Automation Foundations
Build reliable API, browser, extraction, queue, and compliant routing foundations.
Production Automation Setup
Build a reproducible, typed, testable automation workstation before touching production systems.
01Map the automation system55 min →02Install and pin the toolchain50 min →03Handle configuration and secrets55 min →04Make boundaries typed60 min →05Build the first test harness60 min →Lab: Environment Doctor CLI — Create a cross-platform CLI that verifies runtimes, configuration, secrets, network reachability, and test readiness without ever printing a secret.
API Orchestration
Compose authenticated APIs into reliable workflows with explicit contracts and recovery behavior.
01Read HTTP as a contract60 min →02Authenticate without leaking authority60 min →03Build schema-checked clients65 min →04Compose multi-step workflows70 min →05Retry without duplicating work70 min →Lab: Three-Service Workflow — Orchestrate three academy mock APIs, persist a checkpoint after every side effect, and safely resume after injected failures.
Headless Browser Automation
Automate authorized browser workflows with resilient selectors, deterministic waits, and useful artifacts.
01Isolate browser contexts60 min →02Choose resilient selectors60 min →03Wait for evidence, not time65 min →04Handle forms and downloads70 min →05Control the network in tests70 min →Lab: Training Portal Automation — Automate an academy-owned training portal from sign-in through report download using accessibility-first selectors and zero hard-coded sleeps.
Reliable Extraction Pipelines
Turn changing documents into validated, deduplicated, traceable records.
01Define the extraction contract65 min →02Separate parsing from navigation65 min →03Validate every record65 min →04Normalize and deduplicate70 min →05Detect schema drift70 min →Lab: Schema-Drift Catalog Extractor — Extract a supplied catalog fixture set into canonical records and detect controlled markup and schema changes.
Rate Limits, Queues, and Backpressure
Protect upstream systems and your own workers with fair scheduling and bounded retries.
01Calculate safe throughput70 min →02Back off with bounded jitter65 min →03Enforce token buckets75 min →04Schedule fair work70 min →05Operate dead-letter queues70 min →Lab: Fair Multi-Tenant Dispatcher — Implement a dispatcher that respects per-host and per-tenant budgets while surviving bursts and poison jobs.
Compliant Network Routing
Route authorized traffic through governed network paths without bypassing access controls.
01Prove authorization first70 min →02Understand proxy classes65 min →03Route by measured health70 min →04Keep QA identities reproducible65 min →05Integrate CAPTCHA test modes65 min →Lab: Allowlisted Regional QA Router — Route academy-owned QA requests across a mock proxy pool and a provider CAPTCHA test environment with immutable audit evidence.
Authorized Automation Gateway
Ship a three-service automation gateway with runtime contracts, fair rate budgets, resumable checkpoints, an academy-owned Playwright fixture, and auditable outcomes.
9 production starter files · 4 failure drills · automated 100-point rubric
Inspect the capstone →