ABCsteps curriculum
A 20-lesson path from first app to AI-enabled cloud product.
The entire curriculum is free to read on this site — no paywall, no signup, no email gate. Twenty lessons across four modules with objectives, labs, reviews, and milestone projects.
First time here? Read Start here → — common fears named, your first thirty minutes mapped, the rhythm of a serious learner, what to do when stuck. The gentle path in, before you open lesson 01.
Module A: Engineering Foundations
Lessons 1-5 | Foundation Module
BModule B: Cloud and Deployment
Lessons 6-10 | Deployment Module
CModule C: Full-Stack Systems
Lessons 11-15 | Full-Stack Module
DModule D: AI Product Practice
Lessons 16-20 | AI Product Module
Lessons 1-5 | Foundation Module
Module A: Engineering Foundations
Start from absolute zero. Learn how code, editors, AI assistance, terminal commands, and GitHub fit together as one working practice.
- Level
- Beginner
- Milestone
- Publish a small working app and its GitHub repository.
AI-Assisted Code: Your First App
Use an AI coding assistant to build a small game while learning what the tool is doing, where it helps, and where human judgment still matters.
Lab: Build and inspect a simple browser game.
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Set Up VS Code Like a Developer
Set up a professional editor, understand project files, and use AI assistance to modify an existing app deliberately.
Lab: Set up VS Code and modify a real interface.
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Build Your First 3D Scene
Use Three.js concepts to understand scenes, cameras, lighting, and how AI can help scaffold visual experiments.
Lab: Create a small Three.js scene and adjust it safely.
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How Developers Actually Work: The Terminal
The terminal is a precise control surface. Learn the commands developers use to inspect projects and run tools.
Lab: Use shell commands to inspect and run a local project.
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Your Developer Passport: GitHub
Publish a project on GitHub, understand commits, and begin building a portfolio that shows actual work.
Lab: Create a repository and publish the first project.
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Lessons 6-10 | Deployment Module
Module B: Cloud and Deployment
Move beyond local files. Package, configure, and publish software with practical cloud and deployment foundations.
- Level
- Beginner to Intermediate
- Milestone
- Containerize and share a working app through a verified deployment path.
Docker: Make Local Software Repeatable
Understand containers by packaging an app into a repeatable environment that behaves consistently across machines.
Lab: Write a Dockerfile and run the app in a container.
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Cloudflare Tunnel: Share a Local App Safely
Learn what a tunnel is, when it is useful, and how Cloudflare can expose a local app for demos without pretending it is full production hosting.
Lab: Share a local app through a Cloudflare Tunnel.
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JSON: The Data Format Apps Share
Every app, API, and configuration file uses structured data. Learn to read and write JSON clearly.
Lab: Model app data as valid JSON and debug common mistakes.
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How Apps Talk: APIs Revealed
Call a public API, inspect the response, and connect the idea to how modern applications communicate.
Lab: Call an API and use the returned data in a small interface.
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Milestone: Your App Is Online
Review the build, container, and deployment path, then verify the app is reachable outside your local machine.
Lab: Complete the deployment checklist and document the result.
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Lessons 11-15 | Full-Stack Module
Module C: Full-Stack Systems
Understand how frontends, backends, APIs, databases, and AI providers work together inside useful products.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Milestone
- Build a small full-stack leaderboard with persistent data.
AI Products Are API Systems
Deconstruct AI app architecture and make a first model API call while separating product experience from backend mechanics.
Lab: Trace an AI request from interface to provider and back.
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Frontend and Backend: The Full Picture
Map the browser, server, and database responsibilities before building a leaderboard system.
Lab: Draw and implement the first full-stack boundary.
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Create Your Own API
Build an Express.js server to receive and return data so the app can do more than display a static screen.
Lab: Build an API route and call it from the frontend.
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Databases: Store Data Permanently
Use SQLite to understand tables, records, and persistence without adding unnecessary infrastructure.
Lab: Store and retrieve leaderboard records with SQLite.
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Milestone: Online Leaderboard Works
Connect frontend, API, and database, then verify that leaderboard data survives beyond a page refresh.
Lab: Ship a working leaderboard milestone.
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Lessons 16-20 | AI Product Module
Module D: AI Product Practice
Add AI features, improve documentation, polish the product, and choose the next engineering direction.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Milestone
- Polish the product and add one AI-assisted capability with documentation.
Adding AI to Your App
Use an AI API as a product capability, with clear inputs, outputs, error handling, and cost awareness.
Lab: Connect a model API behind a practical interface.
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Prompting for Useful Engineering Output
Learn how to give AI systems enough context, constraints, and verification steps to produce usable engineering help.
Lab: Improve one feature through a verified AI-assisted workflow.
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What Makes Professional Documentation
Write a README that explains purpose, setup, usage, architecture, and limitations truthfully.
Lab: Write a complete README with setup and limitations.
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Final Polish and Verification
Improve UI, fix defects, and verify that the product behaves as expected before sharing it.
Lab: Run a final defect pass and improve the interface.
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Choosing Your Next Engineering Path
Review the full path and decide whether to go deeper into AI, cloud, frontend, backend, product, or research.
Lab: Prepare a portfolio summary and next-path map.
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Course structure
Free curriculum, clear syllabus, and enough context to begin today.
Every lesson is publicly readable on this site at zero cost — labs, reviews, milestone projects, no signup. Start with the syllabus, then use the reading paths and glossary when a concept needs more depth.