Forem: Harshit Kumar

Build Apps with Google AI Studio

Harshit Kumar — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 11:48:10 +0000

This post is my submission for DEV Education Track: Build Apps with Google AI Studio.

What I Built

I built an app which generates a superhero's image along with their origin story and description of their powers

Demo

https://superhero-generator-ai-170554363231.us-west1.run.app/

My Experience

It was a very straightforward tutorial to follow, and I could easily follow along. Google has come up with an awesome product which will help folks build apps pretty easily.

Setup a NAS + Homelab using Raspberry Pi

Harshit Kumar — Sat, 28 Jun 2025 06:31:34 +0000

Setup a NAS + Homelab using Raspberry Pi

I was tired of using cloud storage solutions and wanted to set up my own Network Attached Storage (NAS) at home.
I also wanted to peek behind the curtains of how an app like Google photos works, where you can upload your photos and access them from anywhere.
After some research, I decided to use a Raspberry Pi for this purpose.
This article will guide you through the steps to set up your own NAS using a Raspberry Pi.
It will also guide you through the process of setting up OpenMediaVault, CasaOs, Immich and Tailscale on your Raspberry Pi.
All of these are quite easy to set up and will give you the ability to access your photos from anywhere.

Prerequisites

Setting up the Raspberry Pi

Download the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS from the official website.
Use Raspberry Pi Imager to flash the OS onto the microSD card. You can follow https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/getting-started.html for detailed instructions on how to do this.
Insert the microSD card into the Raspberry Pi.
Connect the active cooler to the Raspberry Pi. You will need to break off 3 fins from the active cooler to make the SATA hat fit properly on the Raspberry Pi 5. Jeff Geerling has a video on how to do this: The ULTIMATE Raspberry Pi 5 NAS
Connect the Radxa SATA HAT to the Raspberry Pi. Make sure to follow the instructions provided by Radxa for connecting the SATA HAT to the Raspberry Pi. You can find the instructions on their website
Connect the 3 SATA SSDs to the Radxa SATA HAT.
Connect the USB-C power supply to the Raspberry Pi.
Power on the Raspberry Pi and wait for it to boot up.

Setting up OpenMediaVault

We will use OpenMediaVault (OMV) as our NAS operating system. OMV is a free network-attached storage server based on the Debian operating system. It provides a web-based interface to manage your storage, shares, and services.

Open a terminal on your Raspberry Pi or connect to it via SSH.
Update the package list and install the necessary dependencies:

   sudo apt update

Install OpenMediaVault using the following command:

   sudo wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openmediavault/openmediavault/master/install.sh | sudo bash

After the installation is complete, you can access the OpenMediaVault web interface by navigating to http://<your-raspberry-pi-ip-address> in your web browser.
Log in with the default credentials:
- Username: admin
- Password: openmediavault
Change the default password after logging in for the first time.

Setting up CasaOS

CasaOS is a user-friendly home server operating system that allows you to manage your files, applications, and services easily. It provides a web interface to manage your NAS and other services.

Open a terminal on your Raspberry Pi or connect to it via SSH.
Install Docker if it is not already installed:

      sudo apt install docker.io

Start the Docker service:

      sudo systemctl start docker

Enable Docker to start on boot:

      sudo systemctl enable docker

Install CasaOS using the following command:

      curl -fsSL https://get.casaos.io | sudo bash

After the installation is complete, you can access the CasaOS web interface by navigating to http://<your-raspberry-pi-ip-address>:port in your web browser. Replace port with the port number you specified during the installation (default is 80).
Log in with the default credentials:
- Username: admin
- Password: casaos
Change the default password after logging in for the first time.

Setting up Raid 5

To set up a RAID 5 array with the 3 SATA SSDs connected to the Radxa SATA HAT, you can use OpenMediaVault's web interface. RAID 5 provides a good balance of performance and redundancy, allowing you to lose one drive without losing data.

Open the OpenMediaVault web interface.
Go to Storage > Disks.
You should see the 3 SATA SSDs listed there. If they are not listed, you may need to format them first. Also check if you have followed the instructions to connect the Radxa SATA HAT and the SSDs properly.
- To format a disk, select it and click on Wipe.
- Choose Quick or Secure wipe as per your preference.
- Click on Yes to confirm.
- Repeat this for all 3 SSDs.
Go to Storage > RAID Management.
Click on Create to create a new RAID array.
Select RAID 5 as the RAID level.
Select the 3 SSDs you want to include in the RAID array.
Click on Create to create the RAID array.
Wait for the RAID array to be created. This may take some time depending on the size of the SSDs.
Once the RAID array is created, you can see it listed under Storage > RAID Management.
Go to Storage > File Systems.
Click on Create to create a new file system.
Select the RAID array you just created.
Choose the file system type (e.g., ext4) and give it a name.
Click on Create to create the file system.
Once the file system is created, you can see it listed under Storage > File Systems.
Click on the file system and then click on Mount to mount it.
Go to Storage > Shared Folders.
Click on Add to create a new shared folder.
Select the file system you just created and give the shared folder a name.
Click on Save to create the shared folder.
Go to Access Rights Management > User.
Click on Add to create a new user.
Give the user a name and password.
Assign the user to the shared folder you created earlier.
Click on Save to create the user.
Go to Services > SMB/CIFS.
Enable the SMB/CIFS service.
Go to Shares and click on Add.
Select the shared folder you created earlier and give it a name.
Click on Save to create the share.
You can now access the shared folder from your local network using the SMB/CIFS protocol.

Setting up Tailscale

Tailscale is a secure VPN service that allows you to access your devices from anywhere. It creates a secure connection between your devices, allowing you to access your NAS from anywhere in the world.

Open a terminal on your Raspberry Pi or connect to it via SSH.
Install Tailscale using the casaos app store or by following the instructions by BigBearTechWorld on YouTube.
After the installation is complete, you can access the Tailscale web interface by navigating to http://<your-raspberry-pi-ip-address>:port in your web browser. Replace port with the port number you specified during the installation (default is 80).
Log in with your Tailscale account credentials.
Follow the instructions to connect your Raspberry Pi to Tailscale.
Once connected, you can access your Raspberry Pi from anywhere using the Tailscale IP address.

Setting up Immich

Immich is a self-hosted photo and video backup solution that allows you to upload your photos and videos to your NAS and access them from anywhere. It provides a web interface to manage your photos and videos, and it also has mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Open a terminal on your Raspberry Pi or connect to it via SSH.
Install Immich using the casaos app store or by following the instructions on the Immich GitHub repository.
After the installation is complete, you can access the Immich web interface by navigating to http://<your-raspberry-pi-ip-address>:port in your web browser. Replace port with the port number you specified during the installation (default is 80).
Log in with your Immich account credentials.
Follow the instructions to connect your Raspberry Pi to Immich.
Once connected, you can upload your photos and videos to Immich and access them from anywhere using the Immich web interface or mobile apps.

Setting up Immich mobile app

To access your photos and videos on the go, you can install the Immich mobile app on your iOS or Android device.

Download the Immich app from the App Store or Google Play Store.
Open the app and log in with your Immich account credentials (make sure you are on your local network or connected via Tailscale to access your raspberry pi).
Once logged in, you can access your photos and videos from your NAS and upload new photos and videos directly from your mobile device.
You can also enable automatic backup of your photos and videos to Immich by going to the app settings and enabling the "Automatic Backup" option.

Setting up Portainer on CasaOS

Portainer is a lightweight management UI that allows you to easily manage your Docker containers, images, networks, and volumes. It provides a web interface to manage your Docker environment.

Open the CasaOS web interface.
Go to the App Store and search for "Portainer".
Click on the Portainer app and then click on "Install".
Follow the instructions to install Portainer.
After the installation is complete, you can access the Portainer web interface by navigating to http://<your-raspberry-pi-ip-address>:9000 in your web browser.
Log in with the default credentials:
- Username: admin
- Password: portainer
Change the default password after logging in for the first time.

Conclusion

This guide has walked you through the process of setting up a NAS using a Raspberry Pi, OpenMediaVault, CasaOS, Immich, and Tailscale.
You now have a fully functional NAS that allows you to store, manage, and access your photos and videos from anywhere.

You can also use Portainer to manage your Docker containers and applications on your Raspberry Pi.
Feel free to explore other applications available in the CasaOS app store to enhance your NAS experience.
If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or GitHub.

Resources I wish I knew when I started my career

Harshit Kumar — Tue, 26 Dec 2023 13:57:01 +0000

The transition from college to your first job can be pretty daunting. There are so many tools, and concepts which are new to you or even if you are aware of them, you don't have experience with them.

I've tried to compile a list of useful resources, and good-to-know stuff which I've picked up after working for around ~6 years in the Software Industry. This is a list I wish I had when I started my career.

1. Learn Git Branching

The very first challenge I faced was how to fix conflicts. Although I had used GitHub before, it was never in a collaborative environment - so I had never encountered conflicts.

Learn Git Branching is a great resource for beginners to learn how to create branches, fix conflicts, cherry-pick - all of which are pretty handy. And the neat part about this is - it's not just theory, you get to execute the commands in the website itself and see the visualization.

2. Awesome Lists

Awesome lists are curated resources related to a particular topic. Figuring out what tutorials to follow, what packages to use, and which courses to complete can be pretty time-consuming.

If you have come across an interesting topic and would like to deep dive, search Awesome followed by the topic and hopefully there's an awesome list which will help you get started.

3. Glossary

We software devs tend to use abbreviations whenever possible (perhaps as a way to communicate more efficiently).
This however can confuse the new joinees, and the introverts might not gather the courage to ask what certain abbreviation means in bigger forums/meetings.

Although I'd suggest folks inculcate the habit of asking questions if you are not there yet, you can rely on countless glossary lists online. In all likelihood, someone maintains a glossary list within your own company (devs have a habit of using abbreviations even when it comes to internal tools, services etc), so asking around for the same could help speed up your onboarding.

4. Project Based Learning

I've mostly been a practical learner, so when challenged with a new language/framework/paradigm I prefer doing a small project to get myself comfortable with it.

Build your own X is another useful resource for a curious mind.

5. Roadmap

Roadmaps are step by step guides towards a specific career path. It also has links to courses & resources to help with your journey further.

6. Newsletters

There are new tools, packages released everyday. It's tough to keep track of developments, newsletters are a good way to get the latest developments related to your favorite tech.
Here are a few I have subscribed to (do comment your favorite ones) -

You could de-clutter your emails by having a dedicated label for your newsletters.

7. Youtube Channel recommendations

Here are a few channels I follow and learn continuously from

8. CheatSheets

A cheatsheet is a concise set of notes used for quick reference. They typically contain one or two pages of most important and frequently used information about a specific topic.

I've found cheatsheets to be really useful when starting with a new topic till I need to specifically deep dive into the topic.

That's it, Hopefully these resources will help someone who's new in the Software Industry. Let me know what you think of these resources and if there are any others you'd recommend

Diagrams as Code

Harshit Kumar — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 07:02:17 +0000

Have you ever started working on a new project, started going through the documentation and you realize that the architecture diagrams or sequence diagrams are out of date.

I've certainly seen this situation arise numerous times in my career so far. So what do you do? One solution would be whoever's reading the document needs to do the work to figure out the updated architecture or flows and generate the new diagrams using UML tools. This isn't ideal and these are bound to get stale again in the future.

Another solution which I prefer is - maintaining diagrams as code which live in the same repos as the code. There are many tools these days which help us author diagrams from code.
My favorites are Mermaid and PlantUML.
Now your code can live in the repo and evolve along with the codebase. You might need to do additional setup if you'd like the diagrams to be generated as part of your CI/CD.
I like to maintain these in a /docs folder within the project repo.

An example of how the code would look like in mermaid and it's output are below:

Code:

flowchart TD
    A[Christmas] -->|Get money| B(Go shopping)
    B --> C{Let me think}
    C -->|One| D[Laptop]
    C -->|Two| E[iPhone]
    C -->|Three| F[fa:fa-car Car]

Output:

Bonus: Mermaid.js has built in support in GitHub for markdown files. You won't need to do anything special to generate diagrams here.

That's it, what's your take on these? Do you know any tools which offer better options or more customization? Leave a comment 😄 !

Creating a Proxy for your GraphQL Server

Harshit Kumar — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 14:39:40 +0000

I needed to create a proxy server for my GraphQL service to be able to make some decisions before reaching my service.

This article will document how you can do the same with minimal amount of code 😏
We'll be leveraging awesome utilities provided by graphql-tools

Installation

npm init -y
npm i @graphql-tools/delegate @graphql-tools/utils @graphql-tools/wrap apollo-server cross-undici-fetch graphql typescript

Create an executor

Executor is a function used capable of retrieving GraphQL results (both introspection & fetching results during a query's execution).

In the executor, I've defined the GraphQL service's URL which I want to proxy - https://graphql.anilist.co/ (an open API to fetch your favourite Anime characters)

const executor =  async ({ document , variables, context }: {document: any, variables: any, context: any}) => {
    const query = print(document)
  const fetchResult = await fetch('https://graphql.anilist.co/', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      ...context?.headers
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ query, variables })
  })
  return fetchResult.json()
}

Define applicationProxyResolver

This function is passed to wrapSchema method. In this method, you should be able to make some decisions. For example - I wanted to validate some headers & only honour the requests if they had these headers. We'll use delegateToSchema to delegate the entire request to our original GraphQL service.

export const applicationProxyResolver = ({
    subschemaConfig,
    operation,
    transformedSchema,
}: {
    subschemaConfig: any,
    operation: any,
    transformedSchema: any,
}) => {
    return (_parent: any, _args: any, context: any, info: any) => {
        return delegate.delegateToSchema({
            schema: subschemaConfig,
            operation,
            operationName: info!.operation!.name!.value,
            context,
            info,
            transformedSchema,
        });
    };
}

Let's fire up the graphQL proxy server 🚀

const init = async () => {
    const schema = wrapSchema({
        schema: await introspectSchema(executor),
        executor,
        createProxyingResolver: applicationProxyResolver
    });

    const server = new ApolloServer({ 
        schema,
    });

    // The `listen` method launches a web server.
    server.listen(4001).then(({ url }) => {
        console.log(`🚀  Server ready at ${url}`);
    });

}

init();

You can find this code at Github.

Is there an easier way to do this? Please comment & let me know 😁