Synterra Handbook
This handbook holds what we learned building real products on AWS: what worked, what broke, and what we would do the same way again.
It is written for engineers joining the team. Read a module before you build in that area. Most pages end with a Mistakes we made section. Those are the parts that cost us hours or outages. Please do not pay for them twice.
Modules
| Module | Read it before you... |
|---|---|
| Project kickoff | start a project for a new client: step by step from ownership to the first deploy, plus setting up Sentry, email, push, monitoring and AI services |
| Code organisation | add a module or a feature to an API |
| Security | put anything on the internet, or review an existing system |
| Files and Storage | add any upload, download, image, video or moderation feature |
| Global AWS Architecture | add a region, a database, a new app surface, or anything touching sign-in |
| DevOps | go on production duty, ship a release, or set up a new service |
| Server and maintenance | run or take over a server: patching, backups, upgrades, certificates, cost and clean-up |
| Data Privacy | collect a new kind of personal data, add consent, or answer a user's data request |
| Store deployments | ship a mobile app to the App Store or Google Play |
| Payments | take money in an app or on the web, or work on UPG |
How to read a page
- Diagram first. Every page opens with a picture of the flow. Read it before the text.
- Rule boxes. A red box is a rule we learned the hard way. Follow it unless you know exactly why it does not apply.
- Generic on purpose. Examples use made-up names (
example-app,api.example.com). The lessons came from real systems, but the handbook is not tied to one product.