For folks asking what is a good first project to learn full‑stack DevOps?
Build a simple bug tracker for your own side projects:
1. Pick a boring stack (React or plain HTML JS, Node/Express or Django)
2. Design 3 core features: create bug, assign bug, close bug
3. Use a simple relational DB (Postgres/MySQL, 3–4 tables max)
4. Add basic auth (email password, hashed, no OAuth drama)
5. Dockerize app DB so you can run with one command
6. Write a tiny Makefile or shell script for setup and run
7. Add a health endpoint (/health) that just returns "ok"
8. Add one background job (daily summary email/log)
9. Write a minimal CI: run tests and build on every push
10. Deploy to a cheap VM or a single cloud instance
11. Add basic monitoring: uptime check one dashboard (CPU, RAM, errors)
12. Keep a CHANGELOG so you practice versioning
13. Write a README that a junior can follow and run
14. Keep improving it every week instead of starting 10 new projects