Backend Mindset — Language-Agnostic Principles

Load only the reference needed for the current task.

Reference Map

Task	When to load	File
Where does code go? What layer?	Any new feature or refactor	references/architecture.md
REST endpoints, routes, status codes	API design or new endpoint	references/api-design.md
Testing strategy, TDD cycle	Writing or planning tests	references/testing.md
Auth, secrets, input validation, injection	Security concerns	references/security.md
Events, messaging, async patterns	Event-driven inter-service	references/events.md
Query patterns, caching, async perf	Performance optimization	references/performance.md

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Decision Tree

TASK?
│
├─ New feature / endpoint
│  ├─ Where does this code live?   → references/architecture.md
│  └─ How to structure the API?    → references/api-design.md
│
├─ Writing tests / TDD
│  └─ All test concerns            → references/testing.md
│
├─ Security concern
│  └─ Auth, validation, secrets    → references/security.md
│
├─ Microservice / async
│  └─ Events, messaging            → references/events.md
│
└─ Performance concern
   └─ Queries, caching, async      → references/performance.md