Posts on ayyzenn

RESTful API with Web Scraping: My FastAPI + Flask Project

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What This Project Is

I built a backend that scrapes websites, stores data in PostgreSQL and MongoDB, and exposes REST APIs through FastAPI and Flask. I made it as a portfolio piece — something I could demo and actually run on my machine.

1. What Does This Project Do? (Simple Explanation)

This project is a data aggregator backend.

It can:

Scrape product or article data from websites
Store that data in two databases (PostgreSQL for structured data, MongoDB for flexible logs)
Expose REST APIs so other apps can create, read, update, and delete data
Call external APIs and return the results

You can think of it as:

Jenkins + Docker Pipeline from GitHub

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What I Built

I wanted Jenkins to pull code from GitHub, build a Docker image, and run a container automatically. This post is the pipeline I put together for that.

Goal: From Manual to Automatic

Manually, we usually do this:

Clone a GitHub repository
Run docker build
Run docker run
Check the output

With Jenkins, all of this happens automatically when the pipeline runs.

You click Build Now (or trigger from GitHub), and Jenkins does the rest.

Jenkins on Arch Linux: How I Set It Up on i3

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why I Wrote This

I run Arch Linux with i3 and wanted Jenkins locally for CI/CD experiments. This covers Java 21, the Jenkins install, a test job, and a GitHub pipeline — exactly what I ran on my machine.

1. What is Jenkins? (Simple Explanation)

Jenkins is an automation server.

You can tell Jenkins to:

Get your code (for example from GitHub)
Run commands (build, test, scripts)
Show you if things passed or failed

Instead of you running commands manually every time, Jenkins does it automatically.

Ansible: Docker and Kubernetes Node Setup

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why This Post Exists

After writing my first real Ansible playbook, I realized something:

Installing software manually once is easy. Installing it correctly, repeatedly, and safely is not.

So I decided to automate something real and useful:

Install Docker Engine (official way)
Prepare an Ubuntu server to become a Kubernetes node
Do everything using Ansible
No SSH-ing into the server again and again

This post documents that journey.

Real Setup (Same as Before)

Nothing fancy. Just real machines.

Ansible for Beginners: My First Real Automation

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What is Ansible? (In Simple Words)

Think of Ansible as a remote control for your servers.

Instead of:

SSH into server
Run commands manually
Forget what you changed
Repeat the same steps again and again

You tell Ansible:

“Hey, I want this server to look like this.”

And Ansible makes it happen — again and again, without breaking things.

The best part?

No agent needed
Just SSH
Simple YAML files
Very human-readable

My Setup (Real World)

This is exactly what I used:

Terraform: How I Stopped Clicking Around in AWS

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What Terraform Is (For Me)

Terraform is how I describe cloud stuff in code instead of clicking through the AWS console. I write what I want in .tf files, run terraform apply, and it gets created. Same result every time.

Why Use Terraform?

No More Manual Clicking: Automate infrastructure setup instead of clicking through AWS
Easy Updates: Change your code and run terraform apply to update everything
Backup Your Infrastructure: Keep your setup in version control (like Git)
Reuse Everywhere: Run the same setup in dev, staging, and production without changes
Cost Preview: See what resources cost before you create them
Work with Multiple Clouds: Manage AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud from one tool

Basic Concepts (Made Simple)

Providers

A provider tells Terraform which cloud service to use. Think of it as picking AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure before you start building.

Agentic RAG: My Multi-Agent Setup with Gemini and ChromaDB

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What I Built

Basic RAG retrieves docs and generates an answer. I wanted something smarter — a system that picks the right strategy and retries with heavier techniques when the first answer isn’t good enough.

This project uses three agents:

Router Agent — reads the question and checks answer quality
Basic Generator Agent — fast retrieval for simple questions
Advanced Generator Agent — uses heavier techniques for hard questions

The system tries the fast path first. If the answer is weak, it automatically switches to advanced methods like query decomposition, HyDE, and multi-query retrieval.

LlamaIndex + Text-to-SQL: What I Learned

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What I Was Trying to Do

I had structured data in SQLite and didn’t want to write SQL for every question. LlamaIndex let me ask things like “which city has the most people?” in plain English — it figures out the query, runs it, and returns the answer.

Key capabilities include:

Translating natural language into SQL queries.
Converting unstructured context into structured insights.
Dynamically retrieving relevant schemas or tables for complex databases.

Note: Never expose full write-access databases to LLMs. Always use read-only credentials or sandboxed environments for safety.

RAG Text-to-SQL: Asking My Database Questions in Plain English

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What I Built

I hate writing SQL for simple questions. This project lets me ask things like “how many customers are from Brazil?” in plain English — it generates the SQL, runs it, and gives me a readable answer. All local, using Ollama and ChromaDB.

Easy to use — ask questions in everyday language
Private — everything runs locally on your machine
Fast feedback — generates and runs SQL in seconds
Schema-aware — understands table names and relationships
Interactive — ask follow-up questions in a chat-style flow
Error handling — catches common issues like wrong table name casing

System Architecture

My RAG Text-to-SQL system consists of five core components:

Local RAG with Ollama and ChromaDB: Running AI Offline

Sun, 29 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Why I Built This

I wanted a chatbot that answers questions from my own documents — without sending data to a cloud API. This RAG setup runs fully offline with Ollama and ChromaDB on my machine.

Privacy — your data stays on your machine
No API costs — no usage fees or rate limits
Speed — no network delay for each query
Control — you choose what goes into the knowledge base
Offline use — works without internet after setup

Architecture Overview

My local RAG system consists of four main components:

YouTube Summarizer: What I Built with LangGraph and Gemini

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What I Built

I wanted to paste a YouTube URL and get a summary — or ask questions about the video — without watching the whole thing. This project uses LangGraph for the workflow and Gemini for the actual summarizing and Q&A.

Key Features of Agentic Workflows

Modularity — each step can be built and tested on its own
State — data flows from step to step in a structured way
Reusability — the same steps can be reused in other projects
Autonomy — each step can decide what to do based on the input it receives

Popular Tools for Agentic Workflows

Tool	Description	Language	Best For
LangGraph	Graph-based AI workflow framework with state management.	Python	Custom step-by-step pipelines
CrewAI	Agent orchestration tool inspired by human teams and role delegation.	Python	Role-based agent collaboration
Autogen	Microsoft’s multi-agent framework for goal-oriented dialogue and tasks.	Python	Conversational multi-agent systems
LangChain	General framework for chaining LLMs with tools, memory, and logic.	Python	Broader LLM apps beyond just agents
AgentOps	Infra layer for deploying and monitoring agentic systems.	Platform	Scaling, testing, and managing agents

Why I Chose LangGraph

For this project, I chose LangGraph because:

Ollama + DeepSeek: How I Run LLMs Locally

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Why I Use Ollama

I wanted to run LLMs on my own hardware without paying for API calls or sending data to the cloud. Ollama made that straightforward — install, pull a model, start chatting.

Install Ollama

Arch Linux

Update your system, then install Ollama:

sudo pacman -Syu
sudo pacman -S ollama

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl enable ollama
sudo systemctl start ollama
sudo systemctl status ollama

You should see active (running).

Gentoo Install: What I Did on My Laptop

Sat, 03 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Why I Installed Gentoo

Processor: Intel Core i5 4th Gen (4 cores)
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 256GB SSD

I’ll be using the Minimal ISO because I like full control over my system, but if you prefer a GUI installer, that’s totally fine too!

Step 1: Grab the Gentoo ISO

Head over to Gentoo’s official website and download the ISO. You’ll see two options:

GUI Installer (if you want an easier time)
Minimal (CLI) Installer (if you want to go full pro mode)

For this guide, we’re going Minimal. Let’s get our hands dirty!

Odoo on Ubuntu: How I Installed It

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What I Did

I installed Odoo (open-source ERP) on Ubuntu for a project. These are the exact steps I ran — all apt commands on Ubuntu.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Create an Odoo User

Run this command to create a system user for Odoo:

sudo adduser -system -home=/opt/odoo -group odoo

Install PostgreSQL

Odoo needs PostgreSQL as its database, so install it with:

sudo apt-get install postgresql -y

Create a PostgreSQL User for Odoo

sudo su - postgres -c "createuser -s odoo" 2> /dev/null || true

Install Python Dependencies

Odoo requires some Python packages. Install them with:

ProFTPD on Ubuntu: Setting Up FTP

Sun, 07 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What I Set Up

I needed a simple FTP server on Ubuntu for file transfers. ProFTPD did the job. This is my setup — on Arch you’d install with sudo pacman -S proftpd and edit the same config path.

Plain FTP is not encrypted. For anything serious, use SFTP over SSH instead.

Installing ProFTPD

Getting ProFTPD set up is pretty simple. Just run:

sudo apt-get install proftpd

Configuring ProFTPD

Once it’s installed, you’ll need to tweak the config file. Open it up with:

Chef Server Setup: What I Did on Ubuntu

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Why I Looked Into Chef

Managing servers one by one doesn’t scale. I set up Chef to store server configs as code — a Chef server, a workstation where I write recipes, and a node that pulls its config automatically.

Note: I did this on Ubuntu 18.04 using .deb packages and apt.

Chef Server

The Chef server acts as the central hub for all workstations and nodes under Chef management. Configuration changes made on workstations are pushed to the Chef server, where they are pulled by nodes using chef-client to apply the configurations.

VoIP with Asterisk: My Home Phone Setup on Ubuntu

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What I Built

I set up a home VoIP system using Asterisk as the server and Twinkle as the softphone client. Everything here runs on Ubuntu — same network, two extensions, calls between machines.

How VoIP Works

VoIP sends your voice as data over the internet instead of through a phone line. Cheaper than landlines, especially for long-distance — that’s why I tried it.

Asterisk as the Server

Asterisk is the PBX — it handles call routing between extensions. I compiled it from source on Ubuntu.

Puppet with Docker: How I Tested Master and Agent

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What I Did

I wanted to try Puppet without dedicating two full VMs. I ran a Puppet master and agent in separate Ubuntu Docker containers on my machine. Docker host commands work the same on Ubuntu and Arch.

Installing Puppet Master

Download the Ubuntu image:
```
sudo docker pull ubuntu
```

Create a container for Puppet master:

sudo docker run --name puppet-master -it ubuntu
exit

Start the container:
```
sudo docker start puppet-master
```
Open the bash shell of the Puppet master container:

Creating My First Docker Container

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What I Did Here

After installing Docker, I wanted to run an actual Ubuntu container — not just hello-world. The steps inside this post are the same on Arch Linux and Ubuntu hosts. Only the Docker installation differs — see Docker on Arch Linux and Ubuntu for that part.

Arch Linux (host)

Make sure Docker is installed and running on your Arch machine first:

sudo pacman -S docker
sudo systemctl enable --now docker
systemctl status docker

Pull the Ubuntu image

sudo docker pull ubuntu

Create and enter a container

sudo docker run --name my-container -it ubuntu

What those flags mean:

Docker on Arch Linux and Ubuntu: How I Got It Running

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Why I Started Using Docker

I wanted a way to run apps without messing up my main system. Docker packs an app with everything it needs into a container — a small, isolated environment that shares my kernel but stays separate from everything else.

If something breaks inside a container, I delete it and start over. No reinstalling the whole OS.

Containers vs Images (Quick Version)

Image — a read-only template (like a recipe)
Container — a running instance of that image (like the actual dish you cooked)

You build or pull an image once. You can spin up as many containers from it as you want.

GitHub CLI and Personal Access Tokens: What I Use Daily

Sat, 04 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Why I Bother With This

I got tired of opening the browser every time I wanted to create a repo, check a PR, or trigger a workflow. GitHub CLI (gh) lets me do most of that from the terminal. Personal Access Tokens (PATs) are how Git authenticates when you push over HTTPS.

This post covers both — how I generate a PAT and how I use gh day to day.

GitHub from the Command Line: How I Push My Code

Fri, 03 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Why I Use GitHub

I use Git to track changes in my code and GitHub to host it online. Git runs on my machine. GitHub is the website that stores my repos and lets me share them.

If you’re new: Git is the tool, GitHub is where the repos live.

Install Git

Ubuntu:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install git

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S git

Check it worked:

git --version

Set Your Name and Email

Git attaches this info to every commit:

Creating a VM on Microsoft Azure

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What I Did

I needed a cloud server to test things without using my local machine. I spun up an Ubuntu 20.04 VM on Azure and connected via SSH. Here’s the exact process I followed.

Create the VM

Log in to Azure
Click Create a Resource
Pick Ubuntu 20.04 LTS → Create
Name the VM
Under Administration Account, choose SSH Public Key
Set a username and key pair name
Under Inbound Port Rules, open SSH (22) and HTTP (80)
Click Review and Create → Create
Download the key pair file when prompted
Wait for deployment, then click Go to Resource

Connect via SSH

cd ~/Downloads
chmod 400 pair_key_name.pem
ssh -i pair_key_name.pem username@your_ip

Type yes when SSH asks about the fingerprint.

SSH: How I Connect to Remote Servers

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Why I Use SSH

SSH is how I control another machine from my terminal. I use it to manage servers, copy files, and run commands on remote systems without sitting in front of them.

For Windows remote desktop you use RDP. For Linux, SSH is the standard.

How SSH Works (Short Version)

Client — on your laptop (where you type)
Server — on the remote machine (what you connect to)

You run ssh user@ip, enter your password (or use a key), and you get a shell on the remote box.

Dual Boot Ubuntu and Windows: What I Did

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Why I Dual-Booted

I needed Windows for some things and Linux for everything else. Instead of picking one, I installed Ubuntu alongside Windows on the same machine. This is the process I followed.

Steps to Dual Boot Ubuntu with Windows

Step 1: Prepare a Bootable USB Drive

Download the latest Ubuntu ISO from the official Ubuntu website.
Download and install Rufus or balenaEtcher to create a bootable USB.
Insert a USB drive (at least 8GB) into your computer.
Open Rufus or balenaEtcher:
- Select the Ubuntu ISO file.
- Choose the USB drive.
- Click “Start” to create the bootable drive.

Step 2: Configure BIOS/UEFI Settings

Restart your computer and enter BIOS/UEFI by pressing a specific key (usually F2, F12, Del, or Esc) during startup.
Look for Boot Order/Boot Priority and set the USB drive as the first boot device.
Disable Secure Boot (if enabled) under the Security tab.
Enable UEFI mode (recommended) instead of Legacy mode.
Save changes and exit BIOS.

Step 3: Boot from the USB Drive

Insert the bootable USB drive into your computer.
Restart the system and press the Boot Menu key (F12, F9, Esc, or as per your motherboard).
Select the bootable USB drive from the list.
Press Enter to boot into Ubuntu Live.

Step 4: Try or Install Ubuntu

Once the Ubuntu installer loads, you will see two options:
- Try Ubuntu – Runs Ubuntu without installing it.
- Install Ubuntu – Proceeds with the installation.
Click on Install Ubuntu to continue.

Step 5: Select Keyboard Layout

Choose your preferred keyboard layout and language.
Click Continue.

Step 6: Connect to Wi-Fi (Optional)

Select your Wi-Fi network.
Enter the password and click Continue.

Step 7: Choose Installation Type

Select Normal Installation (recommended).
Check the box Install third-party software for graphics and Wi-Fi hardware, Flash, MP3, and other media.
Click Continue.

Step 8: Choose Installation Method

Select Something else (for manual partitioning).
Click Continue.

Step 9: Create Partitions for Ubuntu

Ubuntu requires three main partitions:

Hugo: The Static Site Generator I Use for This Blog

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Why I Picked Hugo

I wanted a blog that loads fast, doesn’t need a database, and lets me write posts in Markdown. Hugo does exactly that — it builds plain HTML files from my content, and I host them on GitHub Pages.

No WordPress, no PHP, no MySQL. Just markdown files and a hugo command.

What I Like About It

Fast builds — my whole site compiles in under a second
Markdown posts — write in any editor, commit to Git
Themes — I’m using PaperMod
GitHub Pages — free hosting, deploys on push

How I Set Up Hugo

1. Install Hugo

On Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S hugo

On Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install hugo

Or install the extended edition from the official release page (recommended for themes that use Sass):

My First Post

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Hello — this is my first blog post on Hugo. I set this site up to document what I’m learning as I go. More posts coming soon.