roadmap.sh: Computer Science

What it is

roadmap.sh is a community project that publishes visual learning roadmaps for software roles and subjects. The Computer Science roadmap lays out the subjects of a typical CS degree as one connected chart: programming fundamentals, data structures, algorithms and complexity, computer architecture, operating systems, networking, databases, security, and theory topics such as automata and computability. Each topic node opens a short explanation with links to free articles, videos and courses, and signed-in users can mark topics as done.

Who it is for

It suits university students who want to see how their separate courses fit together, and self-taught developers who want a checklist of the fundamentals a degree would have covered. It is also useful for people a few years into work who suspect they have gaps in operating systems or networking and want to see the whole map before choosing what to study.

How to use it well

Treat it as a map, not a course. Use it at the start to decide what to study and in what order, then pick one proper resource per subject, such as a textbook, a university lecture series or a structured course, and do the exercises. Come back to the roadmap every few weeks and mark what you can now explain without notes. The roadmap alone will not teach you operating systems or networks; the resources it links to, and the practice you do, will.

Is it worth it?

Yes, as a free planning tool. The strength is breadth and structure: you can see at a glance that, for example, virtual memory, scheduling and concurrency all sit under operating systems, and that database indexes connect to data structures. The weakness is depth: node descriptions are short and link quality varies, since resources are suggested by the community. Pair it with a curated study guide such as Teach Yourself Computer Science when choosing books and lectures.

Free or paid

The roadmap and its linked content are free. roadmap.sh offers an account for progress tracking and has added AI tutoring features; you do not need them to use the chart.

Common questions

Is it a replacement for a degree? No. It lists what to learn; it does not assess you or replace structured courses with exercises and feedback.

How long does it take to finish? It depends entirely on depth. Covering every subject properly is roughly the scope of several university courses, which means many months of steady work, not a few weekends.

Is it only for interviews? No. The roadmap follows the subjects of a CS curriculum, and most topics matter for everyday engineering work as much as for exams.