The founding build of what would become x: a three-section layout, tweets (post/view), follow/following with a suggestions feed, per-tweet likes, profile editing, a seeded database for local dev, and the first Docker-based deployment — all landing as one continuous build over the project's first three weeks, alongside direct messages ([written up separately](/updates/2024-05-19-x-direct-messages)).
This is the project's actual starting point — everything documented about x since (notifications, lists, explore, bookmarks, the rename to x, GitOps) was built on top of this initial core: React frontend, FastAPI backend, MySQL, the basic social graph and posting loop.
Tweets, followers, and likes each got their own small FastAPI router (`tweets.py`, `followers.py`) added incrementally over a few days rather than as one monolithic feature — tweets first, then follow/following the next day, then likes layered onto the existing `TweetList` component the day after. A seeded database gave local dev realistic data to build the suggestions feed against without needing real signups. The whole stack shipped to a real server within the same three weeks — Docker config, a first GitHub Actions deploy workflow, and enough production hardening (connection pool sizing, API key protection, mobile layout) to actually run live.
Styling passes (header, tweets, login, settings) followed in the same week once the functional core was in place, rounding out the first complete version.