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🧠 Learning NestJS Microservices with AI: A Developer’s Journey with ChatGPT

Mar 30, 2025

🚀 Introduction

In today’s fast-evolving tech world, staying updated with frameworks like NestJS especially with its microservices capabilities — can feel overwhelming. But what if you had a personal mentor available 24/7?

That’s exactly how I use ChatGPT as a learning companion that helps me break down concepts, solve errors, structure projects, and even challenge my understanding.

In this post, I’ll walk you through how I’m using AI to learn NestJS Microservices effectively. I’ll also share actionable prompts, tips, and workflows that other developers can adapt to their own learning journey.

🔍 Why NestJS Microservices?

NestJS brings modular architecture, TypeScript support, and robust tooling — all ideal for scalable microservices. If you’re building enterprise-grade backend systems, NestJS + Microservices is a winning combo.

But learning it all from scratch? That’s where ChatGPT becomes a game-changer.

🧑‍💻 The Secret: I Used ChatGPT Like a Senior Dev — Not a Code Machine

Here’s the mindset shift that changed the game for me:

Instead of asking:

“Give me a NestJS microservice example.”

I said:

“Hey ChatGPT, you’re a 10+ years experienced full-stack developer with deep backend architecture knowledge. Your job is to guide me like a mentor. I want to learn NestJS microservices thoroughly — both theory and implementation — by building real-world projects step by step.”

This flipped the dynamic completely.

It wasn’t just feeding me code. It was teaching, questioning, and structuring a learning path tailored to me.

đź“… My Prompt to Structure the Journey:

Hey ChatGPT, you're a 10+ years experienced backend architect. I want to  
learn NestJS microservices deeply. Give me 5 beginner-friendly but  
real-world project ideas that each teach me a microservices concept.  
For each, explain: 
 
- The main concept 
- What two or more services it needs 
- How they’ll communicate (TCP, Redis, RabbitMQ, gRPC, etc.) 
- Suggested file structure 
- Bonus: How to dockerize and scale later 
 
Guide me one project at a time like a mentor.

đź“Š What I Got Back: My Personal Microservices Roadmap

  1. User + Product Services
    Concept: Basic communication via TCP
    Description: Learn message patterns and NestJS transport layers
  2. Order Processing
    Concept: Queue-based async messaging
    Description: RabbitMQ queues for task delegation
  3. Notification Service
    Concept: Event-driven architecture
    Description: Services emit and consume events
  4. Auth Gateway
    Concept: Central auth handling + service tokens
    Description: Central login + token validation with guards
  5. Cron Tasks Scheduler
    Concept: Background jobs in microservices
    Description: Scheduled jobs trigger messages to services

Each project came with architecture diagrams, Docker hints, and best practices. That’s what set this approach apart.

đź”® I Embedded Theory in Practice

Whenever I hit a new concept like event patterns or broker strategies, I asked:

Explain message brokers in NestJS microservices with real-world analogies. Now help me use Redis as a broker between 2 services. Show full example.

Or:

What are the pros and cons of using RabbitMQ vs Redis for NestJS microservices communication?

This way, theory never felt disconnected. It was part of the build.

🎓 Better Prompts = Better Learning

Here are the types of prompts that made a difference:

Use Case: Conceptual Learning
“You’re my mentor. Teach me NestJS message patterns with diagrams and questions to test my understanding.”

Use Case: Hands-on Practice
“Guide me through building a payment service that retries failed messages using RabbitMQ.”

Use Case: Debugging
“I’m getting ECONNREFUSED in a TCP-based NestJS microservice setup. Walk me through common causes step-by-step.”

Use Case: DevOps Help
“Help me dockerize and run a Redis + 2 microservice architecture using Docker Compose.”

🚀 Tips for Developers Using AI to Learn NestJS

  1. Assign ChatGPT a role — Architect, Mentor, Reviewer, Coach.
  2. Ask layered questions — Theory > Real-World Use > Implementation > Best Practices.
  3. Request reviews — “Here’s my folder structure. How can I improve modularity?”
  4. Keep a learning log — Reflect after each project: What did I build? What concept did I understand?
  5. Challenge yourself — “Ask me 3 interview questions about this architecture I just built.”

🚀 Final Thoughts

With the right mindset, ChatGPT isn’t just a Q&A tool. It’s a personal backend mentor. It’s like having a senior dev constantly available to guide your journey, explain complex topics, challenge your knowledge, and walk you through end-to-end builds.

If you’re learning NestJS Microservices — try this approach. Assign roles. Set context. Ask smart. Build practical. Learn deeply.

Want access to my roadmap, prompt templates, or Docker boilerplates? Drop a comment or connect with me on LinkedIn — happy to share!

Deepak Mandal