clean architecture
compound.compound. a way of organizing computer code so that different parts are kept separate and easy to change. It helps developers update the database or the user interface without breaking the main business rules.
compound. a software design philosophy that emphasizes the separation of concerns by organizing code into concentric layers. The core business logic remains independent of external frameworks, databases, and user interfaces, ensuring the system is testable and maintainable.
Our team uses clean architecture to keep the code organized.
By adopting clean architecture, the startup was able to swap their entire database system in a weekend without modifying any core business logic.
The primary benefit of clean architecture lies in its decoupling of high-level policies from low-level details, which facilitates easier unit testing and prevents framework lock-in over the software's lifecycle.
Coined by the American software engineer Robert C. Martin in 2012, the term combines the adjective clean, denoting order and the absence of clutter, with the architectural metaphor for structural design.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated July 22, 2026