Reading path

Systems & Linux

A curated reading path for infra-curious frontend leads — Linux desktop, containers, networking, and shell automation.

For frontend leads who want to understand the machines their apps run on — desktop Linux, containers, networking, and automation — without becoming full-time SREs.

Linux Desktop Lab series

Start with the anchor, then follow the lab notes in order (3 posts):

  1. Ubuntu, Manjaro, and the Linux Desktop — Why I rethought my desktop stack and what I learned comparing distros.
  2. Your Desktop Is Fast — Why Does It Still Stutter? — Building a tiny app to explain desktop stutter on Linux.
  3. Memory Compression on Linux — zswap, zram, and what “free memory” actually means.

Tools and setup

  1. How to Install Cursor IDE on Manjaro — Practical setup notes for a modern editor on Arch-based distros.
  2. Install oh-my-zsh in VS Code on Linux — Shell and editor setup companion to the scripting posts below.

Containers and orchestration

  1. Introduction to Docker — Container basics for developers who deploy their own apps.
  2. Getting Started with Kubernetes — A beginner’s map to orchestration concepts frontend leads encounter in production.
  3. Beyond Kubernetes — What comes after the basics when orchestration gets real.

Networking and automation

  1. Advanced Networking in Linux — VLANs, bonding, and bridging when you need more than ip addr.
  2. Advanced Shell Scripting Techniques — Bash patterns for automating repetitive sysadmin and dev workflows.

Observability

Follow the Observability series, then the hardware-debugging pair:

  1. OpenTelemetry in Angular: Distributed Tracing — Step-by-step guide to instrumenting an Angular app for distributed tracing.
  2. Debugging Radio vs Microservices — What vintage hardware debugging teaches about observability in distributed systems.
  3. Troubleshooting Intermittent Faults in Vintage Circuits — Hunting ghost bugs in hardware — same mindset as flaky distributed systems.

Resilience

  1. Chaos Engineering: Principles and Practice — Start the Chaos Engineering series (3 posts) for frontend and backend resilience patterns.
  • Frontend Quality — Full Chaos Engineering series and frontend testing strategy.