Architecture reference

Blueprints I reach forwhen starting a build

These are the reference architectures I keep coming back to. Each one is a starting point for a common system shape, with the components I actually pick, the trade-offs I have learned to respect, and the alternatives worth comparing before you commit.

They are not theory. They are how I sketch out a build on day one with a new client, and how I argue against the wrong choice when the codebase already exists. Use them as a checklist, a sanity check, or a conversation starter.

Blueprints

16

Components

112

Categories

7

Maintained

Live

Featured architectures

The three I use most often

Multi-Tenant SaaS Starter Architecture

Production-ready architecture for multi-tenant SaaS applications with authentication, billing, team management, and tenant isolation.

7 components|5 considerations

E-commerce Platform Architecture

Scalable e-commerce architecture with product catalog, cart, checkout, order management, and inventory that survives flash sales without melting.

7 components|5 considerations

Content Platforms

Content Platform Architecture

Architecture for content-heavy platforms with CMS, search, and personalization at scale, where editorial velocity and global performance matter equally.

7 components|5 considerations

Filter by category

SaaS Platformsmoderate

Multi-Tenant SaaS Starter Architecture

Production-ready architecture for multi-tenant SaaS applications with authentication, billing, team management, and tenant isolation.

7|5 considerations|3 alternatives

E-commercecomplex

E-commerce Platform Architecture

Scalable e-commerce architecture with product catalog, cart, checkout, order management, and inventory that survives flash sales without melting.

7|5 considerations|3 alternatives

Content Platformsmoderate

Content Platform Architecture

Architecture for content-heavy platforms with CMS, search, and personalization at scale, where editorial velocity and global performance matter equally.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

Real-time Systemscomplex

Real-time Collaboration Architecture

Architecture for collaborative applications with live cursors, presence, and conflict-free concurrent editing across multiple users and devices.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

Data Pipelinescomplex

Data Pipeline Architecture

Scalable data pipeline for ingestion, processing, and analytics with stream and batch capabilities, governance, and quality monitoring.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

AI Systemscomplex

AI Application Architecture

Architecture for production AI applications with model serving, RAG pipelines, evaluation, and cost controls that survive contact with real users.

7|5 considerations|3 alternatives

SaaS Platformsmoderate

Mobile Backend Architecture

Backend architecture optimized for mobile applications with offline support, efficient sync, and push notifications across platforms.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

E-commercecomplex

Two-Sided Marketplace Architecture

Two-sided marketplace architecture with listings, transactions, trust systems, and dispute resolution that scales without losing supply or demand.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

SaaS Platformssimple

Internal Tools Architecture

Architecture for building internal tools and admin dashboards with rapid development, strong access control, and audit trails that satisfy compliance.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

Data Pipelinescomplex

Event-Driven Architecture

Event-driven system architecture with message queues, event sourcing, CQRS, and sagas for complex workflows that need auditability and decoupling.

7|5 considerations|3 alternatives

AI Systemsmoderate

RAG Application Blueprint

Reference architecture for retrieval-augmented generation apps covering embedding pipelines, vector search, prompt orchestration, and evaluation.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

Real-time Systemscomplex

Real-time Chat at Scale

Architecture for chat systems handling millions of concurrent users covering connection management, fanout, persistence, and moderation.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

E-commercecomplex

Payment Processing Pipeline

Reference architecture for payment processing covering checkout, webhooks, reconciliation, refunds, and accounting integration.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

Data Pipelinescomplex

Fraud Detection System

Architecture for real-time fraud detection with feature engineering, scoring, rules, and feedback loops that keep up with evolving attack patterns.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

Video Streaming Platform

Architecture for video-on-demand and live streaming with adaptive bitrate, DRM, and analytics that survives global audiences.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

AI Systemscomplex

AI Agent Orchestration

Architecture for multi-step AI agents covering planning, tool use, memory, evaluation, and human-in-the-loop controls.

7|5 considerations|4 alternatives

Keep exploring

Blueprints sit alongside playbooks, essays, and shipped work

Architectures here describe the shape. Playbooks walk through implementation. Essays argue the trade-offs. Case studies show what actually got built.

Methodologies

Playbooks

Step-by-step implementation guides for the harder parts of shipping. Where blueprints describe what, playbooks describe how.

Essays

Insights

Opinions earned the hard way. What I have learned about complexity, hiring, AI, and the small decisions that compound.

Shipped

Case studies

Real builds where I applied these blueprints, what changed in practice, and what I would do differently next time.