Backend — Server Fundamentals & API Design

Status: Active Last Updated: 2026-08-29 Category: Backend Development Prerequisites: kb/runtime/ — Bun or Node basics; kb/languages/ — TypeScript Tags: backend, server, http, api, rest, graphql, middleware, routing

Summary

Building backend services: HTTP servers, routing, middleware, request/response handling, and API design patterns. Covers both the fundamental concepts and the specific tools this stack uses (Bun native HTTP, TanStack Router for the frontend).

🎯 Learning Philosophy

From Runtime to Service:

Bun.serve() → HTTP basics → Routing → Middleware → REST API → GraphQL
    (low-level)   (concepts)  (patterns)  (patterns)    (design)

📚 Learning Path

Prerequisites: kb/runtime/ + kb/languages/
         ↓
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  PHASE 1: HTTP Server Basics           │
│  ├─ How HTTP works                     │
│  ├─ Request / response lifecycle        │
│  ├─ Status codes, headers, body         │
│  └─ Bun.serve() and native HTTP        │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  PHASE 2: Routing & Middleware         │
│  ├─ URL routing patterns                │
│  ├─ Middleware chains                  │
│  ├─ Error handling                     │
│  └─ Request parsing / validation        │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  PHASE 3: API Design                  │
│  ├─ REST principles                    │
│  ├─ CRUD, idempotency, pagination      │
│  ├─ Authentication (JWT, sessions)      │
│  └─ OpenAPI / Swagger                  │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  PHASE 4: Data & Persistence           │
│  ├─ Database connections               │
│  ├─ Query building / ORM basics        │
│  ├─ Caching strategies                 │
│  └─ File uploads and storage            │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  PHASE 5: Production Patterns          │
│  ├─ Rate limiting                      │
│  ├─ CORS, security headers             │
│  ├─ Logging and observability          │
│  └─ Graceful shutdown                  │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘

📖 Articles in This Directory

🟢 Phase 1: HTTP Server Basics

1. server-basics — How HTTP servers work

   • HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, HTTP/3 overview
   • Request and response structure
   • Status codes (2xx, 4xx, 5xx)
   • Headers and content negotiation
   • Prerequisites: Basic programming, TypeScript
   • Time: 2-3 hours

2. bun-http — Bun native HTTP server

   • Bun.serve() and Serve() options
   • Request object, Response object
   • Streaming, SSE, WebSockets
   • Prerequisites: Bun basics, HTTP concepts
   • Time: 2-3 hours

🟡 Phase 2: Routing & Middleware

1. routing-patterns — Routing in backend services

   • Static, parameterized, wildcard routes
   • Route groups and prefixes
   • Method routing (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)
   • Prerequisites: HTTP basics
   • Time: 1-2 hours

2. middleware-patterns — Middleware chains

   • What is middleware
   • Authentication, logging, CORS middleware
   • Error-handling middleware
   • Prerequisites: Routing basics
   • Time: 2-3 hours

🟡 Phase 3: API Design

1. rest-api-design — REST API design principles

   • Resource modeling, CRUD mapping
   • Idempotency, pagination (cursor, offset)
   • Error response formats
   • Versioning strategies
   • Prerequisites: HTTP basics
   • Time: 2-3 hours

2. authentication-patterns — Auth in backend services

   • JWT tokens, sessions, refresh tokens
   • OAuth2 / OIDC basics
   • Password hashing, bcrypt
   • Prerequisites: Middleware basics
   • Time: 3-4 hours

🟠 Phase 4: Data & Persistence

1. database-integration — Connecting to databases
   • Connection pooling
   • Prisma ORM basics
   • Raw SQL when ORMs fall short
   • Prerequisites: SQL fundamentals, backend basics
   • Time: 2-3 hours

🔴 Phase 5: Production Patterns

1. production-backend — Production backend checklist
   • Rate limiting and DDoS protection
   • Security headers (CSP, HSTS, etc.)
   • Structured logging (request IDs, correlation)
   • Graceful shutdown and zero-downtime deploys
   • Prerequisites: API design, observability basics
   • Time: 2-3 hours

🔗 What Comes Next?

• kb/sql/ — Database fundamentals for backend
• kb/observability/ — Logging and monitoring for backend services
• kb/security/ — Hardening backend services
• kb/gitops/ — CI/CD for backend services

📝 Change Log

2026-08-29

• Created backend/ directory scaffold
• Defined 5-phase learning path
• Bun native HTTP as primary approach