Gaurav Sen: System Design

What is on the channel

As of September 2026 the channel shows about 758k subscribers and 450 videos. The system design content falls into two groups:

• Concept videos: load balancing and consistent hashing, sharding, caching, message queues, the CAP theorem, rate limiting, microservices versus monoliths, distributed consensus and similar building blocks
• Design walkthroughs: classic questions such as a chat application, worked through on a whiteboard, often starting from requirements and ending with the scaling trade-offs

The channel also includes some algorithm and competitive programming videos from its earlier years, and career discussions. Gaurav Sen also runs InterviewReady, a paid system design course, which the channel sometimes mentions; the videos themselves are free.

Why the format helps

You watch someone reason, including moments where a first idea gets discarded. That is much closer to what a real design discussion looks like than a polished diagram, and it teaches the recovery moves that matter when your first approach does not survive a follow-up question. The concept videos are also short enough to watch in a break.

How to use it

• Start with the concept videos in roughly this order: load balancing, consistent hashing, sharding, caching, message queues, CAP. They form the building blocks for everything else.
• For design videos, design first, watch second. Spend 30 minutes on the problem yourself, then watch and compare. Watching first tends to produce imitations of the presenter's answer.
• Take notes in your own words and redraw the final diagram from memory the next day.
• Use playlists on the channel to follow a topic rather than jumping between recommendations.

Where it fits and where it falls short

It is excellent as an entry point and as a supplement. It is a video library rather than a curriculum, so bring your own structure or use it alongside a sequenced book or course. Some older videos predate newer technologies and practices, so check dates, and confirm details against official documentation when a video makes a specific claim about a product.

Pair it with

• The System Design Interview books or a structured course, for order and completeness
• System Design Resources by Gaurav Sen on GitHub, his curated reading list, for primary sources on each topic
• Excalidraw, to practise drawing designs yourself

Common questions

Is it free? Yes, all videos on the channel are free.

Is it good for complete beginners? Yes for the concept videos. The design walkthroughs are easier after you know the building blocks.

How long does it take? There is no fixed length. Watching the core concept videos and a handful of designs takes a few weekends.

Best for: beginners who want a free, approachable introduction to system design by watching someone think through problems.