Used by 200,000+ engineers at Google, Meta, Amazon, and startups worldwide
Master system design. From first principles to FAANG-ready architect.
The most complete system design guide on the internet — 318+ topics, 40+ real-world case studies, interactive diagrams, and a structured path from beginner to advanced. Free forever.
Complete Curriculum
Everything you need to master system design
14 modules, structured from foundations to advanced distributed systems and modern AI architectures.
How to Learn System Design
Set expectations and give learners a mental model for how system design works before learning a single concept.
Foundations
Core concepts every engineer must understand before going deeper. No prior system design knowledge assumed.
Databases
The most important module for most system design questions. Database choices determine half of every architecture.
Caching
Deep understanding of when to cache, what to cache, and what can go wrong — mentioned in almost every interview.
Networking & Load Balancing
Load distribution, proxies, CDNs, and service discovery — the networking layer of distributed systems.
Message Queues & Event-Driven Architecture
Async communication is the backbone of scalable distributed systems — theory and all major tools.
Distributed Systems Theory
The theoretical underpinning of why distributed systems behave the way they do. Required for senior interviews.
Storage Systems
Storage types, engine internals, distributed file systems, and data serialization formats.
Microservices & Architecture Patterns
Architecture styles from monolith to microservices, inter-service communication, and resilience patterns.
Infrastructure, Deployment & Observability
Containers, Kubernetes, cloud patterns, observability pillars, and security in system design.
Advanced Distributed Systems
Topics that differentiate good from great system designers. Required for staff+ interviews.
Modern AI & ML Systems
The entirely new layer every system designer needs in 2026 — LLMs, RAG pipelines, and AI agents in production.
Real-World Case Studies
40+ real-world system design case studies from beginner to FAANG-level. The highest-value interview prep content.
Interview Preparation
Frameworks, FAANG-specific prep, mock interview questions bank, and evaluation rubrics.
Real-World Practice
Design real systems. Not toy examples.
Every major system design interview question — mapped to a deep-dive guide with architecture diagrams, capacity estimation, and trade-off analysis.
Design WhatsApp
Design a Notification System
Design Real-time Chat
Design Gmail
Design Zoom
Design Twitter / X
Platform Features
Built for how engineers actually learn
Interactive diagrams, structured learning paths, quizzes, and mock interviews — not just another wall of text.
Interactive Diagrams
Every concept illustrated with interactive, zoomable architecture diagrams — not static images. Learn by seeing systems come alive.
Progress Tracking
Track which topics you've studied. Know exactly where you are in the curriculum and what to study next.
Mock Interview Mode
Practice timed 45-minute system design sessions with structured evaluation rubrics. Simulate real interview conditions.
Quiz After Every Topic
Test your understanding with topic-specific quizzes. Instant feedback with detailed explanations.
FAANG-Specific Paths
Dedicated learning paths for Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft system design rounds with company-specific expectations.
Structured Learning Paths
Four curated paths: Beginner, Interview Prep, Backend Architect, and AI Systems — each with daily study plans.
Community
Engineers who levelled up with SystemDesign.guru
“Got the L5 offer at Google after 3 weeks of focused study with SystemDesign.guru. The case studies were almost identical to my real interview questions.”
Priya Sharma
Senior Software Engineer at Google · L5 Offer
“I went from not knowing what a load balancer was to confidently designing distributed systems in my Meta interview. The beginner path is genuinely beginner-friendly.”
James Chen
Software Engineer at Meta · E5 Offer
“The interactive diagrams are what set this apart. I'm a visual learner and every other resource was just walls of text. These diagrams made everything click.”
Sarah Mitchell
Backend Engineer at Amazon · SDE2 Offer
“As an engineering manager, I needed to understand system design deeply without spending months on it. The structured curriculum and clear trade-off analysis was exactly what I needed.”
Michael Torres
Engineering Manager at Stripe · Promotion to Director
“The RESHADED framework changed how I approach every system design problem. I used it in all 4 of my on-site interviews and got offers from 3 companies.”
Angela Brooks
Staff Engineer at Netflix · 3 Offers
“Best system design resource on the internet, period. The AI/ML systems module was especially valuable — no other resource covers LLM system design this thoroughly.”
David Kim
ML Engineer at OpenAI · Career Growth
Trusted by engineers at leading tech companies
Start your system design journey today
Join 200,000+ engineers. All core content is free — no credit card, no signup required. Just start learning.