Learn System Design.
By Practice.
Ace Your Interview.
You wouldn't prep for coding interviews without writing code.
Don't prep for system design without drawing systems.
Archie reviews every design in a minute, like a staff engineer would.
No credit card required · 100 free Arcs
You don't learn system design
by watching someone else do it.
Reading about trade-offs is not the same as making them. You get better at system design by doing it — designing, getting scored feedback, and fixing what's wrong. ArchieGuru gives you that loop.
- Design a real system under real constraints
- Make trade-off decisions and see their consequences
- Get expert-level AI feedback in about a minute
- Understand why a pattern fits — not just that it exists
- See a scored breakdown across all relevant architecture quality attributes
Archie knows your diagram.
Not just your question.
Archie isn't a generic chatbot. It's a context-aware AI that sees your entire canvas — every node, every connection, every technology choice — and responds in context. Ask it to review your design, get a targeted hint, ask a question, or describe what you need and let it build the diagram.
A thorough architectural critique
Submit your design. Get a scored breakdown of scalability, availability, security, and more — with specific recommendations in about a minute.
The feedback a staff engineer would give, without the calendar invite.
Archie
Cost Efficiency
The ability to meet required performance and reliability outcomes while minimizing infrastructure and operational cost.
- S3 as the primary origin decouples most traffic from the more expensive Next.js origin, reducing compute egress costs.
- No TTL strategy is defined, so it is unclear whether the cache hit rate will actually be high enough to justify CDN costs.
- Serving resolution variants per device type is good for bandwidth cost reduction but only if the cache key is carefully normalized to avoid excessive miss rate inflation.
From kata to mastery
in four steps.
The entire loop — challenge, design, feedback, improvement — happens inside ArchieGuru. No switching tools, no waiting for peers, no guessing.
Choose your kata
Pick a real challenge from our library — URL shorteners, payment systems, chat apps — or define your own from real work.
Design on the canvas
Map out your system visually — services, data stores, connections — or ask Archie to draft it from a plain-English prompt.
Get Archie's feedback
Submit your design. Get a score, a ranked list of issues, and specific recommendations in under a minute.
Iterate and track progress
Refine based on feedback, resubmit, and watch your scores climb. Progress has a number, not just a feeling.
Kata Library
40+ real-world architecture challenges
URL Shortener Service
BeginnerCreate unique short codes and serve redirect lookups with low latency as link count grows.
Feature Flag Service
BeginnerChange rollouts by environment, segment, or percentage without redeploying code.
Image Thumbnail Generator
BeginnerProduce thumbnails quickly on first request and keep popular variants fast without storing every derivative.
Webhook Delivery System
IntermediateRetry safely, survive long subscriber outages, and keep delivery status visible.
API Rate Limiter
IntermediateBlock abusive traffic patterns while adding minimal latency to legitimate requests.
Multi-Tenant SaaS Platform
IntermediateShare infrastructure across tenants while keeping data isolated and extensions manageable.
Payment Processing Pipeline
AdvancedCapture money once, survive gateway outages, and keep sensitive payment data controlled.
Social Media News Feed
AdvancedRank followed-account posts quickly and stay stable when popular accounts trigger extreme fan-out.
Video Streaming Platform
AdvancedServe adaptive streams globally, absorb premiere-day surges, and keep delivery costs in check.
Real-Time Fraud Detection Engine
ExpertScore transactions quickly, stay consistent across model rollouts, and never fail open.
Global Financial Trading Platform
ExpertKeep market-session downtime near zero while preserving ultra-low latency under real cost constraints.
Document Collaboration Service
ExpertLet hundreds of editors work concurrently without the document quietly diverging.
…and many more across all difficulty levels. New challenges added regularly.
Case Studies
See it in action.
Classic system design problems, worked out one iteration at a time.
- Beginner17 min
Designing a URL shortener
From one API + one Postgres to a globally distributed redirect fabric — five revisions, each driven by the thing that broke.
Read - Intermediate18 min
Designing a rate limiter
From per-process counters to regional token buckets and adaptive abuse controls - five revisions that expose the traps in a deceptively small interview prompt.
Read - Advanced22 min
Designing a video streaming platform
From one origin server to a CDN-backed, transcoded, regionally aware playback platform with reliability, content protection, and cost controls across six revisions.
Read
Know exactly how far
you've come.
Most learning platforms tell you how many videos you've watched. ArchieGuru scores every design you submit, so you can see your architecture skill improve kata by kata. Your progression dashboard plots each score over time — growth becomes something you can point to, not something you hope is happening.
- 12
Scalability
78.4 avg score
- 9
Fault Tolerance
72.1 avg score
- 8
Performance
81.6 avg score
- 6
Security
69.3 avg score
Built for anyone who
thinks in systems.
ArchieGuru meets you where you are — whether you're learning, leveling up, or leading.
Junior & Mid-Level Engineers
System design can feel overwhelming when you're starting out. ArchieGuru breaks it down — work through guided katas, get feedback that explains the why behind every decision, and build real architectural intuition step by step.
- Learn how real systems are designed end-to-end
- Build intuition for trade-offs like consistency vs availability
- Get clear explanations — not just right or wrong
- Track your growth as you level up
Senior Engineers & Interview Prep
Whether you're prepping for a system design interview or pressure-testing a real production decision, ArchieGuru lets you practice the full system design loop — and get scored feedback before it counts.
- Practice with real interview-style katas
- Pressure-test decisions before they hit production
- Identify blind spots with AI-powered review
- Create custom katas from real work problems
Founders & Product Builders
Describe what kind of system you want to achieve and design it step by step with Archie's guidance. Non-engineers welcome — Archie explains architecture choices in plain language as you go, and nudges you in the right direction before problems show up.
- No degree required — complex trade-offs explained in plain language
- Design your architecture iteratively with guided feedback
- Understand exactly what needs fixing and why
- Build systems knowledge alongside your product
Give candidates a kata. Archie scores it. Your engineers only review the ones that clear the bar — with custom katas, your own criteria, and hiring analytics.
Archie runs on Arcs
Arcs are the fuel Archie uses to review your designs, answer questions, and give hints.
Perfect for a consistent monthly practice habit.
- 720 Arcs / month (+20%)
- ~72 hints or questions
- ~36 full architectural reviews
- Arcs accumulate and never expire
- All canvas features
The sweet spot for consistent weekly practice and deep dives.
- 2,400 Arcs / month (+20%)
- ~240 hints or questions
- ~120 full architectural reviews
- Arcs accumulate and never expire
- All canvas features
- Priority Archie processing
For architects and interview candidates practicing intensively — the best per-Arc rate.
- 6,000 Arcs / month (+20%)
- ~600 hints or questions
- ~300 full architectural reviews
- Arcs accumulate and never expire
- All canvas features
- Priority Archie processing