Learn System Design through Instagram
One real architecture, explained completely. Click any box, arrow label or ◆ chip in the diagram to open a lesson on that concept, or play a request flow to watch data move through the system step by step.
How to use this guide
Pick the approach that suits you. Your progress is saved in this browser.
1Follow the path
Work through the lessons in order, from Foundations to the full interview walkthrough. Each lesson builds on earlier ones.
2Explore the diagram
Hover over anything to see a summary, and click to open its lesson. Each lesson's 📍 Show on diagram button brings you back here.
3Play the flows
Pick a flow such as “Post a photo” and step through it with ← →. Each step highlights the components involved and links to their lessons.
4Test yourself
Every lesson ends with interview questions, a quiz with hidden answers and key takeaways. Mark the lesson as learned to track progress.
🗺️ The architecture: Instagram, high level
Everything is clickable. ◆ chips are concepts that apply to the area they sit in. The dashed strip at the bottom holds cross-cutting topics.
📚 Learning path
41 lessons in 7 parts. Each one follows the same structure: TL;DR → the problem → how it works → how Instagram uses it → trade-offs → technologies → interview corner → quiz → key takeaways.
🧭 Suggested study plans
⚡ Interview in 3 days
How to Approach → Requirements → Capacity Estimation → News Feed → Caching → Sharding → Message Queues → CDN → Interview Walkthrough → play every flow.
📅 Two-week deep dive
Two or three lessons a day in order. Answer every quiz before opening the answer, then redraw the diagram from memory at the end of each part.
🎯 Concept refresher
Use the sidebar filter or the Glossary to jump to a single topic, then read its Key Takeaways and Interview Corner.