Learning paths: curated multi-week journeys

[bobbyonmagic]

Summary

Bundle the existing 600+ pieces of content into curated sequenced journeys. Each path is a JSON config pointing at existing content in a specific order. localStorage tracks per-user progress, no backend required.

Paths to launch with

• DevOps in 30 days — fundamentals to basic deployment
• Kubernetes in 14 days — from pods to production
• SRE fundamentals — SLOs, error budgets, on-call, postmortems
• Platform engineer track — IDPs, Backstage, golden paths
• GitOps crash course — Argo CD, Flux, repo structure

UX

• /paths — index of all paths with difficulty + duration
• /paths/{slug} — path detail with ordered content list, progress bar, "continue" CTA
• Each content page in a path shows "Step X of Y in {Path Name}" breadcrumb at top
• localStorage tracks completed items
• "Completed" badges + shareable social card when you finish a path

Data shape

content/paths/{slug}.json:

{
  "title": "DevOps in 30 Days",
  "description": "...",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "estimatedDuration": "30 days",
  "items": [
    { "type": "guide", "slug": "introduction-to-linux" },
    { "type": "exercise", "slug": "cloud-server-setup" },
    { "type": "simulator", "slug": "dns-simulator" }
  ]
}

Why

• Solves the "where do I start?" problem new visitors have
• Massive retention lift (users come back to continue)
• Gamification with path completion badges
• Zero new content needed, just config + UI