seniorSpring

How does Spring Boot handle backpressure in reactive WebFlux pipelines under overload?

Updated May 17, 2026

Short answer

WebFlux uses reactive streams to signal demand and prevent overload.

Deep explanation

In overload scenarios, WebFlux uses backpressure signals so downstream consumers control data flow. Operators like buffer, limitRate, and onBackpressureDrop manage overload behavior. Without it, memory overflow or latency spikes occur.

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