Tofunmi posts three starter projects

Junior developers often freeze on "what to build next." Tofunmi just fixed that. He dropped three starter projects on X—URL shortener, auth system, e-commerce API—that peers like Solomon and Ryan Hart expanded into full roadmaps. The goal? Ship deployable apps fast, with tests and docs, to pin on GitHub and grab attention from recruiters. This hits at a time when backend basics like REST APIs and databases trip up most entry-level applicants. ### Why these three projects? Tofunmi picked them because they cover core backend skills without fluff. URL shortener teaches REST endpoints and databases. Auth system nails JWT tokens and password hashing. E-commerce API handles CRUD operations plus relationships—like users to orders. They're small but force you to wire up real-world pieces: APIs, DBs, security. No toy apps—each deploys to production. ### How does the URL shortener roadmap work? Solomon broke it into four weeks. Week 1: Basic FastAPI endpoints to shorten/redirect URLs, store in SQLite. Week 2: Swap to Postgres, add user auth with JWT. Week 3: Deploy to Render or Vercel, slap on rate-limiting to stop abuse. Week 4: Write tests, generate docs with Swagger, set up CI/CD. By end, you've got a live app with GitHub Actions running tests on push. It's progressive—each step builds on the last, no big-bang rewrite. ### What's the auth system about? Build a login/signup API. Users register with email/password—hash with bcrypt, never store plain text. Issue JWTs on login for stateless auth. Protect routes: only logged-in users create short links or view analytics. Edge cases? Refresh tokens, password reset emails via SendGrid. Deploy it standalone or glue to the URL app. Tests cover invalid logins, expired tokens. This proves you get security basics—huge for interviews. ### Why e-commerce API? Models: users, products, orders, order items. CRUD all of them. Relations matter—orders belong to users, have many items. Use SQLAlchemy ORM for Postgres. Endpoints: list products, add to cart, checkout with Stripe mock. Auth guards purchases. Analytics endpoint shows top sellers. It's relational DBs in action—joins, foreign keys, migrations. Ship with seed data and Postman collection. Recruiters love seeing normalized schemas. ### Git and CI/CD from day one? Ryan Hart hammered this: master Git workflows early—branches, PRs, rebases. Push to GitHub daily. Set up GitHub Actions for linting, tests, auto-deploy on merge. No "it works on my machine." A repo with green CI badges screams polish. Pin your three finished projects. Profile pic, bio with tech stack, these repos—boom, hirable signal. Turns out, half of juniors bomb on basic Git questions. ### Why does "ship deployable" matter? Portfolios full of untested local scripts get ignored. These projects deploy to free tiers—Render, Railway, Fly.io. Add a README: screenshots, API docs link, "deployed at." Tests? Pytest for 80% coverage. Rate-limits prevent spam. This shows you think like a pro—reliable, observable code. Consensus in threads: do 2-3 like this, you're ahead of 90% of applicants. ### Common pitfalls to dodge? Skip frontend—focus backend APIs. Don't over-engineer: vanilla FastAPI + SQLAlchemy + Alembic. Free tools only—no AWS bills. Document assumptions, like "no payments in v1." Test failures, not just happy paths. One thread warned: "Half-done repos hurt more than none." Polish or skip. ### Bottom line Pick one, follow Solomon's 4-week plan, deploy by week 3. Repeat for the others. Six weeks total—you've got three pinned repos proving API, DB, auth, deploy skills. Job hunt stronger. Tofunmi's thread lit a fire—junior devs are already forking and shipping. Your turn. ``` Word count: 578```