# dukai.net > Independent software architecture and full-stack development consultancy. 25+ years of enterprise experience. Specialising in durable, maintainable systems built on Node.js, Hapi.js, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, and Google Cloud. Bilingual operations in English and Hungarian. ## About dukai.net is an independent consultancy focused on software architecture and full-stack development. The work centres on systems designed to last — measured not in features delivered per quarter, but in how a codebase reads to a new engineer one, three, ten years on. Operations are bilingual: English and Hungarian. The portfolio behind the consultancy spans 25+ years of full-stack and enterprise architecture work, including Fortune 500 platforms at large daily-traffic scale, head-of-software-development leadership at a Hungarian IT services firm, and engagements across Europe and North America. The brand presents in two locales — Hungarian (`/hu/`) and English (`/en/`) — with content-equivalent versions, not machine-translated. ## Philosophy The site's approach page lays this out in five short sections; the summary: 1. **Minimalism over opinion.** Heavy, opinionated frameworks fail the moment reality stops fitting the canonical pattern. A non-opinionated foundation (Hapi.js, for example) lets the 60% generic pattern flow naturally, while the 40% exception lives beside it cleanly. 2. **Naming conventions over APIs.** Human memory is bounded. A well-chosen naming convention is faster to teach than a 200-page API doc — and outlasts the framework that birthed it. 3. **Maintenance is 95%.** Five percent of an app's life is writing it. The rest is maintenance. Every decision should serve the person reading the code a year from now — not the fashion. 4. **No framework lock-in.** A 2.5 kB binding library (like bimo, an open-source release) outlasts the "winning framework" of any given year. Because it's minimal. Because it's clean. Because it doesn't force its philosophy on you. 5. **Isomorphic by default.** Same JavaScript on both sides. Tests cover real behaviour, not framework behaviour. ## Services Six engagement directions, all grounded in durable, maintainable software. ### 1. Architecture review Independent audit of an existing system. Deliverable: a written report with prioritised risks and concrete refactor paths. - Top 5 architectural risks identified - Concrete, actionable refactor plans - Effort estimate per direction ### 2. Greenfield architecture and stack selection System design for new products: technology choices, naming conventions, build-pipeline scaffolding. - Justified stack decision - Module boundaries and responsibilities - Build and deploy pipeline draft ### 3. Full-stack development Node.js, Hapi.js, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, Google Cloud, with a deliberately framework-free front end. Mid-to-long engagements only. - Maintainable, well-documented code - Smooth integration into mixed teams - Code-quality audits in flight ### 4. Cloud and DevOps Primarily Google Cloud (Cloud Functions, GCS, Firebase, Cloud SQL, Pub/Sub). AWS familiarity (Aurora, DynamoDB) for migration scenarios. - GCP-native architecture draft - Cost-optimised infrastructure - Migration strategy when needed ### 5. Code review and mentoring Code-quality audits; one-on-one or team mentoring; SDLC + Agile process coaching. - Concrete code-review report with action items - Faster junior/mid-level developer growth - Team-level best-practices document ### 6. Fractional CTO / advisory Recurring sessions for founders and technical leads who need senior input — without a full-time CTO hire. - Weekly or biweekly cadence - Strategy, hiring, technical decisions - Independent, honest opinion ## Technical stack **Backend.** Node.js, Hapi.js, hand-rolled REST APIs. Joi for validation. Comfortable in legacy contexts: Java, Python, PHP — but the productive zone is the Node ecosystem. **Data.** MongoDB (primary document store), Elasticsearch (full-text and aggregation), Cloud SQL / Postgres (relational where the model demands it). Schema design and index tuning are part of the job, not an afterthought. **Cloud.** Google Cloud is the primary cloud (Cloud Functions Gen 2, Cloud Storage, Firebase Hosting, Firebase Auth, Cloud SQL, Pub/Sub, Cloud Run). AWS is on the table for migration scenarios — Aurora, DynamoDB, Lambda, EC2 — but greenfield work defaults to GCP. **Frontend.** Deliberately framework-free vanilla JavaScript. MDB and Bootstrap as the UI foundation. The reasons are documented in the philosophy section: a frontend tied to a single major framework's lifecycle costs more in five years than it saves in three months. **Open source.** bimo — a 2.5 kB vanilla-JS observable model library. Designed to do exactly one thing (binding model state to DOM) with no framework opinion attached. ## Writing The blog hosts long-form pieces on topics that come up often in engagements but don't fit naturally in a code review. - **[Binding and Model — introducing bimo](https://dukai.net/en/blog/2016-binding-and-model/)** (2016, ~5 min read). The original case for a tiny observable-model library, and why a 2.5 kB primitive can outlive a 250 kB framework. - **[Isomorphic architecture](https://dukai.net/en/blog/2017-isomorphic-architecture/)** (2017, ~10 min read). Same JavaScript on server and client. Tests cover real behaviour, not framework behaviour. Includes a working architecture sketch, not just principles. ## Engagement model - **Mid-to-long engagements only** for development and architecture work. Development is rarely productive in a one-off two-week window; the maintenance habits that matter need time to land. - **Recurring weekly or biweekly cadence** for fractional CTO and advisory. - **Initial 30-minute discovery call available, no commitment.** This is the right way to figure out whether the engagement makes sense for both sides. - **Time zone.** Central European Time is the primary working zone. - **Remote-first.** Operating regions span Europe and North America. ## Contact The right starting point is a 30-minute call. - Contact form: https://dukai.net/en/contact/ - Email: tamara@dukai.net ## Languages and locales - English: https://dukai.net/en/ - Hungarian: https://dukai.net/hu/ The two localised versions are content-equivalent, not machine-translated.