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How Jot Works — anatomy of a modern web app

For Curious non-developers and new developers, taught through a real app as the case study. · 21 days · Tech

A 21-day course
One short lesson a day · go at your own pace
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The days
Listen to the whole course · 103 min
  1. 0Meet Jot, your lab benchKnow what Jot is and how this course works — and have Jot open with your first note written. Listen · 4 min
  2. 1Start here: how Jot worksExplain what a website really is — browser, server, page — and run this course's daily reading loop. Listen · 5 min
  3. 2Finding a site: addresses, DNS & the padlockTake a URL apart, explain what DNS does, and say what the padlock actually buys you. Listen · 5 min
  4. 3The three languages & the two halvesName the jobs of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, split an app into frontend and backend, and read an API call. Listen · 5 min
  5. 4What Jot is built withExplain what Node.js, TypeScript and React each add on top of the three languages. Listen · 5 min
  6. 5Where your notes liveExplain what a database does, the Cloud vs Local trade, and how end-to-end encryption seals the private mode. Listen · 5 min
  7. 6AI on your terms: your key + embeddingsExplain why Jot makes you bring your own AI key, and what an embedding actually is. Listen · 5 min
  8. 7AI that reads your notes: search + Ask AIContrast vector search with keyword search, and walk the five steps of RAG end to end. Listen · 5 min
  9. 8AI in your own voice: Refine, prompts & skillsExplain what Refine does and refuses to do, read a prompt like a spec, and say what a Skill is. Listen · 5 min
  10. 9Shipping it: Git, deploy, PWA & the Play StoreTrace code from a git commit to a phone: deploy, PWA powers, push notifications, the Play-Store shell, and the passkey lock. Listen · 5 min
  11. 10The whole map + build your ownTrace Jot from a browser action through storage and AI retrieval, then publish a small page at a real URL. Listen · 5 min
  12. 11Under the hood: the editor & how a note is storedExplain how Jot stores a note as markdown inside a content envelope and how links and tags survive the editor round trip. Listen · 5 min
  13. 12Under the hood: signing in without passwordsTrace Jot's passwordless sign-in flow and explain how a signed session cookie keeps later requests authenticated. Listen · 5 min
  14. 13Under the hood: proving it works (tests)Write a behavior-focused test, explain why a bug fix starts with failure, and use parity tests to compare Cloud and Local modes. Listen · 5 min
  15. 14Under the hood: one app, two enginesExplain how Jot's DataAPI contract separates the UI from Cloud and Local storage and name the checks that prevent parity drift. Listen · 5 min
  16. 15Using Jot well: the daily loopUse Jot's capture, refine, review, and connect loop to turn one daily note into trusted, reusable material. Listen · 5 min
  17. 16Using Jot well: tags vs topicsChoose tags for reusable kinds of notes and topics for specific subjects, then combine them without creating clutter. Listen · 5 min
  18. 17Using Jot well: one subject per sectionSplit a daily note into one-subject sections and explain how that grain improves tags, links, summaries, and retrieval. Listen · 5 min
  19. 18Using Jot well: getting real answers from Ask AIAsk a grounded question, inspect its citations, and improve a weak Ask AI result by fixing the reviewed source material. Listen · 5 min
  20. 19Using Jot well: the Daily Brief as a workflowUse the Daily Brief's four lenses and Compile flow to turn unresolved notes into a deliberate daily workflow. Listen · 5 min
  21. 20Using Jot well: make it yoursConfigure Jot's theme, AI provider, writing voice, notebook personas, and capture tools while keeping your notes portable. Listen · 5 min