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Nest js Mastery Roadmap 2025

Phase 1: Foundation

1–3 weeks

Be fluent in TypeScript, Node fundamentals, and HTTP basics so NestJS concepts make sense

What to Learn

  1. 1. TypeScript: types, generics, interfaces, unknown/any, declaration merging, tsconfig basics
  2. 2. Node.js: modules, event loop, async/await, streams, package.json, npm/yarn/pnpm
  3. 3. HTTP basics: methods, status codes, headers, REST constraints
  4. 4. Basic CLI tooling: Git, VS Code, debugging, ESLint, Prettier

Concrete Tasks

  1. 1. Build a small Node script CLI in TypeScript (read file → process → write)
  2. 2. Learn TypeScript by converting a small JS project
  3. 3. Read NestJS 'First steps' to orient to patterns
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 2: NestJS Fundamentals

2–4 weeks

Understand Nest's architecture — modules, controllers, providers, dependency injection (DI), lifecycle, and the CLI

What to Learn

  1. 1. App structure: Modules, Controllers, Providers (Services), DTOs
  2. 2. Dependency Injection and scopes (singleton vs transient)
  3. 3. Nest CLI: nest new, generators for modules/controllers/services
  4. 4. Request lifecycle and wiring
  5. 5. Validation with class-validator + class-transformer
  6. 6. Exception filters, pipes, interceptors, guards, and middleware (when to use each)

Concrete Tasks

  1. 1. Follow the official NestJS docs 'First steps' and core concepts
  2. 2. Build: Todo REST API with modules, DTOs, validation, custom exception filter, and at least one interceptor (logging)
  3. 3. Add unit tests (Jest) for services and controllers
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 3: Databases & Persistence

2–4 weeks

Connect Nest to a production-ready database; understand migration, transactions, repository vs query builders

What to Learn

  1. 1. ORMs & query builders: Prisma, TypeORM, Drizzle, Kysely — pros/cons (2024–25 trend: Prisma and Drizzle are increasingly recommended for new projects)
  2. 2. Database design, relationships, indexes, transactions, migrations
  3. 3. Using repositories/services patterns and injecting DB clients in Nest providers

Concrete Tasks

  1. 1. Build: Task Manager with PostgreSQL and Prisma (schema, migrations, seeds). Use Nest module to provide PrismaService. Add paginated endpoints and filtering
  2. 2. Migrate one entity: practice transactions and error handling
  3. 3. Compare implementation of a couple queries in Prisma vs TypeORM (optional exercise)

Resources

  1. 1. NestJS Prisma recipe (official)
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 4: Authentication, Authorization & Security

2–3 weeks

Implement secure auth flows and access control for real-world apps

What to Learn

  1. 1. Auth patterns: JWT, sessions, OAuth2, OpenID Connect
  2. 2. Passport.js strategies in Nest (JWT, OAuth)
  3. 3. Role-based access control (RBAC) and attribute-based access control (ABAC)
  4. 4. Protecting routes with Guards, using signed cookies vs Authorization headers
  5. 5. OWASP basics: injection, XSS, CSRF, rate limiting, helmet, CORS, input validation, secrets management

Concrete Tasks

  1. 1. Implement login/register with hashed passwords (bcrypt), JWT refresh tokens, token rotation
  2. 2. Add role-based guards and route-level permissions
  3. 3. Add security middleware: helmet, rate limiting, CORS policy, secure headers
Phase 4
Phase 5
Phase 5: Advanced API Patterns

2–4 weeks

Master GraphQL, WebSockets, file uploads, streaming, and advanced request handling

What to Learn

  1. 1. GraphQL with Nest: code-first vs schema-first, Apollo Federation, performance tuning (Nest supports GraphQL modules and federation)
  2. 2. WebSockets: adapters and gateways
  3. 3. File upload best practices (multipart streaming, direct-to-cloud uploads)
  4. 4. Server-Sent Events (SSE) and streaming responses

Concrete Tasks

  1. 1. Build: Realtime Chat with WebSocket gateway + Auth
  2. 2. Add a GraphQL endpoint (code-first) for a subset of app data; integrate with Prisma
  3. 3. Implement large-file upload streaming to S3-compatible storage
Phase 5
Phase 6
Phase 6: Microservices & Distributed Systems

3–6 weeks

Design, implement and reason about microservices with Nest, message brokers, and event-driven patterns

What to Learn

  1. 1. NestJS Microservices module: transport layers (Redis, NATS, Kafka, RabbitMQ)
  2. 2. Message patterns: request/reply vs event emit; idempotency, retries
  3. 3. Design patterns: API Gateway, Saga, CQRS, Event Sourcing
  4. 4. Observability: distributed tracing, logging correlation (trace IDs), metrics

Concrete Tasks

  1. 1. Split a monolith into two services (e.g., users and orders) using Redis or NATS message transport
  2. 2. Implement a Saga for a multi-step transaction (book-then-pay flow) using events
  3. 3. Add centralized logging (e.g., ELK or Grafana Loki) and tracing (OpenTelemetry)

Reading

  1. 1. Microservices docs in NestJS and microservices patterns (saga/CQRS)
Phase 6
Phase 7
Phase 7: Architecture, Patterns & Scalability

Ongoing

Build systems designed for scale, maintainability, and team collaboration

What to Learn

  1. 1. Hexagonal architecture, DDD basics, bounded contexts
  2. 2. Module boundaries, shared libraries, API contracts, versioning
  3. 3. Performance tuning: clustering, worker queues, caching strategies (Redis), horizontal scaling
  4. 4. Database patterns: CQRS, read replicas, sharding basics

Concrete Tasks

  1. 1. Re-architect one project into domain modules, apply dependency inversion
  2. 2. Add Redis caching and invalidate strategies; measure latency improvements
  3. 3. Load-test endpoints (k6 or Artillery) and iterate
Phase 7
Phase 8
Phase 8: Testing, CI/CD & Quality

Ongoing

Ensure production readiness with testing at all levels and automated pipelines

What to Learn

  1. 1. Unit tests (Jest), integration tests, e2e tests (Supertest)
  2. 2. Test doubles, mocking Prisma/DB, test containers for DB in CI
  3. 3. Linting, formatting, commit hooks (husky), semantic commits, changelogs
  4. 4. CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI), build caches, canary/blue-green deployment

Concrete Tasks

  1. 1. Create GitHub Actions pipeline: build, lint, test, and deploy to staging
  2. 2. Add e2e suite that runs against a ephemeral Postgres (Testcontainers)
  3. 3. Add code coverage and merge gate rules
Phase 8
Phase 9
Phase 9: Observability, Reliability & Ops

Ongoing

Run Nest apps in production reliably and safely

What to Learn

  1. 1. Structured logging, log levels, correlation IDs
  2. 2. Metrics (Prometheus), dashboards (Grafana)
  3. 3. Tracing (OpenTelemetry) and error reporting (Sentry)
  4. 4. Disaster recovery: backups, health checks, graceful shutdowns

Concrete Tasks

  1. 1. Add health check endpoints and readiness probes; integrate with Kubernetes probes
  2. 2. Expose Prometheus metrics and create Grafana dashboards
  3. 3. Integrate Sentry and ensure errors have context
Phase 9
Phase 10
Phase 10: Deployment & Cloud

1–2 weeks per infra

Ship to cloud with proper infra choices

What to Learn / Options

  1. 1. Docker images and multi-stage builds; smaller base images (distroless)
  2. 2. Orchestration: Kubernetes (Helm charts), deployment patterns
  3. 3. Serverless: AWS Lambda (via Serverless framework or AWS Lambda adapter), Vercel/Cloud Run
  4. 4. Managed DBs, secrets managers (AWS Secrets Manager / HashiCorp Vault), CD

Concrete Tasks

  1. 1. Containerize app, push to registry, run locally with Docker Compose
  2. 2. Create Kubernetes manifests/Helm chart; deploy to a cluster
  3. 3. Implement CI pipeline that builds image, runs tests, and deploys
Phase 10
Phase 11
Phase 11: System Design, Leadership & Interview Prep

Ongoing / months

Move from senior engineer to system-level thinking and technical leadership

What to Learn

  1. 1. System design for backend services: latency, throughput, CAP trade-offs
  2. 2. Cost estimation and capacity planning
  3. 3. Mentoring, code reviews, design docs, on-call best practices

Concrete Tasks

  1. 1. Lead a mini-architecture review for a project: propose migration to microservices, include cost/perf trade-offs
  2. 2. Prepare system-design answers focusing on real-world NestJS examples (scaling REST/GraphQL, event-driven workflows)

🎉 Congratulations! You're a Nest js Developer

You've mastered the complet Nest js Roadmap and are now ready to build scalable, high-performance applications.