    @CurrentUser() user: JwtPayload,
+    @Query() query: NotificationQueryDto,
+    @Req() request: Request,
+  ) {
+    return this.notificationClient.getMine(user.sub, query, this.requestId(request));
  }

  @UseGuards(JwtAuthGuard)
@@ -38,8 +47,9 @@ export class NotificationsController {
  async getUnreadCount(
    @CurrentUser() user: JwtPayload,
    @Query() query: NotificationUnreadCountQueryDto,
+    @Req() request: Request,
  ) {
-    return this.notificationsService.getUnreadCountByCategory(user.sub, query.category);
+    return this.notificationClient.getUnreadCount(user.sub, query.category, this.requestId(request));
  }

  @UseGuards(JwtAuthGuard)
@@ -50,13 +60,22 @@ export class NotificationsController {

  @UseGuards(JwtAuthGuard)
  @Patch('read-all')
-  async markAllRead(@CurrentUser() user: JwtPayload) {
-    return this.notificationsService.markAllRead(user.sub);
+  async markAllRead(@CurrentUser() user: JwtPayload, @Req() request: Request) {
+    return this.notificationClient.markAllRead(user.sub, this.requestId(request));
  }

  @UseGuards(JwtAuthGuard)
  @Patch(':id/read')
-  async markRead(@CurrentUser() user: JwtPayload, @Param('id') notificationId: string) {
-    return this.notificationsService.markRead(user.sub, notificationId);
+  async markRead(
+    @CurrentUser() user: JwtPayload,
+    @Param('id') notificationId: string,
+    @Req() request: Request,
+  ) {
+    return this.notificationClient.markRead(user.sub, notificationId, this.requestId(request));
+  }
+
+  private requestId(request: Request): string | undefined {
+    const value = request.headers['x-request-id'];
+    return typeof value === 'string' ? value : undefined;
  }
 }
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { NotificationsService } from './notifications.service';
 import { NotificationsRepository } from './notifications.repository';
 import { Notification, NotificationSchema } from './schemas/notification.schema';
 import { UsersModule } from '../users/users.module';
+import { NotificationServiceClient } from './notification-service.client';

@Module({
  imports: [
@@ -17,7 +18,12 @@ import { UsersModule } from '../users/users.module';
    MongooseModule.forFeature([{ name: Notification.name, schema: NotificationSchema }]),
  ],
  controllers: [NotificationsController],
-  providers: [NotificationsService, NotificationsRepository, NotificationsGateway],
-  exports: [NotificationsService],
+  providers: [
+    NotificationsService,
+    NotificationsRepository,
+    NotificationsGateway,
+    NotificationServiceClient,
+  ],
+  exports: [NotificationsService, NotificationsGateway, NotificationServiceClient],
 })
 export class NotificationsModule {}
@@ -78,6 +78,13 @@ export class NotificationsRepository {
      .exec();
  }

+  async findByEventId(eventId: string): Promise<NotificationDocument | null> {
+    return this.notificationModel
+      .findOne({ eventId })
+      .populate({ path: 'actorId', select: 'name username stageName avatar isVerified isDisabled' })
+      .exec();
+  }
+
  async countUnreadByFilter(
    recipientId: string,
    filter: FilterQuery<NotificationDocument> = {},
@@ -45,11 +45,19 @@ export class NotificationsService {
      return null;
    }

+    if (dto.eventId) {
+      const existing = await this.notificationsRepository.findByEventId(dto.eventId);
+      if (existing) return existing;
+    }
+
    const resourceType = (dto.resourceType ?? this.resolveResourceType(dto.type)).trim();
    const deepLink = (dto.deepLink ?? this.buildDeepLink(dto.type, dto.referenceId, resourceType)).trim();
    const title = (dto.title ?? this.buildTitle(dto.type)).trim();
    const previewText = (dto.previewText ?? '').trim();
-    const notification = await this.notificationsRepository.create({
+    let notification;
+    try {
+      notification = await this.notificationsRepository.create({
+      eventId: dto.eventId,
      recipientId: new Types.ObjectId(dto.recipientId),
      actorId: new Types.ObjectId(dto.actorId),
      type: dto.type,
@@ -61,7 +69,14 @@ export class NotificationsService {
      metadata: dto.metadata ?? {},
      read: false,
      readAt: null,
-    });
+      });
+    } catch (error) {
+      if (dto.eventId && this.isDuplicateKeyError(error)) {
+        const existing = await this.notificationsRepository.findByEventId(dto.eventId);
+        if (existing) return existing;
+      }
+      throw error;
+    }

    const unreadCounts = await this.getUnreadCounts(dto.recipientId);
    const unreadCount = unreadCounts.total;
@@ -194,11 +209,13 @@ export class NotificationsService {
    actorId: string;
    recipientId: string;
    requestId: string;
+    eventId?: string;
  }) {
    const actorId = String(input.actorId);
    const recipientId = String(input.recipientId);
    const requestId = String(input.requestId);
    return this.create({
+      eventId: input.eventId,
      actorId,
      recipientId,
      type: 'follow_request_approved',
@@ -480,4 +497,9 @@ export class NotificationsService {
      type: { $in: NOTIFICATION_CATEGORY_TYPES[category] },
    });
  }
+
+  private isDuplicateKeyError(error: unknown): boolean {
+    return typeof error === 'object' && error !== null && 'code' in error
+      && (error as { code?: number }).code === 11000;
+  }
 }
@@ -28,13 +28,16 @@ export type NotificationType = (typeof NOTIFICATION_TYPES)[number];

@Schema({ timestamps: true, versionKey: false })
 export class Notification {
+  @Prop({ type: String, trim: true })
+  eventId?: string;
+
  @Prop({ type: Types.ObjectId, ref: User.name, required: true, index: true })
  recipientId!: Types.ObjectId;

  @Prop({ type: Types.ObjectId, ref: User.name, required: true, index: true })
  actorId!: Types.ObjectId;

-  @Prop({ required: true, enum: NOTIFICATION_TYPES })
+  @Prop({ type: String, required: true, enum: NOTIFICATION_TYPES })
  type!: NotificationType;

  @Prop({ type: Types.ObjectId })
@@ -69,6 +72,10 @@ NotificationSchema.index({ recipientId: 1, read: 1, type: 1, createdAt: -1 });
 NotificationSchema.index({ recipientId: 1, type: 1, createdAt: -1 });
 NotificationSchema.index({ recipientId: 1, resourceType: 1, createdAt: -1 });
 NotificationSchema.index({ referenceId: 1 });
+NotificationSchema.index(
+  { eventId: 1 },
+  { unique: true, partialFilterExpression: { eventId: { $type: 'string' } } },
+);
 NotificationSchema.index(
  { recipientId: 1, type: 1, referenceId: 1 },
  {
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+import { OutboxDispatcherService } from './outbox-dispatcher.service';
+
+describe('OutboxDispatcherService', () => {
+  const event = (attempts = 0) => ({
+    _id: 'mongo-id', eventId: 'follow.request.approved:request-1',
+    eventType: 'follow_request_approved_notification', status: 'processing', attempts,
+    createdAt: new Date('2026-08-03T12:00:00.000Z'),
+    payload: { actorId: 'actor', recipientId: 'recipient', requestId: 'request-1' },
+  });
+
+  function setup(values: Record<string, string> = {}) {
+    const model = {
+      findOneAndUpdate: jest.fn(), updateMany: jest.fn(), updateOne: jest.fn(),
+    };
+    model.updateMany.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ modifiedCount: 0 }) });
+    model.updateOne.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ modifiedCount: 1 }) });
+    const config = { get: jest.fn((key: string, fallback?: string) => values[key] ?? fallback) };
+    const client = { publishFollowRequestApproved: jest.fn() };
+    const logger = { log: jest.fn(), warn: jest.fn(), error: jest.fn() };
+    const connection = { db: { admin: () => ({ command: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ setName: 'rs0' }) }) } };
+    const service = new OutboxDispatcherService(model as never, connection as never, config as never, client as never, logger as never);
+    return { service, model, client, logger };
+  }
+
+  it('does not start or claim when either phase-1 flag is false', async () => {
+    const ctx = setup({ NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED: 'false', OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED: 'true' });
+    await ctx.service.onApplicationBootstrap();
+    await ctx.service.poll();
+    expect(ctx.model.findOneAndUpdate).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(ctx.client.publishFollowRequestApproved).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('uses an atomic claim and recovers expired processing leases', async () => {
+    const ctx = setup({ NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED: 'true', OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED: 'true', OUTBOX_LEASE_TIMEOUT_MS: '1000' });
+    ctx.model.findOneAndUpdate.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(event()) });
+    await ctx.service.claimNext(new Date('2026-08-03T12:00:05.000Z'));
+    expect(ctx.model.findOneAndUpdate).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ status: { $in: ['pending', 'failed'] }, $and: expect.any(Array) }),
+      { $set: { status: 'processing', lockedAt: expect.any(Date), lockedBy: expect.any(String) } },
+      { new: true, sort: { createdAt: 1 } },
+    );
+    await ctx.service.recoverExpiredLeases(new Date('2026-08-03T12:00:05.000Z'));
+    expect(ctx.model.updateMany).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ status: 'processing', lockedAt: { $lte: new Date('2026-08-03T12:00:04.000Z') } }),
+      expect.objectContaining({ $set: expect.objectContaining({ status: 'failed', lockedAt: null, lockedBy: null }) }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('applies bounded exponential backoff and moves exhausted events to dead', async () => {
+    const ctx = setup({
+      NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED: 'true', OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED: 'true', OUTBOX_BATCH_SIZE: '1',
+      OUTBOX_MAX_ATTEMPTS: '2', OUTBOX_RETRY_BASE_MS: '100', OUTBOX_RETRY_MAX_MS: '250',
+    });
+    expect(ctx.service.calculateBackoff(1)).toBe(100);
+    expect(ctx.service.calculateBackoff(4)).toBe(250);
+    ctx.model.findOneAndUpdate.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(event(1)) });
+    ctx.client.publishFollowRequestApproved.mockRejectedValue(new Error('amqp://secret:password@broker failed'));
+    await ctx.service.poll();
+    expect(ctx.model.updateOne).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ status: 'processing' }),
+      expect.objectContaining({ $set: expect.objectContaining({ status: 'dead', attempts: 2, lockedAt: null, lockedBy: null }) }),
+    );
+    expect(ctx.logger.warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.objectContaining({ error: expect.not.stringContaining('secret:password') }), 'OutboxDispatcherService');
+  });
+
+  it('retries after a lost RPC response and marks processed only after a later response', async () => {
+    const ctx = setup({ NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED: 'true', OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED: 'true', OUTBOX_BATCH_SIZE: '1' });
+    ctx.model.findOneAndUpdate
+      .mockReturnValueOnce({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(event(0)) })
+      .mockReturnValueOnce({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(event(1)) });
+    ctx.client.publishFollowRequestApproved
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('RPC response timeout'))
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined);
+    await ctx.service.poll();
+    await ctx.service.poll();
+    expect(ctx.client.publishFollowRequestApproved).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    expect(ctx.model.updateOne.mock.calls[0][1].$set.status).toBe('failed');
+    expect(ctx.model.updateOne.mock.calls[1][1].$set.status).toBe('processed');
+  });
+});
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+import { FOLLOW_REQUEST_APPROVED_EVENT } from '../../../libs/events/src';
+import { Injectable, OnApplicationBootstrap, OnModuleDestroy } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { ConfigService } from '@nestjs/config';
+import { InjectConnection, InjectModel } from '@nestjs/mongoose';
+import { randomUUID } from 'crypto';
+import { Connection, Model } from 'mongoose';
+import { AppLoggerService } from '../../infrastructure/logging/app-logger.service';
+import { NotificationServiceClient } from '../notifications/notification-service.client';
+import { OutboxEvent, OutboxEventDocument } from './schemas/outbox-event.schema';
+
+@Injectable()
+export class OutboxDispatcherService implements OnApplicationBootstrap, OnModuleDestroy {
+  private timer?: NodeJS.Timeout;
+  private running = false;
+  private stopped = false;
+  private readonly instanceId = `${process.env.HOSTNAME ?? 'gateway'}-${process.pid}-${randomUUID()}`;
+
+  constructor(
+    @InjectModel(OutboxEvent.name) private readonly model: Model<OutboxEventDocument>,
+    @InjectConnection() private readonly connection: Connection,
+    private readonly config: ConfigService,
+    private readonly client: NotificationServiceClient,
+    private readonly logger: AppLoggerService,
+  ) {}
+
+  async onApplicationBootstrap(): Promise<void> {
+    if (!this.enabled()) return;
+    await this.assertTransactionCapableMongo();
+    this.schedule(0);
+  }
+
+  async onModuleDestroy(): Promise<void> {
+    this.stopped = true;
+    if (this.timer) clearTimeout(this.timer);
+    while (this.running) await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 10));
+  }
+
+  async poll(): Promise<void> {
+    if (!this.enabled() || this.running || this.stopped) return;
+    this.running = true;
+    let claimed = 0;
+    let processed = 0;
+    let failed = 0;
+    try {
+      await this.recoverExpiredLeases();
+      for (let index = 0; index < this.number('OUTBOX_BATCH_SIZE', 25); index += 1) {
+        const event = await this.claimNext();
+        if (!event) break;
+        claimed += 1;
+        try {
+          await this.dispatch(event);
+          await this.markProcessed(event);
+          processed += 1;
+        } catch (error) {
+          await this.markFailed(event, error);
+          failed += 1;
+        }
+      }
+      if (claimed > 0) this.logger.log({ message: 'outbox poll completed', instanceId: this.instanceId, claimed, processed, failed }, OutboxDispatcherService.name);
+    } finally {
+      this.running = false;
+    }
+  }
+
+  async claimNext(now = new Date()): Promise<OutboxEventDocument | null> {
+    const staleBefore = new Date(now.getTime() - this.number('OUTBOX_LEASE_TIMEOUT_MS', 60_000));
+    return this.model.findOneAndUpdate(
+      {
+        eventType: 'follow_request_approved_notification',
+        status: { $in: ['pending', 'failed'] },
+        $and: [
+          { $or: [{ nextRetryAt: { $lte: now } }, { nextRetryAt: { $exists: false } }] },
+          { $or: [{ lockedAt: null }, { lockedAt: { $exists: false } }, { lockedAt: { $lte: staleBefore } }] },
+        ],
+      },
+      { $set: { status: 'processing', lockedAt: now, lockedBy: this.instanceId } },
+      { new: true, sort: { createdAt: 1 } },
+    ).exec();
+  }
+
+  async recoverExpiredLeases(now = new Date()): Promise<number> {
+    const staleBefore = new Date(now.getTime() - this.number('OUTBOX_LEASE_TIMEOUT_MS', 60_000));
+    const result = await this.model.updateMany(
+      { eventType: 'follow_request_approved_notification', status: 'processing', lockedAt: { $lte: staleBefore } },
+      { $set: { status: 'failed', nextRetryAt: now, lastError: 'processing lease expired', lockedAt: null, lockedBy: null } },
+    ).exec();
+    return result.modifiedCount;
+  }
+
+  calculateBackoff(attempts: number): number {
+    return Math.min(
+      this.number('OUTBOX_RETRY_MAX_MS', 60_000),
+      this.number('OUTBOX_RETRY_BASE_MS', 1_000) * (2 ** Math.max(0, attempts - 1)),
+    );
+  }
+
+  private async dispatch(event: OutboxEventDocument): Promise<void> {
+    await this.client.publishFollowRequestApproved({
+      eventId: event.eventId || `follow.request.approved:${String(event.payload.requestId ?? '')}`,
+      eventType: FOLLOW_REQUEST_APPROVED_EVENT,
+      occurredAt: event.createdAt.toISOString(),
+      payload: {
+        requestId: String(event.payload.requestId ?? ''),
+        actorId: String(event.payload.actorId ?? ''),
+        recipientId: String(event.payload.recipientId ?? ''),
+      },
+    });
+  }
+
+  private async markProcessed(event: OutboxEventDocument): Promise<void> {
+    await this.model.updateOne(
+      { _id: event._id, status: 'processing', lockedBy: this.instanceId },
+      { $set: { status: 'processed', processedAt: new Date(), lastError: '', lockedAt: null, lockedBy: null } },
+    ).exec();
+  }
+
+  private async markFailed(event: OutboxEventDocument, error: unknown): Promise<void> {
+    const attempts = event.attempts + 1;
+    const dead = attempts >= this.number('OUTBOX_MAX_ATTEMPTS', 8);
+    const message = this.safeError(error);
+    await this.model.updateOne(
+      { _id: event._id, status: 'processing', lockedBy: this.instanceId },
+      { $set: {
+        status: dead ? 'dead' : 'failed', attempts, lastError: message,
+        nextRetryAt: new Date(Date.now() + this.calculateBackoff(attempts)),
+        deadAt: dead ? new Date() : null, lockedAt: null, lockedBy: null,
+      } },
+    ).exec();
+    this.logger.warn({ eventId: event.eventId, attempts, status: dead ? 'dead' : 'failed', error: message }, OutboxDispatcherService.name);
+  }
+
+  private schedule(delay: number): void {
+    if (this.stopped) return;
+    this.timer = setTimeout(async () => {
+      try { await this.poll(); }
+      catch (error) { this.logger.error({ error: this.safeError(error) }, OutboxDispatcherService.name); }
+      finally { this.schedule(this.number('OUTBOX_POLL_INTERVAL_MS', 1_000)); }
+    }, delay);
+    this.timer.unref?.();
+  }
+
+  private enabled(): boolean {
+    return String(this.config.get('OUTBOX_DISPATCHER_ENABLED') ?? 'false').toLowerCase() === 'true'
+      && String(this.config.get('NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED') ?? 'false').toLowerCase() === 'true';
+  }
+
+  private async assertTransactionCapableMongo(): Promise<void> {
+    const hello = await this.connection.db?.admin().command({ hello: 1 }) as { setName?: string; msg?: string };
+    if (!hello?.setName && hello?.msg !== 'isdbgrid') throw new Error('Outbox dispatcher requires a transaction-capable MongoDB replica set or mongos');
+  }
+
+  private number(key: string, fallback: number): number {
+    return Number(this.config.get<string>(key) ?? fallback);
+  }
+
+  private safeError(error: unknown): string {
+    return (error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)).replace(/amqps?:\/\/[^@\s]+@/gi, 'amqp://[redacted]@').slice(0, 500);
+  }
+}
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
 import { MongooseModule } from '@nestjs/mongoose';
 import { NotificationsModule } from '../notifications/notifications.module';
 import { OutboxService } from './outbox.service';
+import { OutboxDispatcherService } from './outbox-dispatcher.service';
 import { OutboxEvent, OutboxEventSchema } from './schemas/outbox-event.schema';

@Module({
@@ -9,7 +10,7 @@ import { OutboxEvent, OutboxEventSchema } from './schemas/outbox-event.schema';
    MongooseModule.forFeature([{ name: OutboxEvent.name, schema: OutboxEventSchema }]),
    NotificationsModule,
  ],
-  providers: [OutboxService],
-  exports: [OutboxService],
+  providers: [OutboxService, OutboxDispatcherService],
+  exports: [OutboxService, OutboxDispatcherService],
 })
 export class OutboxModule {}
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { NotificationsService } from '../notifications/notifications.service';
 import { OutboxService } from './outbox.service';

 describe('OutboxService', () => {
-  const model = { create: jest.fn(), findById: jest.fn() };
+  const model = { create: jest.fn(), findOne: jest.fn(), updateOne: jest.fn() };
  const notifications = {
    createFollowNotification: jest.fn(),
    createFollowRequestApprovedNotification: jest.fn(),
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ describe('OutboxService', () => {
    jest.clearAllMocks();
  });

+  afterEach(() => {
+    delete process.env.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED;
+  });
+
  it('registers its processor and enqueues persisted follow events', async () => {
    service.onModuleInit();
    expect(queue.registerProcessor).toHaveBeenCalledWith('process_outbox_event', expect.any(Function));
@@ -28,47 +32,63 @@ describe('OutboxService', () => {
    await processor({});
    expect(processSpy).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith('');

-    model.create.mockResolvedValue({ id: 'event-1' });
+    model.create.mockResolvedValue({ eventId: 'event-1' });
    await service.enqueueFollowNotification('actor', 'recipient');
-    expect(model.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+    expect(model.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.objectContaining({
+      eventId: expect.any(String),
      eventType: 'follow_notification',
      payload: { actorId: 'actor', recipientId: 'recipient', referenceId: '' },
      status: 'pending',
-    });
+    }));
    expect(queue.enqueue).toHaveBeenCalledWith('process_outbox_event', { eventId: 'event-1' });

-    model.create.mockResolvedValue({ id: 'event-2' });
+    model.updateOne.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ upsertedCount: 1 }) });
    await service.enqueueFollowRequestApprovedNotification('actor', 'recipient', 'request');
-    expect(model.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
-      eventType: 'follow_request_approved_notification',
-      payload: { actorId: 'actor', recipientId: 'recipient', requestId: 'request' },
-      status: 'pending',
-    });
+    expect(model.updateOne).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      { eventId: 'follow.request.approved:request' },
+      expect.objectContaining({ $setOnInsert: expect.objectContaining({ eventType: 'follow_request_approved_notification' }) }),
+      { upsert: true, session: undefined },
+    );
  });

  it('processes follow request approval notifications once', async () => {
    const event = {
      id: 'e-approved',
+      eventId: 'e-approved',
      eventType: 'follow_request_approved_notification',
      status: 'pending',
      attempts: 0,
      payload: { actorId: 'owner', recipientId: 'requester', requestId: 'request' },
      save: jest.fn(),
    };
-    model.findById.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(event) });
+    model.findOne.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(event) });
    await service.processEvent(event.id);
    expect(notifications.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
      actorId: 'owner',
      recipientId: 'requester',
      requestId: 'request',
+      eventId: 'e-approved',
    });
    expect(event.status).toBe('processed');
  });

+  it('never lets a legacy Gateway worker create approval notifications in remote mode', async () => {
+    process.env.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED = 'true';
+    const event = {
+      id: 'legacy-job', eventId: 'approval-event', eventType: 'follow_request_approved_notification',
+      status: 'pending', attempts: 0, payload: {}, save: jest.fn(),
+    };
+    model.findOne.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(event) });
+    await service.processEvent('approval-event');
+    expect(notifications.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(event.status).toBe('pending');
+    expect(event.save).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
  it('ignores missing and already processed events', async () => {
-    model.findById.mockReturnValueOnce({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(null) });
+    model.findOne.mockReturnValueOnce({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(null) });
    await service.processEvent('missing');
-    model.findById.mockReturnValueOnce({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ status: 'processed' }) });
+    model.findOne.mockReturnValueOnce({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ status: 'processed' }) });
    await service.processEvent('done');
    expect(notifications.createFollowNotification).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
  });
@@ -78,7 +98,7 @@ describe('OutboxService', () => {
      id: 'e1', eventType: 'follow_notification', status: 'pending', attempts: 0,
      payload: { actorId: 'a', recipientId: 'r', referenceId: 'post' }, save: jest.fn(),
    };
-    model.findById.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(event) });
+    model.findOne.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(event) });
    await service.processEvent('e1');
    expect(notifications.createFollowNotification).toHaveBeenCalledWith('a', 'r', 'post');
    expect(event).toEqual(expect.objectContaining({ status: 'processed', attempts: 1, lastError: '', processedAt: expect.any(Date) }));
@@ -90,9 +110,9 @@ describe('OutboxService', () => {
      id: 'e2', eventType: 'follow_notification', status: 'pending', attempts: 2,
      payload: {}, save: jest.fn(),
    };
-    model.findById.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(event) });
+    model.findOne.mockReturnValue({ exec: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(event) });
    (notifications.createFollowNotification as jest.Mock).mockRejectedValue('network');
-    await service.processEvent('e2');
+    await expect(service.processEvent('e2')).rejects.toBe('network');
    expect(event).toEqual(expect.objectContaining({ status: 'failed', lastError: 'unknown outbox error', attempts: 3 }));
    expect(logger.warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.objectContaining({ eventId: 'e2' }), 'OutboxService');
    expect(event.save).toHaveBeenCalled();
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { Injectable, OnModuleInit } from '@nestjs/common';
 import { InjectModel } from '@nestjs/mongoose';
-import { Model } from 'mongoose';
+import { randomUUID } from 'crypto';
+import { ClientSession, Model } from 'mongoose';
 import { AppLoggerService } from '../../infrastructure/logging/app-logger.service';
 import { AppQueueService } from '../../infrastructure/queue/app-queue.service';
 import { NotificationsService } from '../notifications/notifications.service';
@@ -25,16 +26,12 @@ export class OutboxService implements OnModuleInit {

  async enqueueFollowNotification(actorId: string, recipientId: string, referenceId?: string): Promise<void> {
    const event = await this.outboxEventModel.create({
+      eventId: randomUUID(),
      eventType: 'follow_notification',
-      payload: {
-        actorId,
-        recipientId,
-        referenceId: referenceId ?? '',
-      },
+      payload: { actorId, recipientId, referenceId: referenceId ?? '' },
      status: 'pending',
    });
-
-    await this.queueService.enqueue(OutboxService.PROCESS_EVENT_JOB, { eventId: event.id });
+    await this.enqueuePersistedEvent(event.eventId);
  }

  async enqueueFollowRequestApprovedNotification(
@@ -42,24 +39,59 @@ export class OutboxService implements OnModuleInit {
    recipientId: string,
    requestId: string,
  ): Promise<void> {
-    const event = await this.outboxEventModel.create({
-      eventType: 'follow_request_approved_notification',
-      payload: {
-        actorId: String(actorId),
-        recipientId: String(recipientId),
-        requestId: String(requestId),
-      },
-      status: 'pending',
-    });
+    const eventId = await this.createFollowRequestApprovedEvent(actorId, recipientId, requestId);
+    await this.enqueuePersistedEvent(eventId);
+  }

-    await this.queueService.enqueue(OutboxService.PROCESS_EVENT_JOB, { eventId: event.id });
+  async createFollowRequestApprovedEvent(
+    actorId: string,
+    recipientId: string,
+    requestId: string,
+    session?: ClientSession,
+  ): Promise<string> {
+    const eventId = `follow.request.approved:${String(requestId)}`;
+    await this.outboxEventModel.updateOne(
+      { eventId },
+      { $setOnInsert: {
+        eventId,
+        eventType: 'follow_request_approved_notification',
+        payload: { actorId: String(actorId), recipientId: String(recipientId), requestId: String(requestId) },
+        correlationId: eventId,
+        requestId: String(requestId),
+        status: 'pending',
+        attempts: 0,
+        nextRetryAt: new Date(),
+      } },
+      { upsert: true, session },
+    ).exec();
+    return eventId;
+  }
+
+  async enqueuePersistedEvent(eventId: string): Promise<void> {
+    await this.queueService.enqueue(OutboxService.PROCESS_EVENT_JOB, { eventId });
+  }
+
+  async listByStatuses(statuses: OutboxEvent['status'][], limit = 100): Promise<OutboxEventDocument[]> {
+    return this.outboxEventModel.find({ status: { $in: statuses } }).sort({ createdAt: 1 }).limit(limit).exec();
+  }
+
+  async retryEvent(eventId: string): Promise<boolean> {
+    const result = await this.outboxEventModel.updateOne(
+      { eventId, status: { $in: ['failed', 'dead'] } },
+      { $set: { status: 'pending', nextRetryAt: new Date(), lastError: '', lockedAt: null, lockedBy: null }, $unset: { deadAt: 1 } },
+    ).exec();
+    return result.modifiedCount === 1;
  }

  async processEvent(eventId: string): Promise<void> {
-    const event = await this.outboxEventModel.findById(eventId).exec();
-    if (!event || event.status === 'processed') {
-      return;
-    }
+    const event = await this.outboxEventModel.findOne({
+      $or: [{ eventId }, ...(eventId.match(/^[a-f\d]{24}$/i) ? [{ _id: eventId }] : [])],
+    }).exec();
+    if (!event || event.status === 'processed') return;
+    // A legacy BullMQ job may still exist during cutover. The dispatcher is the sole
+    // owner of approval events whenever remote notification routing is enabled.
+    if (event.eventType === 'follow_request_approved_notification'
+      && process.env.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE_ENABLED === 'true') return;

    try {
      if (event.eventType === 'follow_notification') {
@@ -68,29 +100,22 @@ export class OutboxService implements OnModuleInit {
          String(event.payload.recipientId ?? ''),
          String(event.payload.referenceId ?? ''),
        );
-      }
-      if (event.eventType === 'follow_request_approved_notification') {
+      } else if (event.eventType === 'follow_request_approved_notification') {
        await this.notificationsService.createFollowRequestApprovedNotification({
          actorId: String(event.payload.actorId ?? ''),
          recipientId: String(event.payload.recipientId ?? ''),
          requestId: String(event.payload.requestId ?? ''),
+          eventId: event.eventId || event.id,
        });
      }
-
      event.status = 'processed';
      event.processedAt = new Date();
      event.lastError = '';
    } catch (error) {
      event.status = 'failed';
      event.lastError = error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'unknown outbox error';
-      this.logger.warn(
-        {
-          eventId: event.id,
-          eventType: event.eventType,
-          error: event.lastError,
-        },
-        OutboxService.name,
-      );
+      this.logger.warn({ eventId: event.eventId || event.id, eventType: event.eventType, error: event.lastError }, OutboxService.name);
+      throw error;
    } finally {
      event.attempts += 1;
      await event.save();
@@ -5,14 +5,26 @@ export type OutboxEventDocument = HydratedDocument<OutboxEvent>;

@Schema({ timestamps: true, versionKey: false })
 export class OutboxEvent {
+  declare createdAt: Date;
+
+  declare updatedAt: Date;
+
+  @Prop({ required: true })
+  eventId!: string;
+
  @Prop({ required: true, index: true })
  eventType!: string;

  @Prop({ required: true, type: Object })
  payload!: Record<string, unknown>;

-  @Prop({ required: true, default: 'pending', enum: ['pending', 'processed', 'failed'], index: true })
-  status!: 'pending' | 'processed' | 'failed';
+  @Prop({
+    required: true,
+    default: 'pending',
+    enum: ['pending', 'processing', 'processed', 'failed', 'dead'],
+    index: true,
+  })
+  status!: 'pending' | 'processing' | 'processed' | 'failed' | 'dead';

  @Prop({ required: true, default: 0, min: 0 })
  attempts!: number;
@@ -20,9 +32,31 @@ export class OutboxEvent {
  @Prop({ default: '' })
  lastError!: string;

+  @Prop({ type: Date, default: Date.now, index: true })
+  nextRetryAt!: Date;
+
+  @Prop({ type: Date, default: null, index: true })
+  lockedAt?: Date | null;
+
+  @Prop({ type: String, default: null })
+  lockedBy?: string | null;
+
+  @Prop({ default: '' })
+  correlationId!: string;
+
+  @Prop({ default: '' })
+  requestId!: string;
+
  @Prop({ type: Date, default: null, index: true })
  processedAt?: Date | null;
+
+  @Prop({ type: Date, default: null })
+  deadAt?: Date | null;
 }

 export const OutboxEventSchema = SchemaFactory.createForClass(OutboxEvent);
-OutboxEventSchema.index({ status: 1, createdAt: 1 });
+OutboxEventSchema.index(
+  { eventId: 1 },
+  { unique: true, partialFilterExpression: { eventId: { $type: 'string' } } },
+);
+OutboxEventSchema.index({ eventType: 1, status: 1, nextRetryAt: 1, lockedAt: 1, createdAt: 1 });
@@ -61,12 +61,12 @@ export class UsersRepository {
      .exec();
  }

-  async setFollowersCount(userId: string, followersCount: number): Promise<void> {
-    await this.userModel.findByIdAndUpdate(userId, { followersCount }, { new: false }).exec();
+  async setFollowersCount(userId: string, followersCount: number, session?: ClientSession): Promise<void> {
+    await this.userModel.findByIdAndUpdate(userId, { followersCount }, { new: false, session }).exec();
  }

-  async setFollowingCount(userId: string, followingCount: number): Promise<void> {
-    await this.userModel.findByIdAndUpdate(userId, { followingCount }, { new: false }).exec();
+  async setFollowingCount(userId: string, followingCount: number, session?: ClientSession): Promise<void> {
+    await this.userModel.findByIdAndUpdate(userId, { followingCount }, { new: false, session }).exec();
  }

  async setPresence(userId: string, isOnline: boolean, lastSeenAt: Date): Promise<void> {
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@
    "sourceMap": true,
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "baseUrl": "./",
+    "paths": {
+      "@app/contracts": ["libs/contracts/src"],
+      "@app/events": ["libs/events/src"],
+      "@app/common": ["libs/common/src"]
+    },
    "incremental": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "strict": true,
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+{
+  "extends": "./tsconfig.json",
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "rootDir": ".",
+    "outDir": "./dist/legacy",
+    "declaration": false,
+    "incremental": false
+  },
+  "include": ["src/**/*.ts", "libs/**/*.ts"],
+  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist", "test", "oudelaa_dashboard", "**/*.spec.ts"]
+}
				`@@ -0,0 +1 @@`
				`export * from './follow-request-approved.event';`