The Ground-Up Path · 8 phases · 15 modules
Your map, module by module
Work from the top down. Every module you finish lights its concepts on your map, and every ★ along the way is a mini-capstone: one quadrant of the diagram you'll assemble at the very end.
Phase 1
M01How Technology WorksWhat is technology actually made of?0/6 lessons0M02Inside a ComputerWhat happens inside the device running software?0/6 lessons0M03Programming LiteracyWhat are engineers actually writing when they write code?0/7 lessons0Build the foundational mental model
Phase 2
M04The Internet and the WebWhat happens when you enter a URL into a browser?0/6 lessons0M05The Anatomy of an ApplicationWhat are the major parts of a software product?0/5 lessons0M06APIs, Identity, and System CommunicationHow do different software systems communicate — and how do they know who's asking?0/5 lessons0★Mini-capstone A — Trace the requestTrace a complete authenticated request from browser to backend and back, annotating each step.Begin →Understand the internet and software applications
Phase 3
M07Data and DatabasesHow does an application remember and retrieve information?0/7 lessons0M08Cloud and InfrastructureWhere does software run after it leaves an engineer's laptop?0/6 lessons0★Mini-capstone B — Read the data halfRead the lower half of a realistic architecture diagram: where does each kind of data live?Begin →Understand data and infrastructure
Phase 4
M09System ArchitectureHow do the pieces of a software system fit together?0/6 lessons0M10Scale, Performance, and ReliabilityWhat changes when a system becomes large or important?0/5 lessons0★Mini-capstone C — The sentence, completeRead the full target sentence unassisted, annotating what could go wrong at each step.Begin →Learn to read architecture and understand technical tradeoffs
Phase 5
M11How Engineers Build SoftwareHow does an idea become a change to a real software product?0/8 lessons0Understand professional software development
Phase 6
M12Testing, Release, and DeploymentHow does code safely move from an engineer's computer to customers?0/6 lessons0M13Production, Monitoring, and IncidentsWhat happens after software is launched?0/5 lessons0★Mini-capstone D — The life of a changeFollow one code change end to end: ticket → PR → pipeline → release → incident → postmortem.Begin →Understand how software reaches and serves users
Phase 7
M14Security and AccessHow do systems protect data — and how deep does “who are you” really go?0/5 lessons0Understand security, identity, and access
Phase 8
M15AI and LLM LiteracyHow does an AI feature fit into a normal software product?0/5 lessons0Final Capstone — Read a Complete Technical SystemThe four quadrants assemble into one architecture diagram. Reading it fluently is reaching “1”.Begin →