This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by soma mathew
From job hunting to building skills I can control**
Hey devs 
After a long season of job hunting, I decided to flip the script instead of waiting for opportunities, I’m using my free time to build my own skills. I’ve always been curious about how backend systems work, so I’m officially starting my API development journey**!
To kick things off, I built a simple CLI Task Tracker App — a command-line tool that lets me manage my to-do list right from the terminal.
[](https://github.com/Mathew-Soma/task-tracker-api
**
What the CLI app does
The Task Tracker lets you:
- Add, update, and delete tasks
- Mark tasks as todo, in-progress, or done
- View tasks by their status
- Store everything in a simple JSON file (no database yet)
Each task keeps track of:
iddescriptionstatuscreatedAtupdatedAt
Here’s an example of how it works:
# Add a task
node task-cli.js add "Learn Express.js"
# List all tasks
node task-cli.js list
# Mark as done
node task-cli.js mark-done 1
It’s all built using Node.js, and I didn’t use any external frameworks — just plain JavaScript, filesystem operations, and logic I wrote myself.
Why this project matters
It might look simple, but for me, this is more than code. It’s a starting point — a foundation.
I now understand how data can be stored, updated, and managed, even without a database or API.
**
What’s next**
Next up, I’ll be transforming this CLI tool into a real REST API using Express.js.
That means:
- Sending HTTP requests with Postman
- Managing routes and endpoints
- Handling JSON data
- Learning how APIs connect the backend to the frontend
Join me on this journey
If you’re also learning backend development or APIs, let’s connect! I’ll be sharing my progress here as I move from CLI to API, and eventually to databases and authentication.
Let’s build and grow together. 
— A future backend engineer in progress
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by soma mathew