“Clean Architecture” has become a badge of honor in the .NET world. If you’re building a new API, there’s a good chance someone on your team insists on splitting the project into MyApp.Core, MyApp.Application, MyApp.Infrastructure, MyApp.Web, MyApp.Domain, and half a dozen interfaces.
But here’s the hard truth: in 80% of real-world .NET projects, this level of separation is unnecessary, counterproductive, and slows you down.
Let’s unpack the trap — and how to avoid it.
🎯 What Clean Architecture Promises
Clean Architecture, as popularized by Uncle Bob (Robert C. Martin), is about:
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Separation of concerns
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Independence from frameworks
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Testability
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Decoupled layers
In theory, your business rules don’t depend on the web framework, the database, or the outside world. That’s great — if you’re writing a library, a long-lived enterprise platform, or something that will evolve dramatically over years.
But what if… you’re just building an internal API that reads from SQL and writes to Redis?
🪤 The Trap: When Clean Becomes Clutter
Here’s what we see too often in .NET shops:
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Every service is behind an interface, even if there’s only one implementation.
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Business logic is split across
Domain,Application, andInfrastructure, even for trivial tasks. -
A simple HTTP endpoint touches 5 layers before doing a single useful thing.
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The solution has 10 projects… to support 5 endpoints.
You didn’t get architecture — you got indirection.
🧠 Real Talk: What You Actually Need
Before reaching for Clean Architecture, ask:
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How complex is the domain?
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How likely are we to swap implementations (e.g., change databases)?
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How long will this project live?
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Is our team really benefiting from the overhead?
Here’s a practical alternative:
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Start with a monolithic project using folders (not projects) for structure:
Controllers/,Services/,Data/,Models/ -
Add layers when they’re needed, not before.
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Use interfaces only where it creates actual flexibility (e.g., mocking time or storage).
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Write tests around business logic, not HTTP.
🧪 Minimal API, Maximum Clarity
.NET 8’s Minimal APIs are perfect for teams that want to avoid unnecessary ceremony.
app.MapPost(“/orders”, async (OrderDto dto, OrderService svc) =>
{
var result = await svc.CreateOrder(dto);
return Results.Ok(result);
});
Your service can live in a single class file — tested, clear, and performant. No need for a full-blown IOrderRepository, IUnitOfWork, or CQRS pipeline… unless you really need them.
✂️ Case Study: Refactoring Down
At [Your Company], we took a microservice built with Clean Architecture and shrank it from:
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7 projects → 1
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125 files → 42
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Avg response time → 30% faster
We removed unnecessary interfaces, moved application logic into cohesive services, and kept only the abstractions that mattered (e.g., IDateTimeProvider, IExternalApiClient). It became easier to onboard new devs, easier to debug, and faster to deploy.
📏 Use Clean Architecture When…
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You’re building a domain that will grow significantly (e.g., ERP, banking, insurance)
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You have multiple implementations or shared business logic across systems
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You plan to publish core business rules as a reusable library
🧘 Prefer Simplicity When…
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Your domain is straightforward (CRUD APIs, internal tooling)
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Your team is small or needs to move fast
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You’re not replacing your database any time soon
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You can easily test your logic in isolation without abstractions
🚀 TL;DR
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Clean Architecture isn’t bad — it’s just not always needed.
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Overengineering hurts more than it helps for small to mid-sized .NET apps.
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Start simple. Refactor as complexity justifies it.
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You can still write testable, maintainable code with one project and zero interfaces.
🧰 Bonus: Starter Template Without the Bloat?
Want a Minimal API starter with structure, OpenTelemetry, MediatR only if you need it, and no unnecessary layering? Let me know — I’ll drop a link or generate one for you.
Let’s keep .NET development clean — but not clean for the sake of it.