[ path · in development ]
Storage & Databases
Understand how databases actually work by building the storage layer yourself — from an in-memory KV store to a queryable SQL engine.
No fake progress bars: a chapter turns solid here when its labs actually grade, not when a marketing date arrives.
[ the syllabus, so far ]
Every unit on the path, in the order you’ll build it.
The first labs of every live chapter are free — and during beta, a free account opens all of them. The order isn’t optional for anyone: each unit unlocks when the one before it is done.
ch. 01Rust for Systems Programming
Enough Rust to write a kernel: you will own memory without a garbage collector, lay structs out to a byte-exact ABI, reach through raw pointers in unsafe code, build without the standard library, and drive the cargo and toolchain machinery that targets bare metal — each of them the way an OS actually uses them.
Why it’s here: Just enough Rust to build systems — mini-course
[ shared chapter ] one course, 2 paths — counted once
finish it on either path and both show this chapter complete — nothing to redo, transfer, or re-prove.
open this chapter with your progress → · sequential unlock applies to everyone — during beta, every live lab is open to a free account
ch. 02Build a Key-Value Store
A persistent, concurrent key-value store built from scratch: in-memory map, write-ahead log, compaction, concurrency, and simple replication.
open this chapter with your progress → · sequential unlock applies to everyone — during beta, every live lab is open to a free account
ch. 03Build a SQL Engine
A queryable database engine on top of your own storage: a paged B-tree that keeps keys in order on disk, a SQL tokenizer and parser, a query planner, and an executor that runs SELECT, INSERT and joins — plus the transaction and recovery machinery that makes the answers durable.
Why it’s here: B-tree storage + minimal SQL execution — planned
Nothing listed yet: the units for this chapter are still being designed. We list them when there is something real to list — the same rule as the build meter above.
open this chapter with your progress → · sequential unlock applies to everyone — during beta, every live lab is open to a free account
[ questions ]
Asked before starting.
[ q ]Can I start this path today?
The build course is still being written — but the shared chapters count across paths, so anything you finish on the flagship path is already finished here. The build meter above is the honest signal for the rest.
[ q ]When do the labs open?
When they grade. We publish a chapter when you can actually run it and be graded on it — not when a launch date says so.
[ q ]What makes a verified completion meaningful?
Official grades run on our servers, on exactly the checks your local run just made — nothing held back. What’s different is that we compute the verdict and record it, not you. If it says your code did it, your code did it.
[ q ]Who owns the code I write?
You do, unambiguously. sboot start unpacks the course into a folder on your machine and prints the git init that turns it into a repo — private until you push it, and our tests and grader are never inside it. Cancel any time and every line stays with you.
[ q ]What does it cost?
Free during beta — every live lab is open to a free account. Paid plans arrive at launch; the first labs of every chapter stay free so you can always try the real thing first.
[ built in the open ]
Watch a path get built. Then build on it.
One honest email when the first labs grade — no drip campaign.