Building AI Apps · TRACK 02/04
The AI App Stack
Languages, deployment, storage — the boring decisions that matter.
// THE TRACK
01 · START HEREThe Modern AI App StackUnderstand every layer of an LLM application and which ones you can skip on day one.BEGINNERManaging Chat HistoryCompare the three standard strategies for keeping long conversations inside the context window, and learn which one fits your app.INTERMEDIATEPython vs TypeScriptA practical comparison of the two main AI app languages, ending with a clear recommendation.BEGINNERServerless vs Containers vs EdgePick a deployment target that survives 60-second streaming responses without bankrupting you.INTERMEDIATEEstimating AI App CostBuild a back-of-the-envelope model that predicts your AI app's monthly bill before you write production code.INTERMEDIATESecuring API KeysLearn the single most common beginner security mistake in AI apps and the backend-proxy pattern that prevents it.BEGINNERFeature Flags for AI FeaturesUse feature flags to roll out AI features gradually, A/B test models, and kill a misbehaving model instantly.INTERMEDIATEDifyYou will understand what Dify is, how its low-code builder assembles agentic workflows and RAG apps, and who it is for.BEGINNERVercel AI SDK ToolkitYou will understand what the Vercel AI SDK is, the provider-agnostic abstractions it gives TypeScript apps, and when to reach for it.INTERMEDIATEFastAPIYou will understand what FastAPI is, why type hints power its validation and docs, and why it is the backbone of most Python AI backends.INTERMEDIATESupabase + pgvectorYou will understand what Supabase is, how its pgvector extension stores embeddings, and why it is a popular first vector database for RAG.INTERMEDIATEModalYou will understand what Modal is, how it runs Python AI workloads serverlessly on demand, and why fast cold starts matter for inference and batch jobs.INTERMEDIATEReplicateYou will understand what Replicate is, how its one-line API runs and fine-tunes open models, and where it fits in an AI app stack.INTERMEDIATEn8nYou will understand what n8n is, how its visual nodes wire apps and LLMs into automations, and where AI/agent nodes fit.BEGINNERLangflowYou will understand what Langflow is, how its drag-and-connect canvas builds agents and RAG pipelines, and how it compares to coding by hand.BEGINNER