A laptop with code on screen on a dark desk at night, a desk lamp glowing behind it

Full-stack developer, cybersecurity enthusiast and automation engineer in Kathmandu. I build web platforms, secure them, and run them on servers I set up myself.

Build with precision, secure by design, automate with purpose.

View projects Get in touch

I build it. Then I break it.

I'm a full-stack developer, cybersecurity enthusiast and automation engineer based in Kathmandu, Nepal, and I'm working towards a Bachelor's in Information Technology. I build secure, scalable web applications, from custom WordPress platforms and news portals to REST APIs and self-hosted infrastructure. I try to keep security part of the work from the start rather than adding it at the end.

Focus areas

  • Ethical hacking & penetration testing
  • Network security & secure software development
  • DevOps & infrastructure automation
  • Applied AI, LLM systems & workflow automation

Currently learning

  • Advanced LLM fine-tuning
  • RAG pipelines
  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • Container orchestration

The stream

Six featured stories. Scroll to move through them.

Also built

  • AI / ML · PrivateVideo Reel GeneratorA model that takes a topic or a short script and builds a vertical video reel from it, adding cuts and captions on its own.Python · Video · Generative AI
  • AI / ML · PrivateVoice to Text ModelA speech recognition model that listens to spoken audio and writes out what was said.Python · ASR · Audio
  • Web app · PrivateKandel HoldingsProperty and bill management platform with real-time updates for tenants and owners.PHP · MySQL · Real-time
  • Web app · PrivateRestaurant Management SystemOrder and invoice management that keeps table orders, billing and kitchen tickets in one dashboard.PHP · MySQL · JavaScript
  • Web app · PrivateNotes Sharing PlatformCollaborative learning platform with note uploads, browsing and real-time chat between students.PHP · MySQL · WebSockets
  • E-commerce · PrivateTechkartA full shopping website with a catalogue, cart and checkout flow on a PHP and SQL backend.PHP · SQL · JavaScript

Tech Briefing

All stories →

The board

  1. HTML592
  2. CSS390
  3. WordPress90
  4. PHP88
  5. JavaScript85
  6. MySQL85
  7. React82
  8. Python80
  9. Linux / Server admin78
  10. Docker75
  11. Ethical hacking / Pen-testing70

Build it with precision.

HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, PHP, Python, MySQL and WordPress, across the front end and the back.

$ git log --oneline -3
1139564 Use FormSubmit endpoint in form actions
591d804 Cache-bust lab assets so HTML and JS match
dace43f Polish /project and /lab for demo
// every input is untrusted
$title = sanitize_text_field( wp_unslash( $_POST['title'] ?? '' ) );
if ( ! wp_verify_nonce( $_POST['_nonce'] ?? '', 'vote' ) ) {
    wp_send_json_error( 'bad nonce', 403 );
}
# crontab: the news pipeline
*/45 * * * *  run.sh english   # fetch, rewrite, publish
*/10 * * * *  run.sh nepali    # scrape, filter, draft
0 2  * * *    backup.sh        # dump + encrypted backup
$ docker compose ps --format '{{.Name}} {{.Status}}'
wordpress   Up
mysql       Up
redis       Up
$ systemctl is-active cloudflared
active

How I got here

  1. Started with websites, stayed for the rest.

    Chapter 1 · Where it started

    I began building small websites in school and never really stopped. Along the way I got interested in how systems break, and now I care about building and securing them at the same time. I try to keep things safe from the first line of code instead of fixing it later.

  2. One layer at a time.

    Chapter 2 · Learning the whole stack

    I picked up the stack piece by piece. C and Python first, then databases and Node on the server, then React on the front end. Now I am comfortable working across all of it on the same project.

    PythonJavaScriptReactNode.jsPHPMySQL

  3. Sundhara junction in Kathmandu at night, the Dharahara tower lit on the left

    Kathmandu after dark, where most of this gets built.

  4. Learning how things break.

    Chapter 3 · Getting into security

    I spend time on ethical hacking, network security and penetration testing. Understanding how something can be attacked makes me better at building it. I treat every input as untrusted.

    Ethical hackingNetwork securityHack Astra CTF, 80th of 450

  5. Not demos, real products.

    Chapter 4 · Shipping real things

    These are running in production, not sitting in a folder. A property and billing platform, a restaurant order and invoice system, a notes app with live chat, and a DNS monitor that watches for bad lookups.

  6. I like knowing how it runs.

    Chapter 5 · Running my own servers

    I self-host an Ubuntu server on an Orange Pi Zero 2W at home, and I run a homelab machine with a 32 GB GPU for model training. I set up the Docker containers, the web server and the database myself.

    Orange Pi self-hostingGPU homelabDocker & Compose

  7. A blue Orange Pi single-board computer photographed from above

    An Orange Pi board, the same family as the Zero 2W that runs my home server.

  8. Mostly models and automation.

    Chapter 6 · What I am on now

    Right now I am spending my time on training and running language models, Nepali speech models, RAG pipelines and container orchestration. If you are building something that needs to be solid and secure, I would be glad to help.

    Get in touch

A long palm-leaf manuscript page from Nepal, dense lines of hand-written script in three blocks
A palm-leaf manuscript from Nepal, written in 1119. My speech and language models are about teaching machines to read and speak Nepali.

Hack Me

Security lab, still locked.

Try to hack my labs. Get in and I will personally congratulate you for being an actual pro. Until then, reading writeups is not the same as owning a box, and this door stays shut. Not live yet: leave your email and I will tell you when there is something here for you to fail at.

Enter → Read the lab concept

The Hack Me page: a terminal reporting access denied and labs not yet exposed

On the record

Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT)

Education · Pursuing

Undergraduate study across software engineering, networking, cybersecurity, databases, operating systems and modern web technologies.

Certifications

  • GitHub FoundationsGitHubProfessional · 2025
  • Google Cloud Computing FoundationsGoogle CloudProfessional · 2025
  • Cloudflare FundamentalsCloudflareProfessional · 2025

Competitions

  • Hack Astra CTFCybersecurity · The Hackers Community NepalRanked 80th of 450
  • Nutanix Capture The FlagCybersecurityParticipant
  • Digital Forensics HackathonCybersecurityParticipant

Let's build something that stays up.

Interested in working together, or just want to say hello? Drop me a message.

jhapendrakandel.mac@gmail.com

Kathmandu, Nepal

GitHub LinkedIn YouTube Instagram

Your message is sent through FormSubmit, a third-party form service.