A comprehensive guide for backend developers focusing on TypeScript and JavaScript ecosystems. Updated for 2026 with modern technologies, frameworks, and best practices.
- JavaScript/TypeScript Runtimes
- Core Backend Courses
- Frameworks & Libraries
- Databases & ORMs
- API Development
- Architecture & Design Patterns
- DevOps & Cloud
- Testing & Quality
- Security
- AI Integration for Backend
- Books
- Development Tools
- Essential Repositories
- Communities & Learning Platforms
The backend JavaScript ecosystem has evolved significantly. Here are the main runtimes you should know:
The original and most mature JavaScript runtime. Still the industry standard for production applications.
- Official Documentation
- Node.js Best Practices - 100+ best practices for Node.js development
- Use Node.js 22 LTS or later for production
A modern JavaScript runtime built for speed. Bun is a drop-in replacement for Node.js with significantly faster startup times and native TypeScript support.
- Official Documentation
- Bun vs Node.js Comparison
- Built-in bundler, test runner, and package manager
- Native TypeScript and JSX support without configuration
A secure runtime for JavaScript and TypeScript with built-in tooling.
- Official Documentation
- Secure by default (explicit permissions for file, network, and environment access)
- Native TypeScript support
- Web-standard APIs
Backend development encompasses server-side logic, databases, APIs, authentication, and infrastructure management.
TypeScript is essential for modern backend development. It provides type safety, better tooling, and improved maintainability.
- Understanding TypeScript - Comprehensive course from basics to advanced features
- TypeScript Deep Dive - Free online book with in-depth TypeScript coverage
- Total TypeScript - Advanced TypeScript patterns by Matt Pocock
The foundational stack for backend JavaScript development.
- Node.js API Masterclass - Build a complete API with Express and MongoDB
- Express.js Documentation - Official documentation and guides
A high-performance web framework for Node.js with excellent TypeScript support.
- Official Documentation
- Built-in schema validation and serialization
- Plugin architecture for modularity
- Significantly faster than Express
Enterprise-grade Node.js framework with excellent architecture patterns.
- NestJS Zero to Hero - Complete course for beginners
- Official Documentation
- Built-in support for microservices, GraphQL, WebSockets
- Modular architecture with dependency injection
- First-class TypeScript support
Ultra-fast web framework that works across multiple runtimes (Bun, Deno, Node.js, Cloudflare Workers).
- Official Documentation
- Runs on edge computing platforms
- Small bundle size with great performance
- TypeScript-first design
End-to-end type-safe framework optimized for Bun.
- Official Documentation
- Excellent developer experience with type inference
- Built-in validation with TypeBox
- Unified API for REST and GraphQL
Modern database toolkit with excellent TypeScript integration.
- Official Documentation
- Prisma Course - Complete Prisma ORM course
- Auto-generated types from your database schema
- Supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB, SQL Server, CockroachDB
- Prisma Studio for visual database management
TypeScript ORM with SQL-like syntax and zero dependencies.
- Official Documentation
- Lightweight with excellent performance
- SQL-like query builder
- Great for edge computing
The most advanced open-source relational database.
- Official Documentation
- PostgreSQL Tutorial
- Excellent for complex queries and data integrity
- Great JSON support for hybrid workloads
- MongoDB University - Free official courses
- MongoDB Complete Guide
- Best for flexible schemas and rapid prototyping
- Use with Mongoose or Prisma for Node.js
- Official Documentation
- Essential for caching, sessions, rate limiting
- Pub/Sub for real-time features
- Use as message broker for microservices
- REST API Design Best Practices
- Use OpenAPI (Swagger) for documentation
- Implement proper versioning, pagination, and error handling
- Complete GraphQL API Guide
- GraphQL Official Documentation
- Apollo Server Documentation
- Ideal for complex data requirements and mobile applications
End-to-end typesafe APIs without code generation.
- Official Documentation
- Full-stack TypeScript type safety
- Works great with Next.js, React, and other frontend frameworks
- No code generation or schemas needed
- Official Documentation
- Node.js gRPC Guide
- Best for microservices communication
- Protocol Buffers for schema definition
- Design Patterns in TypeScript - SOLID principles and creational patterns
- Refactoring Guru - Visual explanations of patterns
- Key patterns: Factory, Strategy, Observer, Dependency Injection
- Microservices with Node.js and React - Comprehensive microservices course
- Event-driven architecture with message queues
- Service discovery and API gateways
- Tools: RabbitMQ, Apache Kafka, NATS
- Essential for complex business domains
- Bounded contexts and aggregates
- Event Sourcing and CQRS patterns
Containerization is mandatory for modern backend development.
- Docker Official Documentation
- Docker for Node.js
- Create reproducible development environments
- Essential for deployment and CI/CD
Container orchestration for production workloads.
- Kubernetes Official Documentation
- Use managed services: AWS EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS
- Essential for scaling microservices
Choose at least one major cloud provider:
- AWS - Most comprehensive, industry leader
- Google Cloud Platform - Excellent for containers and AI/ML
- Azure - Great for enterprise and .NET integration
- AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, Azure Functions
- Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Edge Functions, Deno Deploy
- Ideal for event-driven workloads and global distribution
- Terraform - Multi-cloud infrastructure management
- Pulumi - Infrastructure as code using TypeScript
- AWS CDK - Cloud Development Kit for AWS
- Vitest (Recommended) - Fast, ESM-native test runner with excellent TypeScript support
- Jest - Feature-rich testing framework
- Playwright - End-to-end testing for APIs and web applications
- Unit tests for business logic
- Integration tests for API endpoints
- Contract testing for microservices (Pact)
- Load testing with k6 or Artillery
- ESLint with TypeScript rules
- Prettier for formatting
- Husky for Git hooks
- SonarQube for code analysis
- Input validation and sanitization
- SQL injection prevention (use parameterized queries/ORMs)
- XSS and CSRF protection
- Rate limiting and DDoS protection
- Secure headers with Helmet.js
- JWT tokens with proper expiration
- OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect
- Session management best practices
- Tools: Passport.js, Auth.js, Clerk, Auth0
- Never commit secrets to version control
- Use environment variables or secret managers
- Tools: HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, Doppler
AI capabilities are becoming essential for modern backend systems.
- OpenAI API, Anthropic Claude API, Google Gemini API
- Vercel AI SDK - Unified interface for AI providers
- LangChain.js - Framework for LLM applications
For semantic search and RAG applications:
- Pinecone, Weaviate, Qdrant, Milvus
- PostgreSQL with pgvector extension
- GitHub Copilot for code completion
- Claude Code for autonomous coding tasks
- AI-powered code review and testing
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Clean Code - A must-read for every developer. Principles of writing maintainable, readable code.
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Clean Architecture - Software design principles for building scalable systems.
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Designing Data-Intensive Applications - Essential reading for understanding distributed systems, databases, and data processing.
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The Pragmatic Programmer - Timeless advice for software development careers.
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Data Structures and Algorithms - Practical algorithms for performance optimization.
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Building Microservices - Comprehensive guide to microservice architecture.
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Building Secure & Reliable Systems - Google experts sharing best practices for secure infrastructure.
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System Design Interview - Essential for understanding large-scale system design.
Visual Studio Code remains the most popular IDE for JavaScript/TypeScript development.
Essential extensions:
- ESLint
- Prettier
- GitLens
- Thunder Client (API testing)
- Docker
- GitHub Copilot
- Cursor - AI-first code editor built on VSCode
- Zed - High-performance editor written in Rust
- WebStorm - Full-featured IDE from JetBrains
- Postman - API testing and documentation
- Bruno - Open-source API client (Git-friendly)
- Insomnia - REST and GraphQL client
- TablePlus - Modern database GUI
- DBeaver - Universal database tool (free)
- Prisma Studio - Visual database browser
| Repository | Description |
|---|---|
| Node.js Best Practices | 100+ best practices for Node.js development |
| JavaScript Algorithms | Algorithms and data structures in JavaScript |
| System Design Primer | Learn system design for large-scale applications |
| Awesome Node.js | Curated list of Node.js packages and resources |
| TypeScript Style Guide | Comprehensive TypeScript documentation |
| Backend Developer Roadmap | Interactive roadmap for backend development |
- Node.js Discord
- TypeScript Discord
- r/node - Reddit community
- Dev.to - Developer community
- Udemy - Affordable courses
- Frontend Masters - Expert-led courses
- Egghead.io - Concise video tutorials
- Pluralsight - Enterprise learning platform
- freeCodeCamp - Free comprehensive curriculum
- Node Weekly
- JavaScript Weekly
- ByteByteGo - System design content
If you're starting your backend journey, follow this path:
- Master TypeScript - Non-negotiable for modern backend development
- Learn Node.js fundamentals - Understanding the event loop, modules, and async patterns
- Build REST APIs - Express or Fastify for traditional REST
- Choose a framework - NestJS for enterprise, Hono for lightweight
- Database skills - PostgreSQL + Prisma is the recommended stack
- Containerization - Docker is mandatory
- Version control - Git and GitHub workflows
- Testing - Vitest for unit tests, Playwright for e2e
- Cloud basics - Deploy to at least one cloud provider
- Keep learning - AI integration and system design
This guide was created and maintained by David Bujosa
Last updated: January 2026