Estimated time: 25-30 minutes

What You'll Build Today

A team project tracker with:

• User accounts (signup/login)
• Projects linked to users
• Role-based permissions (Admin vs Member)
• CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete)

Today is about the invisible stuff that makes apps actually work.

Why Backend Matters

Frontend is what users see. Backend is what makes it real:

• Databases store your data permanently
• Authentication controls who can access what
• Permissions determine what each user can do
• APIs connect everything together

Without backend, your app is just a pretty picture.

Step 1: Build the Basic App

Start with a project tracker (no auth yet):