Static primers get you started. ArchForge gets you hired and keeps you sharp. 60+ interactive patterns, a real-time capacity planner, AI/LLM architecture blueprints, and architecture templates you can use in your next interview or production system.
The system design primer is great reading. ArchForge is where you come when you need to think, practice, and design for real.
Every pattern includes when to use it, what you give up, complexity rating, and which patterns it pairs with. Not just a definition but a decision framework.
PATTERN LIBRARYSlide your DAU, requests, and data shape. Get instant estimates for RPS, peak load, storage growth, bandwidth, and cache size. No more back-of-napkin guessing.
CAPACITY PLANNINGRAG pipelines, vector database integration, LLM serving at scale, multi-agent orchestration. Patterns that did not exist when the primer was written.
AI / ML SYSTEMSSix fully worked system designs from URL shorteners to ride-sharing apps. Each one includes component list, data models, scale targets, and known trade-offs.
INTERVIEW READYKubernetes operators, serverless functions, edge computing, service meshes. The patterns production teams actually argue about in architecture reviews.
MODERN STACKSQL vs NoSQL, REST vs gRPC vs GraphQL, Redis vs Memcached. Visual matrices with quantified trade-offs so you can argue a choice, not just state one.
COMPARISON MODEFilter by category or search by name. Click any card for full details including trade-offs, when to use it, and related patterns.
Adjust the sliders to match your system profile. The numbers update live so you can see how a 10x growth in users changes your infrastructure requirements.
Six fully worked system designs with component breakdowns, data models, scale targets, and the specific trade-offs you should mention out loud.
ArchForge is the only free, open-source reference that covers production AI infrastructure patterns at the same depth as classic distributed systems patterns.
This is not a knock on other resources. Each one serves a purpose. This table shows you where ArchForge fills the gaps.
| Feature | ArchForge | System Design Primer | ByteByteGo | Grokking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI / LLM Architecture Patterns | ✓ 7 patterns | ✗ None | Partial | ✗ None |
| Interactive Capacity Calculator | ✓ Built-in | ✗ Static tables | ✗ | ✗ |
| Total Patterns Covered | ✓ 60+ | ~20 | ✓ Many | ~15 |
| Edge / Serverless Patterns | ✓ | ✗ | Partial | ✗ |
| Vector Database Pattern | ✓ | ✗ | Partial | ✗ |
| Architecture Templates | ✓ 6 detailed | 8 solutions | ✓ | ✓ |
| Completely Free | ✓ | ✓ | Freemium | ✗ Paid |
| Open Source | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |