How to navigate this encyclopedia
Status: 🟩 COMPLETE Last updated: 2026-06-19 Plain-English tagline: Three doors into the content — the glossary (for definitions), the textbook sections (for depth), and the how-to library (for procedures). Pick based on what you’re trying to do.
In plain English
The encyclopedia is organized around a question: what are you trying to do RIGHT NOW? Three doors lead in, each best for a different question:
| Your question | Best door |
|---|---|
| ”What does this WORD mean?” | The glossary — short A-Z definitions |
| ”How does this CONCEPT work, in depth?” | The textbook sections (01–15) — full treatment |
| ”How do I DO this specific task?” | The how-to library — numbered steps |
A fourth door is the reading paths — curated journeys through existing entries for specific goals (build your first webapp, understand AI, secure your app, etc.).
This entry walks through when to use each door.
Door 1: The glossary
Use when: you’ve encountered a term and want a quick definition.
The glossary is alphabetical. Each letter has its own file (glossary/a.md through z.md). Inside each file, terms appear A-Z with:
- A short definition (1-4 sentences usually)
- A pointer to the deeper textbook entry if one exists
Example: you read “we use HMAC to sign webhooks” and don’t know what HMAC is. Go to h.md, find HMAC, read three sentences. If you need more depth, follow the link to the full entry.
The glossary is the FASTEST entry point. Most “what is X?” questions resolve here in under a minute.
Door 2: The textbook sections (01–15)
Use when: you want to UNDERSTAND a topic, not just define it.
Sections are grouped by topic:
- 01. Foundations — the bedrock concepts
- 02. Frontend — HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Next.js, Tailwind
- 03. Backend — APIs, REST, GraphQL, Node, serverless, edge, webhooks
- 04. Databases — Postgres, Supabase, SQL, RLS
- 05. Version control — Git, GitHub
- 06. Hosting & deployment — Vercel, domains, env vars, CI/CD
- 07. Security & auth — auth, sessions, JWT, OWASP, secrets
- 08. Testing & quality — unit/integration/E2E tests, lint, type check
- 09. Tooling & dev environment — npm, VS Code, terminals
- 10. AI & LLMs — what LLMs are, tokens, prompting, agents, RAG, MCP
- 11. AI-assisted development — Claude Code, memory, hooks, plugins
- 12. CS foundations — light-touch CS (algorithms, Big-O, async)
- 13. Networking essentials — protocol-level HTTP, DNS, TCP/UDP
- 14. Design & UX — mobile-first, accessibility, color, typography
- 15. Broader tech bonus — cloud, containers, OS, mobile, game dev
Each section has an index.md that lists all its entries with a one-line description. Start there to find the entry you want.
Each entry has the same structure:
- Status block + plain-English tagline
- “In plain English” — non-coder analogy
- “Why it matters”
- “How it works” + a concrete example
- “Common gotchas” — specific, topic-relevant items (5–15 typical; quality > quantity)
- “See also” — cross-links with status badges
- “Sources” — authoritative external references
If you have a real working problem, the gotchas are often the highest-value section.
Door 3: The how-to library
Use when: you need to PERFORM a specific procedure.
The how-to library has 12 step-by-step guides:
| Guide | For when you want to… |
|---|---|
| Deploy a Next.js app to Vercel | Get a Next.js app live for the first time |
| Connect a custom domain | Point your domain at Vercel |
| Set up a Supabase project | Spin up a new Supabase backend |
| Add Supabase Auth | Wire up email/password and magic-link login |
| Enable RLS on a table | Lock down a Supabase table |
| Set up dark mode | Add dark mode to a Tailwind/Next.js app |
| Start a new Next.js project (with the playbook) | Bootstrap a project from zero |
| Debug a Vercel build failure | Read the logs and fix the failing deploy |
| Run the production build locally | Catch errors before pushing |
| Rescue a broken Git branch | Recover from Git mistakes |
| Set up Claude Code for a new project | Initial CLAUDE.md + settings.json |
| Add a new memory file | Add to MEMORY.md without breaking it |
Each guide is:
- A clear GOAL up front
- Prerequisites
- Numbered steps
- Verification (how you know it worked)
- Common failures + fixes
- See also
Use these when you don’t want to UNDERSTAND a topic — you want to FINISH a task.
Door 4: Reading paths
Use when: you want a CURATED JOURNEY through the encyclopedia rather than picking entries one at a time.
The 8 reading paths each take you through 15-30 stops with pedagogical structure:
Goal-oriented paths (7):
- Absolute beginner — starting from zero
- I want to build my first webapp — full builder journey
- LLMs — AI literacy path
- I want to master Claude Code — deep Claude Code path
- I want to understand the deploy pipeline — from commit to live
- I want to make my app secure — security baseline
- I want to learn just the lingo — fastest vocabulary path
Case-study path (1):
- Bible Quest origin walkthrough — annotated build history that stress-tests the encyclopedia
Pick a path. Follow stops in order. Each stop says WHY you’re there + WHAT to read + the anchor concept to remember.
Combining doors
In practice, you’ll bounce between them:
- You hit a term you don’t know → glossary
- The glossary points to a textbook entry → read for depth
- The entry describes how to set something up → how-to library
- After getting comfortable, walk a reading path for breadth
The structure isn’t a hierarchy; it’s a NETWORK. Use whichever door fits the moment.
What to do when you can’t find something
- Search the file system. All entries are markdown files in
~/encyclopedia/.grep(or VS Code’s search) finds anything by content. - Check the INDEX. Master index of every entry.
- Check the ROADMAP. Shows what’s complete vs. stub.
- Ask Claude Code. Pointed at this folder, Claude can answer “where’s the entry about X?” or “what’s a good reading path for Y?”.
If something genuinely isn’t there yet, it’s a candidate for the next session. The encyclopedia grows; gaps surface naturally.
See also
- Reading paths overview 🟩 — the curated journeys explained
- Status labels explained 🟩 — what the badges mean
- How this evolves 🟩 — the maintenance model
- README — the top-level introduction
- INDEX — master index of every entry
- CONVENTIONS — how entries are written
- ROADMAP — completeness tracking
- Glossary — A-Z definitions
- How-to library — procedures
Sources
- This entry is meta — it describes the encyclopedia itself. No external sources.