How I keep a living system map of Mầm Văn — every change, before & after

In this brief, the author, Vũ Xuân Toàn, shares their method for maintaining a comprehensive and accurate understanding of their literature-learning platform, Mầm Văn. This system, built using React, TypeScript, Supabase, and Gemini AI, consists of multiple portals, engines, and workflows. As the platform grew, Toàn found it challenging to keep track of all the connections and changes.

To address this, Toàn created a complete map of every flow in the system, with each node listing the corresponding code files and functions. The map is integrated into the codebase, ensuring its accuracy and preventing drift. Before making any changes, Toàn reviews the map to identify which nodes and relationships are affected by the change.

After implementing the change, they update the map, regenerate it, and ship it in the same commit as the code. This workflow has proven beneficial, catching wrong assumptions early and allowing anyone to understand the complex product quickly. The author encourages other indie makers to adopt this approach for their long-lived side projects.

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