Made for the person who doesn't know what a load balancer is yet.

Who builds it

Scalapod is built by Centaur Creations, a small independent product studio in Pune, India that designs and ships its own apps. We're a tiny team, which is why the app is in beta and why your feedback changes what gets built next week, not next year.

Why it exists

System design is usually taught to people who already understand it. The books assume you know what a server is. The videos assume you know what a cache is. The interview guides assume you have already built something that got popular. If you are new, you get a wall of nouns.

We wanted the version that starts from zero. One everyday story per idea. A picture on every step. The technical word only after you already understand the thing it names. And something small to show for each day you turn up.

What we promise

• Beginner first. If a lesson needs a word you haven't met, that is a bug. Tell us.
• One idea at a time. Every lesson teaches exactly one thing, and says so.
• Honest about being new. The app is pre-launch. There are no fake reviews on this site, no made-up user counts, and no "as seen on".
• Facts from an open source. The technical content follows the System Design Primer by Donne Martin (CC BY 4.0), and every lesson lists its sources.

Credits

Lesson facts follow the System Design Primer by Donne Martin, licensed CC BY 4.0. Scalapod reorganises that material into short visual lessons and is not affiliated with or endorsed by its author.

Type is set in Bricolage Grotesque by Mathieu Triay and Geist by Vercel, both under the SIL Open Font License. Icons are Material Symbols by Google (Apache 2.0). Pod, the stories and the drawings are ours.