Release Management for Microservices

Microservices architectures often use a multirepo approach, where each service has its own repository and CI/CD pipeline, enabling independent deployment and versioning, which is ideal for hosted applications like Netflix or Semaphore CI/CD. However, this approach can complicate release management, especially for on-premise applications, due to the scattered change history and the absence of a clear snapshot of integrated versions. Conversely, a monorepo strategy consolidates all microservices into a single repository with a unified CI/CD pipeline, simplifying release creation, testing, and change tracking, while providing a complete version history that aids in diagnosing integration issues. Although the monorepo approach offers clearer visibility and easier rollback capabilities, it introduces challenges like increased strain on the CI server and requires tools to manage code protection and test reports. Companies must weigh these trade-offs when choosing between multirepos and monorepos, with the latter being more suitable when microservices are somewhat coupled, as it explicitly maintains the relationships between services.