Module Federation vs. Centralized Updates

Mruk says his team mainly uses over-the-air updates to respond to incidents, critical issues, or legal needs, rather than for continuous deployment. Klarna releases about once a week, but still wanted a way to respond quickly to urgent problems. Chapple says Zephyr Cloud began exploring mobile after customers asked to bring Module Federation ideas to mobile apps.

Mruk says his team sends only changed files, reducing the data needed for an update. He clarifies that this is not Hermes bytecode diffing: the system compares files. He describes OTA as a way to transport updates to a device, separate from how the app runs them, including whether it uses multiple JavaScript runtimes.

Mruk says Module Federation can apply across web, backend-for-frontend services, AI work, and React Native, giving teams a reusable pattern. Chapple says different products have different needs, and teams can choose an existing OTA service, self-host where supported, or build a solution. Mruk sees federation as useful for moving quickly and giving teams deployment responsibility.

Chapple raises the challenge of keeping separately released features in sync. Both note that remote updates cannot change the app's native runtime binaries, and Mruk warns that Module Federation can be a footgun without careful management. Chapple describes a Callstack case study that used semantic versioning across backend, web, and React Native components to express compatibility ranges.

Mruk advises teams to weigh the benefits of faster updates against added operational and code complexity; for some apps, a store release every two weeks may be enough. Chapple sees a different use case for small startups: federated, versioned changes can help a small team test ideas quickly. Both agree the choice depends on the product and team.