Alain Nicolas

When security fails because maintenance did

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0200

When the React2Shell vulnerability CVE-2025-55182 was disclosed on December 3 2025, many teams panicked. Not because the exploit was particularly sophisticated, but because they immediately understood the real cost.

Dozens of applications were involved, each frozen on its own version of React or Next.js, sometimes even tied to a specific Node runtime. Some had not been touched in months. Others in years. Before applying any fix, the first problem was not security.

The Junior Path Is Disappearing

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0200

With the rise of credible LLMs capable of generating usable applications in a matter of hours, even for non technical people, a familiar narrative keeps coming back.

Junior developers are doomed.
Companies will stop hiring graduates.
The field is saturated.
We are all about to be replaced.

Some of this fear is justified. The pace at which models improve, tools mature and knowledge spreads is unprecedented. Pretending otherwise is denial.

My personal Git flow

Fri, 02 May 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Over the years and across many projects, I’ve refined a way of working with Git that makes my life easier.

It’s probably not perfect. But it works perfectly for me, and it helps teammates who are less comfortable with Git avoid a lot of headaches. So I’m sharing it here in case it helps someone else.

The basics

I always start from the main branch. I create a feature branch with a clear name:

Three-year anniversary at Consensys

Sat, 08 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0200

I joined Consensys three years ago this week. And what an amazing journey it has been! Never a dull day in the crypto space, always something new to discover.

From my very first day, when my manager asked me to integrate Bitcoin into a DeFi project (I only knew Ethereum at the time) to joining the Linea team, I’ve worked on countless products and with so many teams. But one thing has always remained the same: the passion, the drive, and the incredibly smart people everywhere. I’m humbled by the people around me, hard workers, performance-driven but also extremely human and approachable. Colleagues turned into friends, and I’m forever grateful for the memories we create every day.

Fetch & export your transactions

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0200

Tracking your onchain activity can be a hassle, especially if you need a quick export of your transactions for analysis. So I built Transaction Exporter, a simple Node.js script that fetches transactions from a blockchain explorer and exports them to CSV.

What it does

Fetches both normal and internal transactions
Exports the data into an easy-to-use CSV format
Works with any Etherscan-compatible explorer (Etherscan, Polygonscan, etc.)

How to use it

Clone the repo: transaction-exporter
Install dependencies: npm install
Add your API key and base URL in a .env file
Run: npm run fetch <address> <handle>

NFT rarity: a deep dive

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0200

"How rare is my NFT?"

I recently spent some time with the Bunny Universe community, where this question came up a lot. Each Bunny is unique, but their traits (fur color, accessories, background, etc.) make some rarer than others.

ℹ️	I’m not affiliated with Bunny Universe and I’m not a founder of this ecosystem. However, I’m part of the community and I truly appreciate their work. Of course, this is not financial advice.

Attest your eFrogs on Linea with Verax

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 16:54:16 +0200

Do you own eFrogs on Linea? Do you want to prove you’re part of this amazing community?

Now you can, thanks to Verax on efrogs.alainnicolas.fr!

Project origins

In April 2024, I built this project in collaboration with my friend Orion. Together, we won second place in the hackathon organized by Linea and eFrogs 🐸.

At the time, it was just a simple prototype. But after a few months, it was time to finalise and launch a mainnet version.

Manage your double life on Git!

Tue, 02 May 2023 20:00:00 +0200

Are you coding for work and personal projects on the same computer? Then you probably find yourself regularly committing with your personal email address on your professional projects, and vice versa.

And it’s annoying, isn’t it? Constantly having to rewrite the history on one side, the other side, with commits that are already finalized on a protected main branch, etc.

It’s time to put an end to this! I propose that you better configure your Git environments. For that, there are two possible approaches.

Free up space with npkill

Mon, 01 May 2023 10:00:00 +0200

Do you also have dozens of JavaScript/TypeScript projects buried in more or less well-organized folders on your computer? You know, those personal projects abandoned after the first commit and long-finished professional projects…

And at the same time, you see your hard drive filling up? Well, npm has the bad habit of downloading half the internet with each installation…

Here’s the solution to free up space without hassle and keep your revolutionary application project that barely started. Four years ago.

Sort your dependencies!

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 08:00:00 +0200

The Context

Dependency management is a crucial aspect of any project. In the Node.js world, npm is the standard tool for installing and managing dependencies, but let’s not forget its counterparts yarn and pnpm. The package.json file lists all the dependencies and their versions.

When working on a team project, it’s important to maintain the package.json file consistently. And that’s where the sort-package-json package comes in.

sort-package-json

It allows you to sort the package.json file alphabetically based on package names. This ensures consistency in the order of dependencies, making the file more readable and maintainable.

Blog It Yourself - Take it to the next level

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Now that your blog is online and you’re motivated to write articles, it’s time to take it to the next level. Regardless of what anyone says, having readers and receiving feedback (preferably positive) boosts your ego and encourages you to do more and improve. But don’t forget, your blog is primarily YOUR blog.

Consider a Post as a Reminder

I believe it’s an excellent way to take ownership of your blog while increasing the publishing frequency: every time you learn something, you should write a post about it. Your blog then becomes an extension of your brain, capturing everything you can never seem to remember.

Blog It Yourself - My experience

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

As we discussed in the previous article, there are many obstacles that prevent us from writing articles. Here, I share my experience on how to overcome them.

Let’s explore how to overcome the dreaded writer’s block for developers! And let’s tackle the impostor syndrome that often immobilizes us.

To be completely transparent, I frequently face these obstacles myself. First and foremost within myself, but also among the people I’ve had the pleasure of working with for years. Here are some tips that I try to follow and share. Keep in mind that what works for me may not work for everyone…

Blog It Yourself - What holds us back

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

You have a beautiful blog, perhaps thanks to the previous article, but you struggle to write articles for it? It’s normal… There are numerous and real obstacles.

There are many "excuses" for not getting started, and most of the time, we believe in them wholeheartedly! Let me share the three main reasons I’ve heard for not writing articles.

I don’t have the expertise to write articles

Clearly the main reason that prevents all of us from getting started. The infamous "Imposter Syndrome"…

Blog It Yourself - Hugo

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I was discussing the choice and use of Ghost as a blogging tool. After 18 months of use, for the reasons mentioned at the end of the [previous article](link:/en/blog/blog-it-yourself-ghost), I decided to change platforms. And also because after the free 12 months of the AWS instance, it was necessary to pay, even if it remains small amounts.

Static Site Generator?

First and foremost, it is important to understand that this is not just a technical solution change, but a change in mindset. WordPress or Ghost are software that expose a website along with writing and administration tools. In contrast, Hugo is just a site generator. It takes a theme and a list of content and generates HTML pages … that’s it!

Rewrite your Git history (and fast)

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0200

In cleaning up my repositories on GitHub, I came across old projects, some of which are ancient. Let’s not dwell on the shame one can feel when looking at code written almost 10 years ago; it’s inevitably very ugly…

But one thing caught my attention: many commits are not associated with my username or do not display my profile picture. Strange, since the most recent ones seem to correspond to my username and show my picture.

Blog It Yourself - Ghost

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I mentioned it in my article about choosing a blog platform, the first choice for creating the blog RoxTheCasbah was Ghost.

So here’s an experience report on the installation, configuration, and usage of Ghost, which presents itself as an alternative to WordPress, simpler, lighter, and more modern.

Hosting

Let’s leave aside the paid version of Ghost that offers hosting by the company, and thus minimal configuration for the user. Let’s focus on the free and open-source version of the tool, to be self-hosted.

Blog It Yourself - The choice

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

When my partner came up with the idea of creating a blog to share her passions, the question of technical choice quickly arose. Among developers (or "geeks," as some would say), we couldn’t avoid the debate…

Yes, for years and for a good while longer, anyone looking to create a website quickly is likely to turn to WordPress. Simply because the platform has proven itself over a long period and is by far the most widely used. More than 40% of currently active websites are based on WordPress (source : Kinsta). That’s simply enormous…

Goodbye Google (Analytics)!

Mon, 03 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Let’s start with a little quote:

"New year, new me"

— Too many people,too often

The Good Resolution

Let’s avoid resolutions that we won’t keep. Nevertheless, let’s try to improve ourselves regularly…

To start the year 2022, I have decided to do without Google Analytics to track visits to my site. Firstly, because avoiding Google is always a good idea, and secondly, because it is possible to achieve almost the same results without tracking our visitors.

Make documentation great again (Bonus)

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0200

After the general presentation of Spring REST Docs, I propose to go further by exploring small improvements that will make all the difference!

We will continue to base ourselves on my demonstration project available on GitHub: demo-spring-rest-docs.

Expose the documentation "automagically"

As we have seen, we are now able to generate an HTML page containing the documentation of our API. But that’s not the best way to make it available to API consumers, we can do better than that!

Make documentation great again (2/2)

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0200

We have previously seen a presentation of the AsciiDoc language and the benefits of "Documentation as Code".

However, it is possible to make the documentation writing process even easier! It is customary to document the API that we develop to facilitate its maintenance and interactions with its consumers.

Even though one of the 4 values of agility promotes "working software over comprehensive documentation," we will see that we can provide both at the same time with a particularly useful tool.

(Easily) Make your website GDPR compliant!

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 13:02:05 +0100

Do you also love the consent banners that are now found on (almost) every website and dream of having one on your own? It’s normal, it looks so much more professional… And it’s also about respecting the rules!

GDPR, the real Cookie Monster

What is a cookie?

It is a small, fairly simple file that is placed in our browser when we visit certain websites. It is used, among other things, to identify us during our next visit.
This can sometimes be quite useful: the website can anticipate our display preferences, for example.

Make documentation great again (1/2)

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0200

Who enjoys writing documentation for their product or API? Who is tired of finding outdated documentation when joining a project?

Are you a developer who can relate? It’s time to switch to "Documentation as Code"!

The documentation everyone knows

The most basic example of "Documentation as Code" is the traditional README.md file at the root of every project. Ideally, this file contains the minimal documentation for the project, installation instructions, and perhaps a description of the main features.

Blockchain: From a school project to the business world

Wed, 04 Mar 2020 07:18:05 +0100

As I have already mentioned in a [previous post](link:/en/blog/blockchain-training-engineers-of-tomorrow/), the partnership between Talan and EPF made me discover the role of a trainer. But we went further by proposing a long-term project to a group of 5th-year students.

Shared expectations

Before diving into professional life through the end-of-studies internship, students must confront the business world through a 5-month project. Between the school project and the real project, it is an opportunity to put into practice the acquired knowledge and discover the "real" work methods of a company.

Blockchain: Training the Engineers of Tomorrow

Sat, 18 Jan 2020 17:52:05 +0100

For the past two years, I have had the opportunity and pleasure to work with students from EPF, a general engineering school where I graduated in 2015. Transitioning to the teaching side of things is no easy task, especially without prior experience, but returning to "my" school has greatly facilitated this change in perspective.

An engineering school has the heavy responsibility of keeping its curriculum up to date to prepare students as effectively as possible for their entry into the workforce. That is why Talan has developed a partnership with EPF for a series of training programs on the theme of Blockchain for their 4th and 5th year students in the computer science field.

What is Talan Coin?

Tue, 17 Oct 2017 15:39:11 +0000

First presented on October 4 at the 1st Parliamentary Forum of the Blockchain, the virtual currency of the Talan group is about to enter the production phase. An opportunity to present in detail the ins and outs of a project, and an initiative unlike any other: Talan Coin!

Talan Coin Banner

Blockchain, everyone talks about it, from mainstream media to the most innovative startups. And yet, few are the ideas that go as far as the production phase. That’s why Talan wanted to stand out and offer its employees a real application of this booming technology. This is how the idea of an internal currency was born from the desire to unite the staff of an international group around a common sharing model.