1
Study a system
Start with a complete architecture study and follow the pressure that shaped it.
Production pressure atlas
Stop memorizing architecture diagrams.
Learn why systems break, scale, queue, cache, replicate, and recover in production.
arcflow starts with the pressure behind the diagram: traffic spikes, hot partitions, stale reads, retries, coordination, and failures that turn simple CRUD into distributed architecture.
5
Systems
35
Concepts
17
Patterns
Core pillars
Three ways to build systems intuition.
arcflow is organized around a simple learning loop: study complete systems, understand the concepts underneath them, then reuse production patterns in new designs.
5
modules
System Design
Deep architecture studies that show requirements, data flow, scaling pressure, failure modes, and tradeoffs.
URL ShortenerInstagram Likes
Explore System Design
35
modules
Concepts
Standalone explanations for the ideas that keep appearing across real backend systems.
IdempotencyShardingBackpressure
Explore Concepts
17
modules
Patterns
Reusable architecture moves for consistency, reliability, async workflows, and failure isolation.
OutboxCircuit BreakerCQRS
Explore Patterns
Start here
Begin with a real system, then follow the links deeper.
The fastest way into arcflow is not a list of definitions. Start with a system study, then open the concepts and patterns that explain each design move.
System Design
URL Shortener System
Design a reliable URL shortening service that supports short-code generation, low-latency redirects, abuse controls, analytics, and horizontal scaling.
CachingRate LimitingAnalytics Pipelines
System Design
Instagram Likes System
Design a production-grade like system that handles retry-safe mutations, hot posts, distributed counters, fan-out, derived projections, and eventually consistent read models.
IdempotencyDistributed CountersFan-Out
2
Open the concepts
Use linked concepts to understand the mechanics behind each design decision.
3
Reuse the patterns
Carry production-tested patterns into new systems instead of memorizing diagrams.