Medians Roadmaps
Complete Node.js Developer Roadmap
A comprehensive roadmap for mastering Node.js from fundamentals to advanced concepts, covering backend development, APIs, databases, security, microservices, and production-ready applications.
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Overview
Learning Path
JavaScript Fundamentals
Master JavaScript basics: variables (let, const, var), data types, operators, type coercion, template literals, destructuring, spread/rest operators, and JavaScript execution context.
Advanced JavaScript Concepts
Learn closures, scope, hoisting, this keyword, prototypes, prototype chain, call/apply/bind, higher-order functions, functional programming concepts, and JavaScript design patterns.
Async JavaScript & Promises
Master asynchronous programming: callbacks, callback hell, promises, promise chaining, Promise.all/race/allSettled, async/await syntax, error handling with try-catch, and microtasks vs macrotasks.
Node.js Introduction & Setup
Install Node.js and npm, understand Node.js runtime, V8 engine, event-driven architecture, non-blocking I/O, REPL, running scripts, Node.js vs browser JavaScript, and global objects (process, __dirname, __filename).
Node.js Core Modules
Master built-in modules: fs (file system), path, os, http, https, events, util, crypto, url, querystring. Learn module patterns, exporting/importing, and module caching.
NPM & Package Management
Master npm: package.json, package-lock.json, semantic versioning, installing packages (local/global), npm scripts, npx, creating packages, publishing to npm, and understanding node_modules. Learn about yarn and pnpm alternatives.
ES Modules in Node.js
Learn ES6 modules: import/export syntax, default vs named exports, .mjs files, 'type': 'module' in package.json, differences from CommonJS, interoperability, and module resolution.
Event Loop & Async Patterns
Deep dive into Node.js event loop: call stack, task queue, microtask queue, phases of event loop (timers, I/O, poll, check, close), setImmediate vs setTimeout, process.nextTick, and blocking vs non-blocking operations.
Streams & Buffers
Master Node.js streams: readable, writable, duplex, transform streams. Learn pipe, pipeline, stream events, backpressure, working with buffers, encoding, and stream use cases (file processing, HTTP).
Error Handling & Debugging
Learn error handling: try-catch with async/await, error-first callbacks, custom error classes, operational vs programmer errors, uncaughtException, unhandledRejection, debugging with Node inspector, console methods, and debugging tools.
HTTP Server & Routing
Build HTTP servers with http module: createServer, handling requests/responses, routing, URL parsing, query strings, HTTP methods, status codes, headers, and request body parsing.
Express.js Fundamentals
Master Express.js: app setup, routing, route parameters, query strings, request/response objects, middleware concept, app.use(), app.get/post/put/delete, express.json(), express.urlencoded(), and serving static files.
Express Middleware
Deep dive into middleware: built-in middleware, third-party middleware (morgan, cors, helmet), custom middleware, error-handling middleware, middleware execution order, next() function, and middleware patterns.
RESTful API Design
Learn REST principles: resources, HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE), status codes, URI design, statelessness, HATEOAS, API versioning, pagination, filtering, sorting, and REST best practices.
Request Validation
Implement input validation: Joi, express-validator, Yup schemas, validation middleware, sanitization, custom validators, error messages, and validation patterns for APIs.
MongoDB & Mongoose
Master MongoDB: installation, MongoDB Atlas, CRUD operations, data modeling, schemas with Mongoose, models, queries, population, virtuals, middleware (pre/post hooks), validation, and indexing.
SQL Databases with PostgreSQL
Learn PostgreSQL: installation, SQL basics (SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE), joins, transactions, indexes, node-postgres (pg), connection pools, parameterized queries, and migrations.
ORMs & Query Builders
Master Sequelize or TypeORM for SQL databases, Prisma ORM, query builders like Knex.js, schema definition, migrations, seeders, associations, and ORM best practices.
Authentication with JWT
Implement JWT authentication: user registration, password hashing with bcrypt, login, JWT token generation, token verification, refresh tokens, token expiration, and protecting routes with auth middleware.
Authorization & Role-Based Access
Implement authorization: role-based access control (RBAC), permission systems, route guards, user roles, access control middleware, and authorization patterns.
OAuth & Social Authentication
Implement OAuth 2.0: authentication flows, Passport.js, social login (Google, Facebook, GitHub), OAuth strategies, session vs token-based auth, and third-party authentication.
Node.js Security Best Practices
Master security: SQL injection prevention, XSS protection, CSRF tokens, helmet.js, rate limiting, input sanitization, secure headers, HTTPS, environment variables, secrets management, and OWASP top 10.
Testing with Jest
Master testing: unit tests, integration tests, test-driven development (TDD), Jest setup, test suites, assertions, mocking, spies, stubs, test coverage, and testing best practices.
API Testing & Supertest
Learn API testing: Supertest for HTTP assertions, testing REST endpoints, integration tests for APIs, testing authentication flows, testing middleware, and end-to-end testing.
File Upload & Processing
Implement file uploads: Multer middleware, file validation, file size limits, file type checking, storing files locally vs cloud (AWS S3, Cloudinary), streaming large files, and image processing with Sharp.
Email & Notifications
Implement email functionality: Nodemailer setup, SMTP configuration, email templates (Handlebars, EJS), sending transactional emails, email queues, SendGrid/Mailgun integration, and notification systems.
Template Engines & SSR
Learn server-side rendering: EJS, Pug, Handlebars template engines, dynamic HTML generation, template inheritance, partials, passing data to views, and when to use SSR vs SPA.
WebSockets & Socket.io
Master real-time communication: WebSocket protocol, Socket.io setup, rooms and namespaces, broadcasting, events, real-time chat applications, authentication with Socket.io, and scaling WebSocket connections.
GraphQL with Apollo Server
Learn GraphQL: schema definition language (SDL), types, queries, mutations, subscriptions, resolvers, Apollo Server setup, DataLoader for batching, N+1 problem, and GraphQL best practices.
Caching with Redis
Master caching strategies: Redis installation, Redis data types, caching patterns (cache-aside, write-through), cache invalidation, Redis with Node.js (ioredis), session storage, rate limiting, and pub/sub.
Message Queues & Background Jobs
Learn message queues: Bull/BullMQ for job queues, RabbitMQ basics, queue patterns, worker processes, job scheduling, retry logic, priority queues, and handling long-running tasks asynchronously.
TypeScript with Node.js
Master TypeScript: TypeScript setup with Node.js, tsconfig.json, types and interfaces, generics, decorators, TypeScript with Express, type definitions (@types), ts-node, and compiling TypeScript projects.
Advanced TypeScript Patterns
Learn advanced TypeScript: utility types, mapped types, conditional types, type guards, discriminated unions, decorators, dependency injection with TypeScript, and type-safe API development.
API Documentation
Learn API documentation: Swagger/OpenAPI specification, swagger-jsdoc, swagger-ui-express, API versioning documentation, Postman collections, API documentation best practices, and keeping docs in sync with code.
Logging & Monitoring
Implement logging and monitoring: Winston/Pino loggers, log levels, structured logging, log rotation, monitoring tools (PM2, New Relic, Datadog), APM, metrics collection, health checks, and alerting.
Error Tracking & Debugging Production
Learn production debugging: Sentry for error tracking, source maps, debugging production issues, error aggregation, stack traces, performance monitoring, and incident response workflows.
Docker Fundamentals
Master Docker: Docker installation, Dockerfile creation, building images, running containers, Docker commands, volumes, networking, multi-stage builds, .dockerignore, and Docker best practices for Node.js.
Docker Compose & Orchestration
Learn Docker Compose: docker-compose.yml, multi-container applications, service dependencies, environment variables, volumes with compose, networking between services, and development workflows with Docker.
CI/CD Pipelines
Implement CI/CD: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, automated testing in pipelines, deployment automation, environment management, secrets in CI/CD, deployment strategies (blue-green, canary), and rollback procedures.
Performance Optimization
Master performance: profiling with Node.js profiler, identifying bottlenecks, memory leaks detection, CPU profiling, load testing (Artillery, k6), database query optimization, connection pooling, and performance monitoring.
Scaling Node.js Applications
Learn scaling strategies: clustering with Node.js cluster module, PM2 process manager, load balancing (Nginx, HAProxy), horizontal vs vertical scaling, stateless design, session management in distributed systems, and microservices.
Microservices Architecture
Master microservices: service decomposition, API gateway pattern, service discovery, inter-service communication (REST, gRPC), distributed tracing, circuit breakers, service mesh, and microservices best practices.
Event-Driven Architecture
Learn event-driven patterns: event sourcing, CQRS pattern, event bus, domain events, eventual consistency, saga pattern, Kafka for event streaming, and building reactive systems.
Serverless with AWS Lambda
Master serverless: AWS Lambda functions, serverless framework, API Gateway, Lambda triggers, cold starts, serverless deployment, environment variables, layers, and serverless best practices for Node.js.
Cloud Deployment & Infrastructure
Learn cloud deployment: AWS (EC2, ECS, EKS), deployment to Heroku, DigitalOcean, Vercel, Railway, environment configuration, domain setup, SSL certificates, CDN integration, and cloud monitoring.
Security Hardening & Best Practices
Advanced security: security audits, npm audit, dependency scanning, secrets management (Vault, AWS Secrets Manager), security headers deep dive, rate limiting strategies, DDoS protection, and security testing.
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