Stop Reading About System Design.
Start Building It.

You have read the blog posts. You have watched the videos. But when the interviewer says "Design a URL shortener," you freeze. ScaleDojo is the interactive system design lab where you drag real components, build real architectures, and get instant AI feedback on your design decisions.

HLD Design Database Lab API Design AI Coach GenAI & AI Lab Personalized AI Roadmap Mock Interview
Start Your First Challenge Free

No credit card required. Build your first architecture in 5 minutes.

New to system design? Start with our learning paths

Trusted by engineers preparing for roles at top companies

What You Will Build

Practice the Exact Systems That Get Asked in Interviews

From URL shorteners to distributed message queues. Build the architectures that separate Senior from Staff engineers.

High-Level Design

HLD Architecture Challenges

Level 1Easy

The Static App

Design a single server static application.

Try It
Level 2Easy+15 XP

The 3-Tier Web App

Add database replication and user session management.

Level 3Easy+15 XP

URL Shortener

Design a highly-available URL shortening service like TinyURL.

Level 4Medium+25 XP

Rate Limiter

Design an API Rate Limiter to prevent DOS attacks.

Level 5Medium+25 XP

Notification System

Design a scalable multi-channel notification engine.

Level 7Hard+40 XP

Consistent Hashing

Implement load balancing and server ring partition.

Level 8HardPremium+50 XP

Distributed Message Queue

Design a high-throughput partitioned messaging queue like Kafka.

Level 9ExpertPremium+60 XP

Uber Driver Matcher

Design a low-latency driver matching service using geospatial indexing.

Pick any challenge and start building. Every design gets scored by AI with detailed architectural feedback.

Start Building Free

Three Steps to System Design Confidence

Go from theory to hands-on system design practice in minutes. No setup, no prerequisites.

1

Pick a Challenge

Choose real-world system design scenarios across HLD, LLD, API Design, GenAI, SQL Lab, and Mock Interview. Start with a URL shortener or go straight to designing a distributed message queue.

2

Build Your Architecture

Drag components onto an interactive canvas. Connect load balancers, databases, caches, and message queues. Make the same trade-off decisions you would face in a real system design interview.

3

Get AI Feedback

Submit your design and receive detailed AI-powered analysis on your architectural choices. Identify gaps, fix mistakes, and understand why senior engineers make different decisions.

Chaos Engineering Simulator

Murphy's Lab:
If It Can Break, It Will

Building an architecture is only half the challenge. Knowing if it survives real-world failure is what separates good engineers from great ones. Murphy's Lab is a chaos engineering simulator built into every HLD system design challenge. Crash servers, spike traffic, sever connections, and watch your design respond under pressure in real time.

Inject real failure scenarios: server crashes, network partitions, traffic spikes
Watch live metrics update in real time: latency, throughput, error rate
Learn fault tolerance patterns: circuit breakers, retries, graceful degradation
Practice the same chaos engineering used at Netflix, Google, and AWS
Try Murphy's Lab Free
Simulation Active

247ms

Latency

12.4%

Error Rate

842 rps

Throughput

Web Server #2 crashed0:03
Load Balancer rerouting traffic0:04
Cache hit rate dropped to 34%0:06
Auto-recovery: Server #2 back online0:11
untitled.canvas
Load Test
Client
API Gateway
Auth
Service
Cache
DB

Draw Your Own Design

Not every idea fits a level. Sometimes you just want a blank canvas: an interview whiteboard, a design doc diagram, or something you're building at work and want to pressure-test before committing to it. Drop in cloud components, wire them up, and fire real traffic at it to see how it holds up.

40+ cloud components: load balancers, queues, caches, databases, gateways, and more
Live load test simulation, no account needed
Optional AI review that flags what looks missing or fragile
Export to PNG, SVG, or an animated diagram once you sign in (free)
Start Drawing Free

Prove It On Your Profile

Earn your first verifiable system design certificate in under a week. Each comes with a unique credential ID, a public verification page, and one-click sharing to LinkedIn and X.

ScaleDojo LogoScaleDojo

Certificate of Achievement

HLD Architecture Foundations

This certifies that

Your Name Here

Demonstrated proficiency in core distributed system design patterns including load balancing, caching, database replication, and URL shortening architectures.

Levels Completed

12 / 12

Credential ID

SD-A1B2-C3D4

Verified
0HLD Certificates
0LLD Certificates
0API Certificates
0GenAI Certificates
0Milestone & Master
Unique credential ID per certificate
Public verification page
One-click LinkedIn & X sharing
Tamper-proof & permanent
Start Earning Certificates

Free to start. No credit card required.

One Skill. Permanent Value.

Most system design courses charge $39 to $99 per month for video lectures. ScaleDojo gives you hands-on practice with AI feedback for a fraction of that cost. System design knowledge compounds. Engineers who truly understand distributed systems earn more, lead more, and build better.

7-day full refund policy. No questions asked.

Explorer
₹0
free forever, no card needed
  • Act 1 + Act 2: 12 HLD Architecture Levels
  • 10 LLD Schema Design Missions
  • 10 API Design Challenges
  • GenAI: Primer Levels
  • AI Lab: First 6 Challenges
  • SQL Lab: First 10 Cases
  • Personalized AI Roadmap access
  • Global Leaderboard Access
  • 20 Credits on signup + 5/day
  • 15 Credits per referral
  • 2 MYD Architectural Slots
Start Free
Pro
₹2,999₹2,399
800 credits + 225 premium levels /year
  • Everything in Explorer, plus:
  • 40 HLD, 30 LLD, 30 API & 40 GenAI
  • 20 AI Lab levels + 30 SQL Cases
  • 35 levels of Forge Algorithm lab
  • Mock Interview Arena access
  • 800 AI Credits instantly
  • 15 MYD Architectural Slots
  • AI-Powered Logic Analysis
  • Quizzes & Interview Signal on every Learn chapter
  • PRO badge on profile
  • Standard Support
Get Pro Access
Most Popular
Architect
₹5,999₹4,799
all 478 levels + 3,000 credits /year
  • Everything in Pro, plus:
  • All HLD, LLD, API, GenAI & AI Lab levels
  • All SQL Cases & Forge Algorithm lab levels
  • Mock Interview Arena: Unlimited
  • 3,000 AI Credits instantly
  • 50 MYD Architectural Slots
  • Full AI Reviews & Hints
  • Quizzes & Interview Signal on every Learn chapter
  • ARCHITECT badge on profile
  • Priority Support
Unlock Architect Access
Creator Spotlight

Creators Are Talking About ScaleDojo

Independent tech creators sharing ScaleDojo with their communities.

What Engineers Say

Real Feedback from Engineers Who Practice Here

SU
Suryansh

"One of the most valuable parts of ScaleDojo was the Wiki section and the origin files. Instead of just covering interview patterns, they helped me build a deep understanding of core system design concepts from the ground up. The content is well-structured, practical, and goes beyond surface-level explanations. Combined with the mentorship and interview preparation, it gave me the confidence to reason through system design problems rather than memorize answers. Highly recommended for anyone preparing for top-tier engineering interviews."

StudentIIT Kanpur
SG
Shreya Gupta

"ScaleDojo played a huge role in helping me crack system design interviews. The sessions were practical, focused on real interview scenarios, and helped me build a structured approach to tackling complex design problems. The feedback was honest, actionable, and significantly improved both my confidence and communication during interviews. Highly recommended for anyone serious about leveling up their system design skills."

SDE 2Google
K
k*****t@gmail.com

"ScaleDojo has a very well-organized System Design learning experience. The content is easy to follow, breaks down complex topics into simple concepts, and helps build a strong understanding step by step. I would highly recommend it and encourage every beginner or aspiring engineer to check it out."

ScaleDojo User
VA
Vanshika Agarwal

"Okay real talk. When I was working at Google, I prepared for my Atlassian interview for months. I had notes, flashcards, could explain consistent hashing to my roommate at 2am without even thinking. Walked in feeling confident. First 10 minutes went well. Then the interviewer goes “alright, your primary database just went down. 10,000 users are hitting your system right now. Walk me through what happens.” I just... sat there. For way too long. Because I had read about failure scenarios. I had never actually sat with one and figured my way through it. Huge difference. That moment stayed with me for a long time. Most of our prep is passive. We consume. We do not build. We definitely do not break things and learn to fix them. So when I came across ScaleDojo I actually used it for a few weeks before posting anything here. You build architectures yourself on a canvas. Submit your design and get AI feedback on exactly what an interviewer would push back on. And Murphy’s Lab breaks your system in real time, crash a server, spike traffic, cut a network, watch your latency respond live. Then you fix it. That is the skill interviews are actually testing. If that blank moment sounds familiar, you are probably preparing the same way I was. Go try one challenge, free, no card needed. Come back and tell me if Murphy’s Lab did not completely change how you think about your architecture."

SDE-2Atlassian
SA
Sajal

"ScaleDojo makes DSA learning practical with clear explanations, coding challenges, and structured problem-solving practice for real interviews."

IT LeadWalkingtree Techonologies
SL
Subarna Lamsal

"Going good. The API architecture playground looks very good. Over it's a very nice feature. Love to work on it."

ScaleDojo User
SS
Siva Sai

"an excellent and best program because of the content presence and delivery creating an interest to practice"

ScaleDojo User
VB
Vijay Bhatt

"Its great till now, the labs are very useful with topic help in daily learning goal and building concept incrementally, quizzes and challenge help checking your understanding of concept, live dashboard rating keep you motivated, very well built platform which makes learning fun."

Principal ArchitectKrista AI
SA
Saikumar

"Great value for the price! ScaleDojo offers excellent quality at an affordable rate. Highly recommended for anyone seeking quality and value!"

ScaleDojo User
H
h*****9@gmail.com

"It's really amazing to see something like this like I'm preparing something for a real interview It is helping me a lot so yeah end up Murphy's lab is also great to see the how the system is actually behaving under load spikes we flash types of simulation that's absolutely great"

ScaleDojo User
SU
Suryansh

"One of the most valuable parts of ScaleDojo was the Wiki section and the origin files. Instead of just covering interview patterns, they helped me build a deep understanding of core system design concepts from the ground up. The content is well-structured, practical, and goes beyond surface-level explanations. Combined with the mentorship and interview preparation, it gave me the confidence to reason through system design problems rather than memorize answers. Highly recommended for anyone preparing for top-tier engineering interviews."

StudentIIT Kanpur
SG
Shreya Gupta

"ScaleDojo played a huge role in helping me crack system design interviews. The sessions were practical, focused on real interview scenarios, and helped me build a structured approach to tackling complex design problems. The feedback was honest, actionable, and significantly improved both my confidence and communication during interviews. Highly recommended for anyone serious about leveling up their system design skills."

SDE 2Google
K
k*****t@gmail.com

"ScaleDojo has a very well-organized System Design learning experience. The content is easy to follow, breaks down complex topics into simple concepts, and helps build a strong understanding step by step. I would highly recommend it and encourage every beginner or aspiring engineer to check it out."

ScaleDojo User
VA
Vanshika Agarwal

"Okay real talk. When I was working at Google, I prepared for my Atlassian interview for months. I had notes, flashcards, could explain consistent hashing to my roommate at 2am without even thinking. Walked in feeling confident. First 10 minutes went well. Then the interviewer goes “alright, your primary database just went down. 10,000 users are hitting your system right now. Walk me through what happens.” I just... sat there. For way too long. Because I had read about failure scenarios. I had never actually sat with one and figured my way through it. Huge difference. That moment stayed with me for a long time. Most of our prep is passive. We consume. We do not build. We definitely do not break things and learn to fix them. So when I came across ScaleDojo I actually used it for a few weeks before posting anything here. You build architectures yourself on a canvas. Submit your design and get AI feedback on exactly what an interviewer would push back on. And Murphy’s Lab breaks your system in real time, crash a server, spike traffic, cut a network, watch your latency respond live. Then you fix it. That is the skill interviews are actually testing. If that blank moment sounds familiar, you are probably preparing the same way I was. Go try one challenge, free, no card needed. Come back and tell me if Murphy’s Lab did not completely change how you think about your architecture."

SDE-2Atlassian
SA
Sajal

"ScaleDojo makes DSA learning practical with clear explanations, coding challenges, and structured problem-solving practice for real interviews."

IT LeadWalkingtree Techonologies
SL
Subarna Lamsal

"Going good. The API architecture playground looks very good. Over it's a very nice feature. Love to work on it."

ScaleDojo User
SS
Siva Sai

"an excellent and best program because of the content presence and delivery creating an interest to practice"

ScaleDojo User
VB
Vijay Bhatt

"Its great till now, the labs are very useful with topic help in daily learning goal and building concept incrementally, quizzes and challenge help checking your understanding of concept, live dashboard rating keep you motivated, very well built platform which makes learning fun."

Principal ArchitectKrista AI
SA
Saikumar

"Great value for the price! ScaleDojo offers excellent quality at an affordable rate. Highly recommended for anyone seeking quality and value!"

ScaleDojo User
H
h*****9@gmail.com

"It's really amazing to see something like this like I'm preparing something for a real interview It is helping me a lot so yeah end up Murphy's lab is also great to see the how the system is actually behaving under load spikes we flash types of simulation that's absolutely great"

ScaleDojo User
RK
Ravi Kumar

"Usually, prep sites stop at high-level blocks. ScaleDojo goes down to the API specs, payload structures, and LLD table indexes. Designing microservices visually while specifying route constraints and database schemas feels incredibly close to actual design reviews we do internally. Excellent resource for anyone targeting Senior/Staff loops."

StudentNIT Karnataka
SS
simanta sarma

"It helped me implement those concepts in practice. Really helpful tool. I highly recommend this platform if you are in the computer science field."

Student (Btech in CSE)Gauhati University
PA
Palak

"Really loved my experience with ScaleDojo. The platform is easy to use, and the way concepts are explained makes learning much simpler. I’ve genuinely learned practical things here that I can actually apply. Definitely worth it."

ScaleDojo User
SA
Sajjan Akheel

"I really liked the UX of the application. As a beginner this is a very good source. I am working on GEN AI and is really worth it."

ScaleDojo User
RN
Ravi Nagubandi

"The site is really very good for hands-on with respect to design and architecture. The UX is intuitive and impactful."

Oracle
RG
Rohit G

"The visualization is the key. It helps understand the architecture better with the flow of requests."

Staff Software EngineerBlue Yonder
SP
Suraj Prasad Soni

"I had a great experience using this system design website. The content is well-structured, easy to understand, and covers concepts in a practical way. It’s especially helpful for preparing for system design interviews and improving overall architectural thinking. Highly recommended!"

ScaleDojo User
A
a*****7@gmail.com

"Interface is well structured and designed for users understanding."

ScaleDojo User
C
c*****8@careney.com

"Amazing is the best way to tell this is best.. i dont know what to say, this is the bestest best experience in my life"

ScaleDojo User
AB
Anmol Binani

"Loved that i can actually do the system design and get feedback on it. It allows me to actually test what can understand from the problem statement and how i can already try to figure out the hidden requirements without having to look at it and give it a try."

ScaleDojo User
RK
Ravi Kumar

"Usually, prep sites stop at high-level blocks. ScaleDojo goes down to the API specs, payload structures, and LLD table indexes. Designing microservices visually while specifying route constraints and database schemas feels incredibly close to actual design reviews we do internally. Excellent resource for anyone targeting Senior/Staff loops."

StudentNIT Karnataka
SS
simanta sarma

"It helped me implement those concepts in practice. Really helpful tool. I highly recommend this platform if you are in the computer science field."

Student (Btech in CSE)Gauhati University
PA
Palak

"Really loved my experience with ScaleDojo. The platform is easy to use, and the way concepts are explained makes learning much simpler. I’ve genuinely learned practical things here that I can actually apply. Definitely worth it."

ScaleDojo User
SA
Sajjan Akheel

"I really liked the UX of the application. As a beginner this is a very good source. I am working on GEN AI and is really worth it."

ScaleDojo User
RN
Ravi Nagubandi

"The site is really very good for hands-on with respect to design and architecture. The UX is intuitive and impactful."

Oracle
RG
Rohit G

"The visualization is the key. It helps understand the architecture better with the flow of requests."

Staff Software EngineerBlue Yonder
SP
Suraj Prasad Soni

"I had a great experience using this system design website. The content is well-structured, easy to understand, and covers concepts in a practical way. It’s especially helpful for preparing for system design interviews and improving overall architectural thinking. Highly recommended!"

ScaleDojo User
A
a*****7@gmail.com

"Interface is well structured and designed for users understanding."

ScaleDojo User
C
c*****8@careney.com

"Amazing is the best way to tell this is best.. i dont know what to say, this is the bestest best experience in my life"

ScaleDojo User
AB
Anmol Binani

"Loved that i can actually do the system design and get feedback on it. It allows me to actually test what can understand from the problem statement and how i can already try to figure out the hidden requirements without having to look at it and give it a try."

ScaleDojo User
Join the Community

Frequently Asked
Questions

Everything about ScaleDojo's labs, pricing, and how to actually get better at system design - organized by topic so you can jump straight to what you need.

Your Next System Design Interview Is Coming

Every pattern you will drag onto the canvas started as a real engineering decision. The HLD Origin Files trace 8 chapters and 60 years of system design history, so you understand why load balancers, caches, and consistent hashing exist before you ever place one.

Read the Origin Files

Free to read. No signup required.