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Sprint 1: From Zero to Foundation

· 2 min read
AskAtlas Team

We just wrapped Sprint 1 and wanted to share what we built, what we learned, and where we're headed.

What We Built​

Starting from an empty repo, we shipped:

  • Full authentication pipeline — Clerk integration on both frontend (Next.js middleware) and backend (Go JWT validation + webhook sync)
  • Database architecture — PostgreSQL with a comprehensive schema for users and files, including grants, views, favorites, and soft deletes
  • CI/CD pipelines — Automated checks for both API and web, Docker-based deployments to Digital Ocean, and rollback capability
  • Core UI — Landing page, authenticated dashboard, practice page designs, and responsive sidebar navigation

All 19 planned issues were completed.

Architecture Highlights​

Split-Stack Monorepo​

We chose a Go API + Next.js frontend in a monorepo. Go gives us strong typing and performance for the API, while Next.js with the App Router lets us leverage server components and server-side rendering for the frontend.

Interface-Driven Go Patterns​

The API follows a clean Handler → Service → Repository architecture. Every layer depends on interfaces, making unit testing straightforward with generated mocks.

Keyset Pagination​

For file listings, we implemented cursor-based (keyset) pagination instead of offset pagination. This is more efficient at scale — instead of OFFSET N (which scans and discards N rows), we use WHERE (sort_col, id) > (cursor_value, cursor_id) which seeks directly via the index.

What We Learned​

This sprint had a significant learning curve. The tech stack — Go, Next.js App Router, PostgreSQL, Docker, Clerk, Infisical — was new for part of the team. We spent considerable time on knowledge transfer and onboarding.

Key takeaways:

  • Document early — We didn't document architecture decisions during the sprint, which made it harder for team members to ramp up
  • Pair programming helps — Working through unfamiliar code together was more effective than reading docs alone
  • Infrastructure first pays off — Investing in CI/CD and deployment automation upfront has already saved us time

What's Next​

Sprint 2 focuses on building out the core CRUD operations now that the foundation is solid:

  • File upload/download pipeline via Garage (S3-compatible storage)
  • Course and study guide CRUD
  • Library UI/UX
  • Dashboard implementation with real data

For the full sprint report with issue details, see the Sprint 1 Review.