My Project Story: LinuxQuest - A Beginner's Journey into Linux and Web Development

Background

I'm a mechanical engineer by background and currently studying project management. I’ve never worked in software development professionally, and I don’t come from a computer science background.

The only exposure I’ve had to programming was through the CS50 course I took recently. That introduced me to basic coding concepts, the C language, Scratch, and GitHub. It was a lot, and while I didn’t master everything, it gave me just enough confidence to try building something.

When I saw the WebVM Hackathon challenge—“Learning Linux on your Browser”—I thought it was a great chance to apply what little I knew and learn more.

What I Built

Honestly, I didn’t build a complicated app with a backend or full user accounts. But I did build a functional educational web interface that:

• Welcomes users with a custom homepage
• Lets them launch a real Linux terminal in their browser using CheerpX via WebVM
• Includes basic ideas for progress tracking, scores, and badges to make learning more fun (with space to expand later)
• Works on GitHub Pages, so anyone can access it online

This isn't just a static page—it’s a real, working interface that connects to powerful technology. That alone was a huge milestone for me.

My Learning Journey

Here’s what I actually learned and did during this project:

• Learned how to use GitHub Pages to host a website
• Integrated a WebAssembly-powered Linux terminal into my project
• Troubleshot real-world problems like:
  • The terminal not loading
  • Browser security errors (CORS and SharedArrayBuffer issues)
  • Code formatting problems
• Fixed and reuploaded my code multiple times
• Understood how to break down a big problem into smaller pieces

This was all new to me—and I learned everything while doing the project, with the help of online resources and my AI assistant, ChatGPT.

Challenges I Faced

• I didn’t know how to start at first—just understanding how WebVM works took a while.
• My first attempts didn’t work—there were browser errors, formatting issues, and technical things I had never heard of.
• I had to go through 3 full revisions of the code before it worked as expected.
• I also had no idea how to make a demo or a slide deck—but I figured it out with help.

Final Thoughts

Even though I come from a completely non-CS background, I was able to build and submit something real, working, and educational. It’s not perfect—but it’s mine.

This project taught me that you don’t need to be an expert to start—you just need to start, be willing to ask for help, and keep improving.

Thank you to ChatGPT for being my silent partner through this journey, and to the WebVM team for hosting such a welcoming and inspiring hackathon.

Built With

• c
• chatgpt
• css
• github
• githubpages
• html
• javascript
• markdown
• webvm