Cheatsheet Filter And Reduction Plan #

This note exists to reduce overload.

The goal is not to preserve every useful note at equal importance. The goal is to identify:

• what belongs in the primary working set
• what is a secondary lookup reference
• what is for drill/example only
• what should be merged, demoted, or effectively archived

Decision Rule #

Every note should be one of:

• Core

  • default working memory / first-open note

• Reference

  • useful lookup after the core stack has simplified the problem

• Drill / Example

  • practice or concrete anchor, not a starting point

• Merge / Archive Candidate

  • redundant, too narrow, or superseded by a better note

Recommended Primary Working Set #

Keep only these as active first-class notes:

1. system-design-core-index.md
2. infra-archetype-taxonomy-reference.md
3. hot-path-cold-path-design-note.md
4. process-trace-comparison-sheet.md
5. storage-trace-comparison-sheet.md

Everything else is secondary or lower.

Full Classification #

Core #

• system-design-core-index.md

  • single entrypoint

• infra-archetype-taxonomy-reference.md

  • top-level classifier

• hot-path-cold-path-design-note.md

  • architecture/presentation lens

• process-trace-comparison-sheet.md

  • primary process reasoning lens

• storage-trace-comparison-sheet.md

  • primary storage reasoning lens

Reference #

• distribution-view-cheat-sheet.md

  • only for skew/hotspot/saturation questions

• infra-archetype-nfr-practice-worksheet.md

  • NFR sizing and capacity translation

• infra-primitive-families-for-path-generation.md

  • useful but subordinate to archetypes

• design_space_v2.md

  • third-layer mechanism vocabulary, not first-pass reasoning

• presentation-order-for-any-system-design-prompt.md

  • useful speaking aid; mostly subsumed by hot/cold + core index

• infra-interview-flow-cheat-sheet.md

  • interview sequencing reference

• infra-nfr-cheat-sheet.md

  • supporting sizing vocabulary

• transaction-and-replication-overlay-for-db-like-archetypes.md

  • useful focused overlay for DB-like prompts

• canonical-open-protocols-to-study-by-archetype.md

  • study anchor, not reasoning core

• resilience-mechanisms-to-archetypes-mapping.md

  • mechanism lookup aid

• data-engineering-patterns-to-archetypes-mapping.md

  • useful domain bridge, but secondary

• data-engineering-design-patterns-cheat-sheet.md

  • domain-specific extension, not core

Drill / Example #

• invariant-failure-repair-drill-sheet.md

  • practice only

• borg-process-and-storage-traces.md

  • concrete system anchor

• dynamo-process-and-storage-traces.md

  • concrete system anchor

• bigtable-process-and-storage-traces.md

  • concrete system anchor

• ddb-realizations-for-core-archetypes-cheat-sheet.md

  • concrete realization example note

Merge / Archive Candidates #

• design_space.md

  • superseded by design_space_v2.md

• end-to-end-interview-flow-cheat-sheet.md

  • overlaps with infra-interview-flow-cheat-sheet.md and presentation-order...

• hld-diagram-discipline-cheat-sheet.md

  • overlaps with infra-specific version

• infra-hld-diagram-discipline-cheat-sheet.md

  • keep this one if you keep either HLD note; archive the generic one

• read-path-nfr-cheat-sheet.md

  • likely merge into NFR worksheet or infra NFR cheat sheet

• write-path-nfr-cheat-sheet.md

  • likely merge into NFR worksheet or infra NFR cheat sheet

• top-prompt-mappings-signature-archetype-mechanism-stack.md

  • useful, but likely overlapping with archetypes + families + core index

• super-archetypes-for-interview-recall.md

  • probably compressible into archetype note or core index

• top-scaling-bottlenecks-by-super-archetype.md

  • lookup-heavy, narrow, likely mergeable

• top-failure-phrases-by-super-archetype.md

  • lookup-heavy, narrow, likely mergeable

• role-based-failure-and-mitigation-phrase-sheet.md

  • highly derivative overlay

• role-based-scaling-bottleneck-and-mitigation-phrase-sheet.md

  • highly derivative overlay

• design-rules-overlay-for-role-based-failure-mitigation.md

  • overlay on top of overlay

• design-rules-overlay-for-role-based-scaling-mitigation.md

  • overlay on top of overlay

• where-the-design-rules-overlay-is-most-useful.md

  • meta-note about overlays; archive candidate

• secondary-execution-component-overlay.md

  • likely subsumed by archetype trace notes

• shared-execution-cores-across-infra-archetypes.md

  • useful insight note, but secondary/reference at best

• mechanism-interface-boundary-and-substitution-overlay.md

  • narrow overlay; archive candidate

• base-mechanism-to-concrete-realization-cheat-sheet.md

  • likely mergeable with bounded mechanism families or design_space_v2

• write-shape-to-base-mechanism-cheat-sheet.md

  • overlaps with hot-path write-verb note

• bounded-mechanism-families-and-canonical-realizations.md

  • probably good reference, but too detailed for core; merge candidate with mechanism notes

• actions-entities-write-shapes-mechanisms-by-archetype-cheat-sheet.md

  • overlaps with infra-specific version and archetype reference

• infra-actions-entities-mechanisms-by-archetype-cheat-sheet.md

  • likely merge candidate with archetype-state-actors-failure-scale reference

• archetype-state-actors-failure-scale-reference.md

  • overlaps heavily with main archetype note

• archetype-to-mechanics-to-solution-family-cheat-sheet.md

  • overlaps with families + archetypes + mechanism refs

• api-derivation-cheat-sheet.md

  • useful but narrow; not part of main stack

Recommended Immediate Reductions #

If you want a lighter visible directory mentally, treat these as effectively archived:

• design_space.md
• end-to-end-interview-flow-cheat-sheet.md
• hld-diagram-discipline-cheat-sheet.md
• where-the-design-rules-overlay-is-most-useful.md
• both role-based-*phrase-sheet.md
• both design-rules-overlay-*mitigation.md
• secondary-execution-component-overlay.md
• mechanism-interface-boundary-and-substitution-overlay.md

This does not require deleting them. It just means:

• do not open them during normal prep
• do not count them as part of the active framework

Practical Usage Rule #

When solving a prompt:

1. only use the Core notes
2. if stuck on load/skew, open distribution-view-cheat-sheet.md
3. if stuck on sizing, open infra-archetype-nfr-practice-worksheet.md
4. if you want real-system anchors, open one paper note
5. otherwise do not browse the rest

Final Recommendation #

The right move now is not more notes.

The right move is:

• keep 5 primary notes
• treat 8-10 notes as secondary references
• mentally archive the rest

That will reduce cognitive load far more than further framework building.