By
@AbuBakr
Nexus is a gamified cybersecurity learning platform where students can learn cybersecurity through hands-on challenges instead of just watching tutorials. Users will explore a simulated computer environment, use a terminal, investigate systems, solve security challenges, and gradually learn real-world concepts like Linux, networking, web security, cryptography, and ethical hacking.
I made Nexus, a browser-based OS where you learn cybersecurity by actually investigating a system instead of just watching tutorials.
You get a simulated desktop with draggable windows, a terminal, Messages, NOVA, Evidence Board, Network Monitor, Mission Center, Security Center, and a couple of mini games.
The main part of Nexus is the investigation system. You have to explore the filesystem, read logs, investigate network activity, follow clues, and figure out what happened to the machine. NOVA acts as a mentor and gives hints based on what you’ve actually discovered.
I also added things that weren’t part of the original WebOS guide, especially the cybersecurity investigation/story system, evidence tracking, and the way the different apps react to your progress.
The hardest part was making everything actually work together.
It wasn’t too difficult to make a terminal or a few windows, but connecting the terminal, Flask backend, story progression, evidence system, NOVA, notifications, and the different apps without everything breaking was a completely different problem.
I also spent a lot of time fixing progression bugs where players could accidentally skip parts of the investigation or NOVA would give the wrong hint.
I’m probably most proud of how much Nexus grew from the original idea.
I started with basically a browser terminal and ended up building an entire little OS around it, with an actual investigation, story, multiple apps, mini games, evidence tracking and a mentor system.
I also built around 50% of the planned story before having to pause development because my exams are about to start :(
It’s definitely not finished forever, but I’m happy with what I managed to build and ship.
What should people know so they can test your project?
Just open the live demo and explore the OS. Start with NOVA and the Terminal, then follow the investigation from there.
You don’t need to know cybersecurity beforehand. The commands and clues are introduced as you play, and NOVA gives hints when you get stuck.
Also, don’t worry if you find a bug lol. I spent a lot of time fixing them, but I’m sure there are still some hiding somewhere.
The project is also open source, so you can check out how everything works in the source code.
Dev Log #9
And yeah… this is probably the final devlog for Nexus for now.
The story is actually where I wanted to spend most of my time next, but unfortunately my exams are about to start, so I have to stop here for now :(
There’s still a lot more of the story I want to build, more cybersecurity concepts I want to add, and probably a ridiculous number of small bugs waiting for me somewhere.
But honestly, I’m pretty happy with how far Nexus came in such a short time.
I started this project with basically just the idea of a browser-based terminal, and it turned into an entire little OS with a terminal, investigations, NOVA, evidence tracking, missions, mini games, networking tools, and an actual story.
So yeah, Nexus is shipped.
I’ll come back to it after exams and continue the story.
Thanks to everyone who’s been following the project and giving feedback throughout these devlogs ❤️
Dev Log #8
It keeps track of the clues and important information you find while investigating. It also gives you a visual to connect everything together.
Added:
I wanted it to feel more like an actual investigation instead of just showing a list of missions.
It has 4 sections:
The Missions page keeps track of the investigation and shows what you’ve discovered, what questions still need answering and what you should investigate next.
It also has the 3 main investigations:
Then there’s the Profile section which tracks your NEXUS identity, node, clearance and session.
Achievements also unlock based on progress, and I added a small skill tree showing what you’re learning:
Finally, I added the Security Center.
It gives you a quick overview of the current state of the system, including file integrity, network monitoring, authentication monitoring and the watcher.
Dev Log #7
Worked on adding some mini games to Nexus. I started with Tic Tac Toe, it was my first time making an actual game and I wanted to keep it simple.
Added:
After getting that working, I wanted another small game, so I started working on Memory.
Still had a bunch of small bugs while making both of them, especially around game state and resetting everything properly, but it was actually really fun seeing the games work inside the Nexus.
Dev Log #6
I think Nexus is finally ready to ship
Since the last update I finished up a lot of the OS part & added a bunch of the smaller things
Added:
There’s probably still a ton of stuff I haven’t noticed yet, so before I officially ship it, let me know what you think is missing or what I should fix.
Would love to hear what you guys think :)
Should I focus the final pass on bugs, story, or UI?
Dev Log #5
Added some mini games to Nexus OS.
This was my first time making a game, so I started with something simple Tic Tac Toe.
I also added a vs Computer mode where you play against NOVA.
I’m thinking about adding more mini games, so i would love some suggestions from you guys.
For now, I’m thinking of finishing things up, and finally shipping Nexus. Still a lot to improve, but I think it’s time to get it out there.
Dev Log #4
Challenge-1 is finally added, where you have to find out why NEXUS-Node-1 came to life. You’ll try to find the intruder and learn new commands and stuff along the way.
Also added:
ls, cd, pwd, cat, help, and nmap
Dev Log #3
Worked more on turning Nexus into an actual playable cybersecurity game.
Added:
What I’m learning:
The video shows the current Challenge 01 flow, including the dialogue, messages and terminal commands.
Still a lot more to build.
Dev Log #2 — Building the Nexus OS
Made a lot of progress on Nexus since the first update.
Added:
What I’m learning:
The goal is to eventually turn Nexus into a full browser-based OS where cybersecurity is learned through exploration and hands-on challenges.
Dev Log #1
Started building a browser-based terminal as the first step toward a much bigger project: a Browser-OS with gamified cybersecurity learning.
So far, I’ve built the initial terminal UI and started connecting it to a Python + Flask backend for command processing.
I’m learning Flask while building the project, so right now it’s pretty basic — but this is just the beginning.
Long-term goal: turn this into a browser-based OS where users can explore a virtual environment and learn cybersecurity through hands-on, gamified challenges.
