TalkativeTurtles - Tutorials & Resources

Free learning sites that are actually good

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 20:35:25 +0000

Curating the good ones. Criteria: free tier that is actually useful, active, not just video re-recordings of textbooks.

Programming and CS

CS50 - Harvard intro course. Genuinely excellent production and pedagogy. Best free intro to CS.
The Odin Project - Full stack web from zero. Project-based, no hand-holding.
Exercism - Practice exercises in 60+ languages with real human mentoring. Free tier is generous.
Codecrafters - Build Redis, Git, HTTP server from scratch. Challenging and practical.

Security

TryHackMe - Best onboarding for beginners. Guided paths, browser-based labs.
HackTheBox - Harder, more realistic machines. Free tier has retired machines.
PicoCTF - CTF platform aimed at students, good for fundamentals.

Networking

Professor Messer - CompTIA material, free videos. Dry but thorough.
GNS3 Academy - Networking labs you can run locally.

Add yours below. Link and one sentence on who it is best for.

[Tutorial] SSH keys - setup, security, and useful config tricks

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 14:31:36 +0000

SSH password authentication is insecure and inconvenient. Key-based auth is more secure and faster once set up. Here's everything you need.

Generate a key pair

Code:
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_comment_here"

# ed25519 is preferred over RSA - shorter keys, faster, more secure

# Add a passphrase when prompted - protects the key if your machine is compromised

This creates ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 (private - never share this) and ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub (public - safe to share).

Copy your public key to a server

Code:
ssh-copy-id user@server

# Or manually:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | ssh user@server "mkdir -p ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"

Disable password auth on the server (do this after confirming keys work)

Code:
# In /etc/ssh/sshd_config:

PasswordAuthentication no

PubkeyAuthentication yes

sudo systemctl restart sshd

SSH config file (~/.ssh/config) - underused and very useful

Code:
Host myserver

    HostName 192.168.1.100

    User ubuntu

    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

    ServerAliveInterval 60

Host bastion

    HostName bastion.example.com

    User deploy

    ForwardAgent yes

Host internal

    HostName 10.0.0.50

    User admin

    ProxyJump bastion   # connect via bastion host

With this config, ssh myserver connects without typing IP, username, or specifying the key.

ssh-agent for passphrase convenience

Code:
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

# Now the passphrase is cached for the session

On Mac: add UseKeychain yes and AddKeysToAgent yes to your SSH config and the passphrase saves to Keychain.

Security checklist:

Use ed25519, not RSA 2048
Use a passphrase on the private key
Disable password auth on servers you control
Never put private keys on servers (use agent forwarding or ProxyJump instead)
Rotate keys if a machine is compromised

[Tutorial] Essential Git commands and workflows every developer should know

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 14:09:51 +0000

Git is one of those tools where most people learn just enough to get by and then stay at that level forever. Here's a reference for the commands that go beyond the basics and are worth knowing.

The stuff everyone knows

Code:
git clone, git add, git commit, git push, git pull

Branching properly

Code:
git switch -c feature/my-feature    # create and switch to new branch

git switch main                       # go back to main

git branch -d feature/my-feature      # delete branch after merge

Staging selectively

Code:
git add -p    # interactively choose hunks to stage (very useful)

Fixing mistakes

Code:
git restore --staged file.txt    # unstage a file

git restore file.txt              # discard local changes to a file

git commit --amend --no-edit      # add staged changes to the last commit without changing the message

git reset HEAD~1                  # undo the last commit but keep the changes staged

Investigating history

Code:
git log --oneline --graph --all    # visual branch history

git log -p file.txt                # full history of changes to a file

git blame file.txt                 # who changed each line and when

git diff main...feature            # what changed on feature branch since it diverged from main

Finding regressions

Code:
git bisect start

git bisect bad HEAD           # current commit is broken

git bisect good v1.2.0        # this version was fine

# git tests each midpoint, you mark good/bad until it finds the commit

Stashing work in progress

Code:
git stash                     # save dirty working tree

git stash list                 # see all stashes

git stash pop                  # restore most recent stash

Cleaning up

Code:
git clean -fd                  # delete untracked files and directories (careful - irreversible)

A good Git mental model: commits are snapshots, branches are pointers to commits, and most "scary" commands (reset, rebase) just move these pointers around. Once that clicks, the tool becomes much less mysterious.

[Tutorial] Setting up a WireGuard VPN on a cheap VPS - complete guide

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 14:02:51 +0000

WireGuard is the cleanest way to get a private tunnel between your devices and a server you control. This guide covers setting up a WireGuard server on a Debian/Ubuntu VPS and connecting a Linux client. Adapt for other OS as needed.

Prerequisites

A VPS running Debian 12 or Ubuntu 22.04+ (any cheap £3-5/mo provider works)
Root or sudo access
Your server's public IP address

Step 1: Install WireGuard on the server

Code:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install wireguard -y

Step 2: Generate server keys

Code:
wg genkey | tee /etc/wireguard/server_private.key | wg pubkey > /etc/wireguard/server_public.key

chmod 600 /etc/wireguard/server_private.key

Step 3: Create server config at /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf

Code:
[Interface]

Address = 10.0.0.1/24

ListenPort = 51820

PrivateKey = 

PostUp = iptables -A FORWARD -i wg0 -j ACCEPT; iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE

PostDown = iptables -D FORWARD -i wg0 -j ACCEPT; iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE

[Peer]

PublicKey = 

AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.2/32

Step 4: Enable IP forwarding

Code:
echo 'net.ipv4.ip_forward=1' | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf

sudo sysctl -p

Step 5: Start and enable the service

Code:
sudo systemctl enable --now wg-quick@wg0

Step 6: On the client
Install WireGuard, generate a client keypair the same way, then create /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf:

Code:
[Interface]

Address = 10.0.0.2/24

PrivateKey = 

DNS = 1.1.1.1

[Peer]

PublicKey = 

Endpoint = :51820

AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0

PersistentKeepalive = 25

Bring it up with sudo wg-quick up wg0 and check the connection with sudo wg show.

Set AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.0/24 instead of 0.0.0.0/0 if you only want LAN access rather than routing all traffic through the VPN.

Questions welcome - happy to help troubleshoot.

[Index] Community Tutorial & Resource Index

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 09:42:20 +0000

This thread indexes the best tutorials and resources posted by community members. Staff will update it as good content is posted.

How to get your post listed:
Post a well-written tutorial or curated resource list in this forum. If staff find it useful, it will be added here.

Index

Nothing listed yet - be the first to post a tutorial!

We are looking for:

Step-by-step guides (setting up a dev environment, configuring a service, wiring a circuit)
Curated resource lists by topic
Cheat sheets for tools and languages
Explained walkthroughs of interesting code or concepts

Quality over quantity. A short guide that actually works beats a list of 50 links nobody has checked.

[Rules] Tutorials & Resources — Forum Rules

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 09:34:07 +0000

Tutorials & Resources is for sharing guides, cheat sheets, curated links, and learning material with the community.

Posting Rules:

Content must be useful and original in presentation. Do not just paste a link with no context - explain what the resource is and why it is worth reading.
Disclose if you are the author of a linked tutorial or resource.
No affiliate links unless clearly disclosed.
Keep resources up to date. If you post a tutorial that becomes outdated, update the original post or note the version it applies to.
No paywalled content without warning. If a resource requires a paid subscription or account, say so upfront.
Verify before posting. Do not share resources you have not personally used or vetted.