Master backend engineering
through Node.js.
A complete, online book to backend engineering with Node.js. Learn every thing about the runtime and event loop, networking and HTTP, concurrency, data systems, security, observability, performance, and distributed architecture. Go deeper with downloadable bundles and hands-on runtime labs.
Most guides teach the API. NodeBook teaches the machine.
NodeBook explains what happens inside the runtime when your application handles I/O, schedules work, allocates memory, and serves traffic in production.
Libuv & the Event Loop
Poll, check and idle phases, threadpool queueing, and platform differences across epoll, kqueue, and IOCP.
V8 Compilation Pipeline
Deoptimizations, hidden-class transitions, and polymorphic inline-cache misses, with practical examples.
Zero-Copy Stream Architecture
Binary protocols with backpressure-aware transforms, scatter/gather I/O, and external memory management.
Native Addon Development
Thread-safe N-API modules, work across uv_queue_work, and managing memory across the JS / C++ boundary.
Production Observability
Propagate trace context with AsyncLocalStorage, control metric cardinality, and read latency with flamegraphs.
Production Memory Management
Tune generational GC, track retainers in heap snapshots, and handle external memory pressure and OOM.
Seven volumes. One runtime.
The book is free.
Go deeper when you're ready.
One-time purchases. No subscriptions. Lifetime access and free updates on everything you buy.
What readers are saying.
Finally a resource that doesn’t assume I already know everything. It explains how Node works under the hood, not just how to use it.
I’ve been looking for something that actually explains the runtime. The explanations are clear and the examples make sense.
Thank you for keeping this free and accessible. Not everyone can afford expensive courses, and this really helps.
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