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Several hundred runnable, paper-linked notebooks on variational algorithms, quantum chemistry and QML. The closest thing the field has to a "reproduce this result" library.

A retargetable quantum compiler with genuinely strong optimisation and routing passes, usable from Python via pytket. The best place to study production-grade circuit compilation.

The algorithms course. Hidden subgroup problems, quantum walks, Hamiltonian simulation and query complexity, all treated properly. Dense, and worth every hour.

Preskill's notes have taught much of the field. Chapter 10 on quantum error correction is, for many researchers, the definitive introduction to the subject.

The mathematically complete treatment of channels, entropies, distance measures and semidefinite programming duality. Free PDF, and the reference when you need a theorem stated exactly right.

The standard graduate text on quantum information theory, building from classical Shannon theory to quantum channel capacities. Free on arXiv, and unusually readable for the depth it reaches.

The clearest short introduction to the stabiliser formalism, written by the person who invented it. Read this before attempting the surface code literature.

A comprehensive catalogue of every known quantum algorithm with its speedup and primary references. The definitive answer to "has anyone found a quantum algorithm for X?"

A cross-referenced encyclopedia of classical and quantum error-correcting codes, each with properties, decoders and references. Indispensable once you are past the textbook codes.

Definitions and known relationships for hundreds of complexity classes, BQP and QMA among them. The place to check what is actually proven versus merely believed.

The standard reference on surface codes, written as a tutorial rather than a terse paper. Where every industrial fault-tolerance roadmap ultimately points.

The resource-estimate paper everyone cites when asked "when will RSA break?". A masterclass in turning an asymptotic algorithm into concrete hardware requirements.

The Sycamore experiment. Read it alongside the classical simulation rebuttals that followed — the argument about what it proved is more instructive than the result itself.

The first convincing demonstration that adding more physical qubits made the logical qubit better rather than worse. Arguably the most important experimental result of the decade so far.

The original QAOA paper, and short. It launched an enormous literature on near-term optimisation, most of which is still arguing about whether the speedup exists.

The definitive review of the NISQ-era workhorse: ansatz design, optimisers, barren plateaus and applications, with the open problems stated clearly.

The review that defined the QML research programme. Read it critically and pair it with the dequantization literature, which has since removed several of its headline speedups.

HHL, the source of most "exponential speedup for machine learning" claims. The caveats — state preparation, condition number, readout — matter more than the theorem, and are all in the paper.

A thorough review of the most commercially plausible application: mapping electronic structure onto qubits, and the algorithms that then extract energies.

The comprehensive review of mitigation techniques and, crucially, their sampling overheads — the honest accounting of what mitigation costs you in shots.

Defines quantum volume, the single-number benchmark you see in every vendor announcement. Understanding its definition tells you exactly what those announcements do and do not claim.

How transmons actually work, from Josephson junctions through control electronics to readout. The reference for anyone whose algorithms run on IBM, Google or Rigetti hardware.

The counterpart review for trapped ions — the platform with the best gate fidelities and all-to-all connectivity, and the hardest scaling problem.

Simulates million-qubit stabiliser circuits in seconds, which is what makes modern error-correction research computationally possible. The tutorial notebooks double as a surface-code course.

The standard fast decoder for surface codes, and the natural companion to Stim. Together they let you run realistic threshold simulations on a laptop.

Zero-noise extrapolation, probabilistic error cancellation and more, wrapping whichever SDK you already use. The docs are the best practical tutorial on mitigation anywhere.

The library for compiling fermionic and electronic-structure problems into qubit Hamiltonians. Where quantum chemistry meets quantum circuits in practice.

Hybrid quantum-classical models built as Keras layers, for people who already know TensorFlow. The tutorials are the fastest route from ML experience into QML.

Photonic and continuous-variable quantum computing, a genuinely different model from the qubit circuits everything else here teaches. Worth a detour to see the alternative.

The official home of the standardised quantum-resistant algorithms. This is what organisations are actually migrating to — and it is classical cryptography, not QKD.

Working open-source implementations of post-quantum algorithms plus TLS integrations, so you can actually run a quantum-resistant handshake rather than just read about one.

A free, competitive programme pairing you with a working researcher for a real three-month project. One of the most effective routes into the field without a physics PhD.

A non-profit funding open-source quantum software through microgrants, and running unitaryHACK. A genuine on-ramp to paid contribution work.

Where essentially every quantum result appears first, months before journal publication. High volume — pair it with an alert on specific authors or keywords rather than reading the daily list.

A respected open-access, community-run journal. Everything is free to read, which makes it the most practical peer-reviewed venue to follow if you lack university access.

The APS open-access journal for high-impact quantum information results. A good curated filter over the arXiv firehose when you want the results that mattered.

Nature’s open-access quantum information journal, strong on experimental hardware and error correction results.