Let’s build a complete Node.js roadmap for you — step by step, from beginner → intermediate → advanced.

🌱 Beginner (Foundation Stage)

Goal → Understand Node.js basics & build simple scripts.
Duration: ~10 days.

Topics:

• What is Node.js, an event-driven model

• Install & run Node.js (node file.js)

• Global objects (__dirname, __filename, process)

• Modules (built-in: fs, os, path, http)

• Creating & using your own modules

• npm basics (npm init, install/remove packages)

• Semantic versioning

• Simple HTTP server (http module)

• Express.js intro (basic routes)

• CRUD basics with Express

• Async patterns (callbacks, promises, async/await)

• Connecting to a database (MongoDB/MySQL basics)

• JWT authentication basics

• Deploy a simple project to Render/Heroku

📌 End Goal: Build a small REST API (like a notes app or a todo app).

🌿 Intermediate (Real-World Development)

Goal → Learn to structure real projects, handle scaling, and improve security.
Duration: 1–2 months with projects.

Topics:

• Express.js deep dive (middleware, error handling, route grouping)

• MVC / layered architecture (controllers, services, repositories)

• Request validation (Joi, express-validator)

• Logging (morgan, winston)

• Advanced database (indexes, relationships, migrations, aggregations)

• ORMs/ODMs (Mongoose, Prisma, Sequelize)

• File uploads (Multer, Cloud storage like AWS S3)

• Authentication:

  • JWT refresh tokens

  • Role-based access control (RBAC)

  • OAuth2 (Google, GitHub login)

• Testing:

  • Unit tests (Jest, Mocha/Chai)

  • API testing (Supertest, Postman)

• Caching with Redis

• Real-time communication (Socket.io, WebSockets)

• Background jobs & queues (BullMQ, RabbitMQ)

📌 End Goal: Build a medium project — e.g. blog API, chat app, e-commerce backend.

🌳 Advanced (Production-Grade Node.js)

Goal → Work like a professional backend engineer, build apps at scale.
Duration: ongoing (3–6 months with projects).

Topics:

• Performance & scaling

  • Clustering, Load balancing

  • Horizontal vs vertical scaling

  • Worker threads

• Advanced security:

  • Rate limiting (express-rate-limit)

  • Helmet.js

  • CSRF protection

• Microservices architecture

• API Gateway, gRPC, GraphQL

• CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins)

• Docker & Kubernetes for Node apps

• Monitoring & logging (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack)

• Payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal integration)

• Advanced deployment: AWS, DigitalOcean, Vercel, Render

• Monorepos with Nx / Turborepo

📌 End Goal: Build a production-ready system — e.g.

• Scalable social media backend

• Real-time chat app with auth, caching, and queues

• E-commerce backend with payments, inventory, and users

🎯 How to Use This Roadmap

1. Start with Beginner (10-day plan) → master fundamentals.

2. Move to Intermediate → apply skills on real projects.

3. Then, Advanced → learn scaling & DevOps side.

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