S StackNova.

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Engineering

02 / FEATURED ARTICLES

Read these first.

Four articles we keep coming back to - one story about what Claude Code actually changes, one focused essay on Copilot vs Claude Code, the short read on the toolchain every web developer should know in 2026, and the runtime-internals deep dive on the JavaScript event loop.

The migrated 2018 snake game in mid-play at playsnake.online - a top-down brown sand arena framed by green bamboo and jungle leaves.
AI · Case study Level 101 · 7 min

Claude Code is a Magician

A real 2018 snake game - ASP.NET Core, gulp, .cshtml, scattered JavaScript - migrated to HTML5 + TypeScript + esbuild in a single Claude Code session. Twenty minutes of work, screenshot by screenshot.

Read the article →
Two workbenches side by side - an engineer's precision workbench labelled COPILOT THE ENGINEER, and an artist's studio labelled CLAUDE CODE THE ARTIST.
AI · Temperament Level 101 · 8 min

Copilot vs Claude Code: engineer vs artist

A focused take on the one axis that most decides which AI pair programmer fits which task. One tool ships clean parts; the other proposes whole designs. Knowing which is which is most of the choice.

Read the article →
~/projects · zsh
# the 2026 starter stack, in four commands $npm create vite@latest my-app -- --template react-ts $cd my-app && npm install $npm run dev # Vite + esbuild + TypeScript $npx aspire new # Aspire when you add a backend
Web · Stack Level 101 · 9 min

What web developers need to know in 2026

Four tools shape how a modern frontend gets built and shipped: esbuild, Vite, TypeScript, and the JavaScript flavor of Aspire. What each one does, how they fit together, and what you can skip.

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Philip Roberts on stage at JSConf EU 2014, presenting his Loupe call-stack visualiser projected on the screen behind him.
Web · Runtime Level 401 · Expert · 11 min

The event loop in JavaScript

How a single-threaded language handles concurrency without blocking. The call stack, the host environment, the task and microtask queues, and the algorithm that ties them together - paired with Philip Roberts' definitive JSConf talk.

Read the article →
04 / FEATURED MAPS

Start here.

Six Maps that tie our growing library together - the modern web stack, internet search, marketing analytics, the broad AI stack, an AI subset for developers, and the engineering platform underneath. Each sorted by layer with reading orders for different kinds of reader.

Map · AI Level 101 · 6 min

AI for developers

The narrower cut - just the AI tools that show up in a developer's day-to-day. Coding with Copilot or Claude Code, designing with Claude, generating images, plus the model and protocol underneath.

What is in the map
  • 01Coding toolsGitHub Copilot, Claude Code, and the side-by-side comparison.
  • 02Design toolsClaude Design for explore-and-iterate UI work.
  • 03Image toolsNano Banana for the in-workflow image moments.
  • 04ModelClaude - the foundation underneath the tools above.
  • 05ProtocolMCP for wiring AI assistants to your own tools.
Open the map →
Map · AI Level 101 · 7 min

AI stack

Every AI Path article sorted by layer - from foundation models up to the daily tools - with three reading orders for developers new to AI, builders shipping agents, and depth-first readers.

What is in the map
  • 01ModelsClaude and the foundation-model layer everything else sits on.
  • 02ProtocolsModel Context Protocol - the open standard for tool integration.
  • 03AgentsAgentic AI, frameworks, and the Microsoft Agent Framework.
  • 04ExtensionsAgent Skills, plus Functions / MCP / Skills compared.
  • 05Developer toolsClaude Code, GitHub Copilot, Claude Design, Nano Banana.
Open the map →
Map · Web Level 101 · 6 min

Internet search

How search and the web fit together - the pipeline inside the engine, the files that steer its crawler, and the work that makes a page rank. The reading order for the search series.

What is in the map
  • 01The engineCrawl, index, rank - why you never search the live web.
  • 02Steering the crawlerrobots.txt and sitemaps - the boundary and the invitation.
  • 03Earning the rankingSEO basics - findable, understandable, trusted.
  • 04Measuring the trafficUTM parameters - every visit arrives labeled with its origin.
  • 05The AI layerAnswer engines that write a reply on top of crawl-index-rank.
Open the map →
Map · Marketing Level 101 · 6 min

Marketing analytics

Getting traffic and measuring where it came from - the tagged links you send, the campaign they roll up into, and the two ways people find you organically. The sibling of the internet-search map.

What is in the map
  • 01Tracking the linkUTM tags and URL shorteners - the links you send.
  • 02The campaignThe object every tagged link rolls up into.
  • 03Being foundSEO and GEO - the traffic with no campaign attached.
  • 04Measuring outcomesAnalytics events and conversion tracking.
  • 05OptimizingA/B testing - let data decide what ships.
Open the map →
Map · Engineering Level 101 · 6 min

Modern engineering

The platform craft underneath modern software - what your services run on, how you find out what they are doing, and how you document the contract between them. Three layers, every Engineering Path article in scope.

What is in the map
  • 01OrchestrationAspire and the AppHost - one command starts everything.
  • 02ObservabilityLogs, metrics, traces - the three pillars.
  • 03API documentationScalar, Swagger UI, and the OpenAPI spec underneath both.
Open the map →
Map · Web Level 101 · 6 min

Web stack

Every Web Path article (plus the Engineering API doc pieces) sorted by what they cover, with three reading orders for returning developers, backend devs wiring up a frontend, and depth-first readers.

What is in the map
  • 01LanguageTypeScript, and why type-check is separate from type-strip.
  • 02Build toolsesbuild, Vite, and the deep dive on how Vite works.
  • 03FrameworksAngular, React, Vue, Svelte - the no-comparison overview.
  • 04API docsScalar and Swagger UI on top of an OpenAPI spec.
  • 05OrchestrationAspire and observability for the polyglot stack.
Open the map →
05 / LEARNING PATHS

Seven tracks. Pick one
and commit.

Every path is a curated sequence - built to take you from first principles to shipping in production, without the detours.

The library
VOL. 02 · MAY 2026
PATH 0120 articles

AI

Build with the new generation of agents. From prompting fundamentals to design systems for AI surfaces.

Open this path →
PATH 0214 articles

Cloud

Containers, orchestration, and the runtime your services actually run on.

Open this path →
PATH 032 articles

Data

Schemas, queries, and the storage decisions that outlast every framework. The data layer, without the hand-waving.

Open this path →
PATH 0415 articles

Design

Design systems, UX and UI fundamentals, and the tools design work ships through - plus how design hands off to engineering.

Open this path →
PATH 0515 articles

Engineering

Distributed systems, instrumentation, and the platform craft beneath every product.

Open this path →
PATH 069 articles

Marketing

Launch it, write the content, run the ads, read the SEO, wire the analytics - the growth stack modern builders ship alongside the product.

Open this path →
PATH 0722 articles

Web

Modern build tooling and the frameworks shaping the next decade of the browser.

Open this path →