Data Scholar

Course

Engineering setup

Build a reusable backend starter repo with GitHub workflow, uv, env files, a minimal FastAPI health app, tests, Docker, Docker Compose with Postgres, Makefile commands, and a clear README.

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A practical 8 to 12 hour starter-repo course. It is intentionally not a full Git, Docker, or DevOps course. You build a clean engineering baseline for a small FastAPI service.

You create a clean repository, initialize the backend with uv, add a minimal FastAPI app with one GET /health endpoint, test it, keep local config out of Git, run the backend in Docker, start backend and Postgres with Docker Compose, and wrap the workflow in Makefile commands.

The course is taught as a guided build with decision checks, mistake labs, and evidence gates. By the end you have a reusable starter repo submitted through a GitHub pull request. The app does not connect to Postgres yet, and the course does not add routers, authentication, migrations, ORMs, background workers, or extra endpoints.

Curriculum

M1Tooling and repo baseline5 topics
·Module overview
  1. 1.1What you are building
  2. 1.2Terminal practice loop
  3. 1.3Guided build: create the layout
  4. 1.4Diagnosis lab: folder mistakes
  5. 1.5Evidence gate
M2Git and GitHub workflow5 topics
·Module overview
  1. 2.1The Git loop
  2. 2.2Ignore local config safely
  3. 2.3GitHub remote and branch
  4. 2.4Checkpoint: Git decisions
  5. 2.5Evidence gate
M3Python project setup with uv5 topics
·Module overview
  1. 3.1uv mental model
  2. 3.2Guided build: initialize backend
  3. 3.3Add pytest and the first test
  4. 3.4Checkpoint: uv and tests
  5. 3.5Evidence gate
M4Environment files and config hygiene5 topics
·Module overview
  1. 4.1Config model
  2. 4.2Guided build: env template
  3. 4.3Missing-config lab
  4. 4.4Checkpoint: config hygiene
  5. 4.5Evidence gate
M5Minimal FastAPI health app6 topics
·Module overview
  1. 5.1The health endpoint contract
  2. 5.2Guided build: install API dependencies
  3. 5.3Guided build: implement GET /health
  4. 5.4Guided build: test the endpoint
  5. 5.5Checkpoint: API and tests
  6. 5.6Evidence gate
M6Docker and Docker Compose6 topics
·Module overview
  1. 6.1Container model
  2. 6.2Guided build: Dockerfile and .dockerignore
  3. 6.3Run and diagnose the backend container
  4. 6.4Guided build: Compose backend and Postgres
  5. 6.5Checkpoint: Docker and Compose
  6. 6.6Evidence gate
M7Makefile, README, and capstone check6 topics
·Module overview
  1. 7.1Guided build: Makefile
  2. 7.2Guided build: README
  3. 7.3Final validation matrix
  4. 7.4Checkpoint: capstone readiness
  5. 7.5Submit the final pull request
  6. 7.6Capstone acceptance criteria