Software Development
Full Stack Development
Full stack engineers ship whole features alone. The value is not knowing everything equally; it is being able to carry an idea across every layer without waiting for someone else, which is exactly what small teams and startups need.
Start here
Do not start here if you have never programmed. Full stack is a second step, not a first one. Learn Frontend or Backend to a working standard first, then come back and add the other half.
Before you begin
- Comfortable in one language
- Can build and style a working web page
- Understands what an HTTP request is
Get genuinely good at one side first
The commonest failure on this path is being mediocre at both halves. Be solid at one, then extend.
Which half do you already have?
Complete that roadmap to at least its production stage before continuing here. This stage is a gate, not a suggestion.
Pick oneComing from the frontend
You already have the language and the user's perspective. What you lack is data modelling and the security mindset.
Coming from the frontend
You already have the language and the user's perspective. What you lack is data modelling and the security mindset.
What to learn
- You should already have: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, a framework
- Next: SQL, API design, authentication
Next: The shared middle.
Pick oneComing from the backend
You already have data and correctness. What you lack is layout, state and accessibility.
Coming from the backend
You already have data and correctness. What you lack is layout, state and accessibility.
What to learn
- You should already have: a language, SQL, API design
- Next: CSS layout, component state, accessibility
Next: The shared middle.
The shared middle
The layer both halves meet in, which neither roadmap alone covers well.
RequiredData flow across the boundary
Most full stack bugs live exactly here: the shape the server sends is not the shape the client expected.
Data flow across the boundary
Most full stack bugs live exactly here: the shape the server sends is not the shape the client expected.
What to learn
- Serialisation
- Validating on both sides
- Shared types
- Optimistic updates
- Loading and error states as first-class
Tools
- TypeScript
- Zod or an equivalent validator
Practice
Next: Authentication across the whole stack.
RequiredEnd-to-end authentication
Auth is the feature that touches every layer at once, which is why it is the one that most exposes a shaky understanding.
End-to-end authentication
Auth is the feature that touches every layer at once, which is why it is the one that most exposes a shaky understanding.
What to learn
- Sessions and cookies
- Protecting routes on the server
- Hiding UI is not security
- Roles and permissions
- Session lifetime
Practice
Next: A meta-framework that owns both halves.
A framework that spans both
Modern full stack work happens mostly in frameworks that render on both sides.
RequiredA full stack framework
Server rendering, routing, data loading and deployment in one model. This is what most full stack jobs actually use.
A full stack framework
Server rendering, routing, data loading and deployment in one model. This is what most full stack jobs actually use.
What to learn
- Server versus client rendering
- Routing and layouts
- Server-side data loading
- Mutations and revalidation
- Caching and its invalidation
Tools
- Next.js
- or SvelteKit
- or Nuxt
- or Rails / Laravel / Django for the classic model
First understand
- A frontend framework
- API design
Project
intermediateA complete small product
A multi-user application with sign-up, a database, permissions, one list-and-detail flow, and one form that writes data. Deployed and reachable.
- A full stack framework
- PostgreSQL
- A hosting platform
You can take a product idea to a working, deployed application by yourself.
Next: The parts that only appear once real people use it.
Production concerns
The things that only surface once the application is not just yours.
RequiredThe unglamorous essentials
Every real product needs these, and every tutorial skips them.
The unglamorous essentials
Every real product needs these, and every tutorial skips them.
What to learn
- File upload and storage
- Transactional email
- Background jobs
- Scheduled tasks
- Payments in outline
Tools
- Object storage
- An email API
- A queue
Next: Testing what matters.
RecommendedTesting across layers
Full stack surface area is large. A few well-chosen tests are worth more than exhaustive unit coverage of one layer.
Testing across layers
Full stack surface area is large. A few well-chosen tests are worth more than exhaustive unit coverage of one layer.
What to learn
- Unit tests for logic
- Integration tests for API and database
- One end-to-end path per critical flow
Tools
- Vitest or Jest
- Playwright
Next: Operating it.
RequiredDeploy, monitor, iterate
Owning a feature end to end includes owning it after release. That ownership is the actual job description.
Deploy, monitor, iterate
Owning a feature end to end includes owning it after release. That ownership is the actual job description.
What to learn
- CI/CD
- Database migrations in a pipeline
- Error tracking
- Analytics
- Rolling back safely
Tools
- GitHub Actions
- An error tracker
- A hosting platform
Project
advancedA product with real users
Put your application in front of at least ten people who are not you. Add error tracking, watch what actually breaks, and fix it based on evidence rather than guesses.
- An error tracker
- Analytics
- Your deployment platform
You have changed a system in response to how strangers used it, which is the whole job.
Where this leads
You do not have to pick one now. These are the directions this path opens up once you are working.
Software Engineering
Go deeper on design, testing and working in a large codebase.
View roadmapSolutions Architecture
Design across systems and teams rather than within one product.
View roadmapDevOps Engineering
Own delivery and reliability for other engineers.
View roadmapAI Application Development
Add model-backed features to products you already know how to build.
View roadmapContinue your journey
The paths closest to this one. Skills overlap more than the job titles suggest.
Frontend Development
Build the part of the product people actually touch.
ViewBackend Development
Build the systems that store, protect and serve everyone's data.
ViewSoftware Engineering
Write code other people can read, run and rely on.
ViewAI Application Development
Build products people use, that happen to have a model inside.
ViewYou do not have to do this alone
Our programs are free, taught live, and built around the same progression. Join one and work through it alongside other people.