Labs
Short, hands-on missions in the simulator. Each one tells you what to do, why, and what changed, from your first app to running your own AI models.
18 labs, a few minutes each
Basics
Build your first app and learn the parts every app has. Open to everyone.
- Lab 1Your first app
Build the three parts almost every app has, then watch requests flow through them.
5 stepsOpen lab - Lab 2When one server is too busy
Triple the traffic, watch one server give up, then add a copy to share the work.
6 stepsOpen lab - Lab 3Find the slow part
Something is slowing this app down. Use the colours and the coach to find it, then fix it.
4 stepsOpen lab - Lab 4Remember answers with a cache
The database is slow. Keep popular answers close, so most requests never reach it.
5 stepsOpen lab - Lab 5Keep going when a server dies
Servers break. Kill one on purpose, then add a backup so the app keeps working.
7 stepsOpen lab
Growing
The tools apps use as they get popular. Free with an account.
- Lab 6More readers with a read replica
Almost everyone is reading, and the database can't keep up. Give reads their own copy.
4 stepsOpen lab - Lab 7Do slow work later with a queue
Saving takes too long and people are left waiting. Reply at once and do the work in the background.
7 stepsOpen lab - Lab 8Send files from nearby with a CDN
Pictures and files are swamping the app server. Hand them to a network built for files.
5 stepsOpen lab - Lab 9Stop a flood with a rate limiter
Three times more requests than the server can handle. Turn the extra away quickly so the rest stay fast.
6 stepsOpen lab - Lab 10When retries make it worse
Trying again sounds helpful. On a busy server, it can double the trouble.
6 stepsOpen lab
AI
Build a chatbot, then make it cheaper, smarter and safer.
- Lab 11Build a chatbot
Connect people to an AI model, then see how a bigger model changes quality, speed and cost.
8 stepsOpen lab - Lab 12Answer repeat questions from memory
Half the questions have been asked before. Stop paying the model to answer them again.
7 stepsOpen lab - Lab 13Answer from your own documents
Most questions are about your own help pages, and the model has never read them. Fix that with search.
6 stepsOpen lab - Lab 14Keep the bot safe
One in ten messages is an attack trying to trick the bot. Add a safety check before the model.
5 stepsOpen lab
Expert
Bigger problems, fewer instructions: chase bottlenecks and survive outages.
- Lab 15Survive a sale night
A big sale brings 1,500 requests a second. Fix one bottleneck, then watch the next one appear.
7 stepsOpen lab - Lab 16Build a photo app from nothing
6,000 requests a second, mostly photos. Start from an empty canvas and make it hold.
9 stepsOpen lab - Lab 17Run your own model on GPUs
Stop renting a model and run your own. See what it saves, and why one GPU isn't enough.
8 stepsOpen lab - Lab 18Survive a provider outage
Your AI provider goes down, and so does your product. Add a second provider and a gateway that switches over.
8 stepsOpen lab