AN ORDERED STUDY PLAN
Node.js learning roadmap.
Understand the runtime and build reliable HTTP APIs. Work through 5 modules, then use the connected questions to check what you can explain without the notes.
- STEP 1
Node internals
- How can Node handle many requests with one JavaScript thread? · 2 min
- What do V8, libuv and the thread pool do? · 2 min
- What are the main event-loop phases? · 2 min
- Worker thread vs process: when would I use each? · 2 min
Checkpoint: explain the ideas above with an example and a limitation before continuing.
- STEP 2
HTTP & APIs
- Which HTTP status codes should I know? · 2 min
- PUT vs PATCH, and what does idempotent mean? · 2 min
- HTTP/1.1 vs HTTP/2 vs HTTP/3? · 2 min
- How do cookies and sessions work? · 2 min
- What is CORS? Does it protect an API from all clients? · 2 min
- How do ETag and caching work? · 2 min
- How should pagination and API versioning work? · 2 min
Checkpoint: explain the ideas above with an example and a limitation before continuing.
- STEP 3
Authentication & security
- JWT vs refresh token: what is the difference? · 2 min
- OAuth vs OIDC: what is the difference? · 2 min
- How do I prevent injection, XSS, CSRF and SSRF? · 2 min
Checkpoint: explain the ideas above with an example and a limitation before continuing.
- STEP 4
Production engineering
- What makes a backend ready for production? · 2 min
- When should I use a queue or Redis? · 2 min
- How do I handle backpressure and large uploads? · 2 min
- What should I check for slow APIs, memory growth or intermittent 500s? · 2 min
- What if the event loop, DB pool or third-party API is stuck? · 2 min
Checkpoint: explain the ideas above with an example and a limitation before continuing.
- STEP 5
Runtime & modules
- CommonJS vs ES Modules: what is the difference? · 2 min
- What are streams, buffers and EventEmitter? · 2 min
- How do garbage collection and memory leaks work? · 2 min
Checkpoint: explain the ideas above with an example and a limitation before continuing.
Check your understanding
After the lessons, rehearse the 22 connected questions. Revisit the lesson when you cannot yet explain why the answer works.
Practice Node.js Review the interview guide